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Aerial view of the Statue of Liberty, New York, New York

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Aerial view of the Statue of Liberty, New York, New York

description

Summary

Digital image produced by Carol M. Highsmith to represent her original film transparency not held by the Library.
Title, date, and keywords provided by the photographer.
Credit line: Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Gift and purchase; Carol M. Highsmith; 2011; (DLC/PP-2011:124).
Forms part of the Selects Series in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution. Yet, it represented much more to those individuals who proposed the gift. The "Father of the Statue of Liberty" was Edouard de Laboulaye, French jurist, poet, author and anti-slavery activist. He provided the idea that would become the Statue. In 1886, The Statue of Liberty was a symbol of democratic government and Enlightenment ideals as well as a celebration of the Union's victory in the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Edouard de Laboulaye, the French political thinker, U.S. Constitution expert, and abolitionist, who first proposed the idea of a great monument as a gift from France to the United States was a firm supporter of President Abraham Lincoln and his fight for abolition. Laboulaye saw abolition not only as a way to eliminate immorality, but also as a way to protest repressive tendencies in France. Auguste Bartholdi was the French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty. From 1855 to 1856, Bartholdi embarked on a life-changing trip throughout Europe and the Middle East with some fellow artists. When they visited the Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, Bartholdi discovered his passion for large-scale public monuments and colossal sculptures. In 1869, the Egyptian government expressed interest in designing a lighthouse for the Suez Canal. Eager and excited, Bartholdi designed a colossal statue of a robed woman holding a torch, which he called Egypt (or Progress) Brings Light to Asia. When he attended the canal's inauguration, however, Bartholdi was informed that he would not be able to proceed with the lighthouse. Although disappointed, Bartholdi received a second chance to design a colossal statue. In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that a monument representing freedom and democracy be created for the United States. Bartholdi was a great supporter of Laboulaye's idea and in 1870 he began designing the Statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World." Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was the architect hired to design a support structure for the Statue but replaced with famous Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, The Eiffel Tower's author. Richard Morris Hunt was the American architect who designed the pedestal under the Statue's feet. Joseph Pulitzer and Emma Lazarus helped raise the money needed to complete the pedestal's construction. Between 1886 and 1924, almost 14 million immigrants entered the United States through New York. The Statue of Liberty was a reassuring sign that they had arrived in the land of their dreams. To these anxious newcomers, the Statue's uplifted torch did not suggest "enlightenment," as her creators intended, but rather, "welcome." Over time, Liberty emerged as the "Mother of Exiles," a symbol of hope to generations of immigrants. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 speech in honor of the Statue's 50th Anniversary helped solidify the transformation of the Statue into an icon of immigration. From the beginning, the Statue of Liberty has stirred the emotions of ordinary people, and has inspired artists and commercial manufacturers to depict and honor her.

Starting in the 1630's, Dutch New Amsterdam settlers tried to set their new home base across the Hudson river. Despite conflict with the native Indian Lenapes tribe, in 1660, a new town known as Bergen was settled atop the Palisade Hill . Soon, farms, religious congregations, and the self-governed communities spread throughout the region. The quiet and rural nature of Bergen survived the American Revolution, but, in 1804, a group of New Yorker investors purchased land along the waterfront for a new development which they called the Town of Jersey. Robert Fulton, an entrepreneur, soon built a dry dock and in 1812 began to run his steamboats and ferries to and from Manhattan to Newark and Philadelphia, sealing area's future as a major transportation hub, connecting the mainland United States with New York and Long Island. Access to the Pennsylvania's coal mines attracted industry which, in turn, required population growth. In the 1880's, Irish and German immigrants, fleeing their homelands, gave the area another boost. It was a melting pot of nationalities and ethnic tensions battlefield. Expansion of the railroads along the waterfront, growing industrialization and a steady supply of workers continued through the Civil War. The area boomed with rail terminals, barges, lighters, and ferries which crossed the river and New York Bay, carrying coal, food, manufactured goods and passengers throughout the Greater New York area. American Can, Emerson Radio, Lorillard tobaccos, Colgate soaps, and toothpaste, Dixon Ticonderoga pencils - are just a few brand names tat were born here. In the years following World War II, the cities declined, following the collapse of the independent railroad lines and death of the factories. In 1980s the now empty west bank of the Hudson, once crowded with railroad yards, became the place of numerous developments, bringing new residents, new stores and restaurants, and new jobs. Liberty State Park, opened for the Bicentennial in 1976, acquired the abandoned terminal and plant of the Jersey Central and gave the area breathtaking views, ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and the new Liberty Science Center.

In 2015, documentary photographer Carol Highsmith received a letter from Getty Images accusing her of copyright infringement for featuring one of her own photographs on her own website. It demanded payment of $120. This was how Highsmith came to learn that stock photo agencies Getty and Alamy had been sending similar threat letters and charging fees to users of her images, which she had donated to the Library of Congress for use by the general public at no charge. In 2016, Highsmith has filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against both Alamy and Getty stating “gross misuse” of 18,755 of her photographs. “The defendants [Getty Images] have apparently misappropriated Ms. Highsmith’s generous gift to the American people,” the complaint reads. “[They] are not only unlawfully charging licensing fees … but are falsely and fraudulently holding themselves out as the exclusive copyright owner.” According to the lawsuit, Getty and Alamy, on their websites, have been selling licenses for thousands of Highsmith’s photographs, many without her name attached to them and stamped with “false watermarks.” (more: http://hyperallergic.com/314079/photographer-files-1-billion-suit-against-getty-for-licensing-her-public-domain-images/)

People keep searching online for one question: "Where can I find free high-resolution stock images that are cleared to use without any copyright restrictions? Where to find images for blog posts or social media?" Almost every image created in the last 70 years is still protected by copyright, but you can find a public domain photo, an image that does not need attribution, or image that has copyright expired. First, it helps to understand some copyright-related terms before using any free images. Always read the terms and conditions of the site you try to use to download free images and photos, so you know if, when, and what type of attribution is required. What is Creative Commons? Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. There are various types of Creative Commons licenses that range from allowing any type of use with no attribution to allowing only certain uses and no changes. Most authors using Creative Commons require some sort of attribution. While relatively easy to use such free images in blogs, using such images for video might be problematic unless you create lengthy credits section. Even if you do, you still may breach the particular image Creative Commons license since it often requires backlinking. What is Public Domain? Works in the public domain are those whose copyrights have expired or never existed. The public domain status of official government works is sometimes difficult to determine but there are some easy cases: works of the United States federal government, for example, are not protected by copyright and are thus in the public domain. The same does not hold in general for the works of other governments or all 50 States of the United States. Determining whether a particular work of a particular government are in the public domain requires research and sometimes even legal advice. What is Royalty-Free? Most royalty-free images aren’t free. In most cases, you’ll have to pay a one-time fee to obtain the rights to use the image. Then you can use it as many times as you like. The term “free” in “royalty-free” means that you do not have to pay royalties to the owner of the image every time you use it. We've reviewed terms of few popular Free Image Websites below. 1. Unsplash Unsplash has its own license, which essentially lets you use the images for free, in any way you like, except for using them to create a competing website. 2. Pexels Pexels also has its own license, which states what you can and cannot do with the images. You can use and modify the images for free for both commercial and personal use without attribution. 3. Pixabay We love Pixabay. Images on Pixabay are licensed under Creative Commons Zero (CC0), which means you can use the images without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist. Pixabay also explains tricky legal language such as "model release". 4. Gratisography Gratisography also has its own free photo license, which lets you do “almost anything you can think of”. While they have not too many images, many are high-quality images that I would use. 5. Flickr Flickr is where you can find images that can be used and modified for commercial purposes. Select “Commercial use & mods allowed” under the “Any license” filter to find those images, and remember to check the license for each image as they vary. Be careful with Flickr images since as far as we can see, many images are labeled public domain wrongfully or without much research. 6. Google Image Search Google Advanced Image Search is a method of finding free-to-use images through Google’s own search tools. It is 100% automated, so you can't blindly trust the license cited. Use it with caution. Same as Flickr, Google bears no responsibility. When using free online images, always do your research.

date_range

Date

2000 - 2020
person

Contributors

Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer
place

Location

Jersey City40.72816, -74.07764
Google Map of 40.7281575, -74.0776417
create

Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

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