The Statue of Liberty in New York was donated by France to the United States to commemorate the 100th anniversary in 1876 of U.S. independence. Although the Statue of Liberty is extremely renowned today, it was exhibited at two international expositions while it was still under construction in order to raise construction funds. At the Philadelphia International Exposition of 1876, the statue's arm holding a torch was exhibited. At the Paris International Exposition of 1878, the head was constructed, attracting popularity among visitors. Subsequently, the statue was completed in 1884 in France, and then shipped to the United States in parts. Although the statue did not make it on time for the 100th anniversary, an unveiling ceremony was held in 1886 on Liberty Island. As a token of appreciation for the Statue of Liberty, the United States presented France with a quarter-size Statue of Liberty to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The quarter-size statue still stands near the Grenelle Bridge in Paris.

References:

Hashizume, Shinya (supervise).: Bankoku bikkuri hakurankai: Banpaku o 100bai tanoshimu hon (Daiwa shobo, 2005) <D7-H48>
Kyushima, Nobuaki.: 'Banpaku' hatsumei hakken 50 no monogatari (Kodansha, 2004)<D7-H45>
L'Exposition universelle de 1878 (C. Levy, 1879) <YP51-A227>

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