After its unveiling in 1886, the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, quickly became iconic, and began to be featured on posters, postcards, pictures, and books. The statue's likeness has also appeared in films, television programs, music videos, and video games, and has been used in logos, on postage stamps and coins, and in theatrical productions. The Statue of Liberty is a popular and recognizable local, national, and international icon and political symbol.
The Statue of Liberty has variously been seen to represent New York City, the United States, and human civilization as a whole. In political cartoons, it often represents the United States or "Freedom". David Glassberg, writing in 2003, identified six different political meanings the statue has been imbued with in different time periods since its 1886 erection.
Depicting an altered form of the statue is a popular way to convey messages. The torch is replaced by a weapon in some depictions, including Franz Kafka's posthumously-published 1927 novel Amerika (written 1913), where the statue is seen wielding a sword.
The Statue of Liberty has been depicted on various United States coins and currency.
The Statue of Liberty was also depicted on a 100-franc French coin in 1986.
Imagery of the statue has been used for various commercial purposes, including advertising and merchandising. This began before it was unveiled; the statue's creator Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi licensed its image in both Europe and the United States, starting with France in 1875 and appearing on American products by 1877. Using the statue's imagery like this has been controversial and the subject of criticism, as parodied in a comic in Puck in 1885.
The Statue of Liberty continues to be used in corporate logos. The insurance company Liberty Mutual has used the Statue of Liberty as part of its logo since 1921. Similarly, the Central Railroad of New Jersey used the statue in its logo from 1944 until it ceased operations in 1974. Its successor, NJ Transit Rail Operations's Raritan Valley Line, uses the statue as its symbol. New York featured the Statue of Liberty on its regular license plate from 1986 until 2001, released shortly after the 100th anniversary of the statue.
Representing its origins in World War I with members from the New York City area, the United States Army 77th Sustainment Brigade uses a gold Statue of Liberty on a blue background as its identification badge and shoulder sleeve insignia. The division's official nickname is "Statue of Liberty".. The mission flight insignia worn by the crew of STS-51-J, the debut launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1985, also features the Statue of Liberty.
The New York Rangers of the National Hockey League used the head of the Statue of Liberty as their logo on their third jersey from 1996 to 2007 and again in 2020âÂÂ2021 and 2022âÂÂ2023 seasons. Formed in 1996, New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association tooks its name from the Statue of Liberty and also uses an illustration of the statue's torch as part of its team logo. The team selected its seaform green color from the copper patina of the statue.
Damage to and destruction of the statue, or its remains appearing among devastated surroundings, is a recurring motif. The earliest known example is John Ames Mitchell's 1889 novel The Last American, where the statue overlooks the ruins of New York City a thousand years in the future. Joseph Pennell's 1918 poster "That Liberty Shall Not Perish from the Earth, Buy Liberty Bonds", created to sell war bonds during World War I, depicts the Statue of Liberty with her head and torch destroyed as war rages around her. The threat of destruction was a regular theme in fundraising advertisements for the statue's restoration ahead of its 1986 centennial.
The Statue of Liberty is a 1985 documentary film on the history of the Statue of Liberty that was shown on PBS. It was produced and directed by Ken Burns and narrated by historian David McCullough. The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
On April 8, 1983, CBS broadcast The Magic of David Copperfield V, where illusionist David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty seemingly disappear. Copperfield said he chose the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of the "illusion of freedom". He said, "I thought that by making the Statue of Liberty â our symbol of freedom â vanish, I might make the audience aware of how important freedom is". The television show was watched by an estimated fifty million viewers, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as "the largest illusion ever staged".
Before its completion, the Statue of Liberty became a subject for comedic and political cartoons in both the United States and abroad. Dani Aguila's Taking Liberty with the Lady (1986) is a collection of Statue of Liberty cartoons from around the world, demonstrating the versatility of the statue's image.
The Statue of Liberty has also been incorporated into comics. First introduced in 1941 during World War II, the DC Comics superhero Miss America was granted her powers by the Statue of Liberty in a dream, making her the embodiment of the statue's power. Using the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of America, comic books often have villians attacking or destrying the statue. This storyline was first used in 1942 during World War II, where the Human Torch (Jim Hammond) fought the Japanese spy Moppino who destroys the statue (All-Winners Comics #4, Marvel/Timely Comics). In later comics, the torch of the Statue of Liberty became the secret meeting place for the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Spider-Man.
Modern comics continue to include Statue of Liberty imagery, although not always to support patriotism. Swedish cartoonist Joakim Lindengren and Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi created United States of Banana in 2017; in this parody comic book, Lady Liberty falls in love with a prisoner, Segismundo, who lives in a dungeon beneath her skirt. The statue complains, "I have inspired empires. I have destroyed empires. They turned me into the mausoleum of liberty".