Copper is used in the Statue of Liberty’s outer skin. The statue’s thin copper sheets were assembled over an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel’s workshop.
When the statue was unveiled in New York Harbor in 1886, its copper surface had a reddish-brown metallic appearance. Over time, chemical reactions with air and moisture produced a green patina made of corrosion products. This coating helps protect the copper beneath it.
The statue is often described as being made of copper, but it is not a solid copper figure. The copper skin is relatively thin and rests on an internal structure that supports its shape and distributes loads.
Copper was chosen because it is workable into sheets, durable outdoors, and capable of forming a stable protective patina. The green color is therefore a later surface transformation, not the statue’s original finish.