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Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper statue, an 1886 gift to the United States from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. It is a figure of Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty, holding a torch and a tablet bearing the date of the United States Declaration of Independence. A broken chain and shackle lie at her feet as she walks forward, commemorating the national abolition of slavery following the American Civil War. After its dedication the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, and it was later seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea. Its completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland. (Full article...)

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July 4: Independence Day in the United States (1776); Republic Day in the Philippines (1946); Liberation Day in Rwanda (1994)

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George Washington

George Washington is a 1780 oil-on-canvas painting by John Trumbull, depicting George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and later the first president of the United States, standing on a bluff above the Hudson River. His enslaved personal servant, William "Billy" Lee, is on horseback behind him. The view across the river encompasses West Point, New York, with a red-and-white striped banner – possibly the Navy ensign adopted in 1775 – flying atop the fortress. Trumbull served on Washington's staff as an aide-de-camp early in the American Revolutionary War and painted this portrait from memory about five years later while studying in London. It was the first authoritative representation of Washington available in Europe and was soon copied throughout the continent. The painting has been in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1924.

Painting credit: John Trumbull