Jim Butcher (American, B. 1944) "Freedom of Conscience/Statue of Liberty" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 34c Statue of Liberty stamp issued January 7, 2001. "She was beautiful with the sunshine so bright. Beautiful colors, greenish-like water -- and so big, and everybody was crying." An immigrant speaks of the rapture he felt upon arriving in America and seeing the magnificent Statue of Liberty. Another said, "We just gazed on it. We couldn't really grasp the meaning of it, but it was a very penetrating feeling to see that symbol of freedom." A gift from France to the United States, the Statue of Liberty was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The artist incorporated several symbolic elements into the statue's design -- a broken chain at her feet represents freedom from tyranny, tablets held in her left arm are inscribed with the date of America's independence, the points on her crown represent the seven seas and the seven continents and, in her right hand, a torch is held high as a beacon of freedom. Attracting more than one million visitors a year, the Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall. An elevator runs to the top of the pedestal, and steps within the statue lead to the crown with a 25-window observation platform. President Grover Cleveland dedicated the monument on October 28, 1886. Emma Lazarus's sublime poem, The New Colossus, was inscribed on a bronze plaque inside the statue, poignantly proclaiming America as a haven of refuge for all people seeking liberty and freedom. "Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles..." Image Size: 17.5 x 14.5 in. Overall Size: 22 x 19.75 in. Unframed. (B07139) See More