Who designed the Statue of Liberty’s central sculpture for the United States?

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty’s central sculpture for the United States.

Bartholdi was a French sculptor who developed the colossal figure as a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States. The statue was dedicated in New York Harbor on October 28, 1886.

Gustave Eiffel and his engineering team designed the internal iron pylon and skeletal framework, which is why Eiffel is often mistakenly given credit for the whole statue. Bartholdi designed the visible figure, its face, robe, torch, and overall artistic concept.

The statue depicts Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty. Its tablet bears the date July 4, 1776, while a sonnet by Emma Lazarus was added to the pedestal in 1903. The monument became a major symbol of liberty and immigration.