Am I hot or not? The story behind the Statue of Liberty

click to enlarge - a life size copy of the statue of liberty's
face in the Statue of Liberty Museum

It was 121 years ago today that the cornerstone for The Statue of Liberty was laid. The Statue--a gift From France--was already waiting.

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the designer, chose an authentic American model, "the good-looking, recently widowed Isabella Eugenie Boyer, the wife of Isaac Singer, the sewing-machine industrialist. " (From about.com)

"She was, from the beginning of her career in Paris, a well-known figure. As the good-looking French widow of an American industrialist she was called upon to be Bartholdi's model for the Statue of Liberty." (Ruth Brandon, Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance, p. 211)

The wikipedia says "Isabella was still a striking lady when she met the sculptor Bartholdi. "

The photograph to the right, above, seems to be the only actual record of Isabella Eugenie Boyer. Am I missing something?

As for the statue itself, I always found it stunning and thrilling. In the time I lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan, we would often take rides on the Staten Island ferry (the fare was either a dime or a two bits) just to see her. . .
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