The Statue of Liberty was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who began working on the concept around 1870. The idea was initially proposed by French political intellectual Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865 to celebrate the United States' centennial of independence and the friendship between France and the U.S.

. Bartholdi designed the statue, including the iconic copper exterior, which was constructed using the repoussé technique to keep it lightweight. The internal structural framework was engineered by Gustave Eiffel, the same engineer who later designed the Eiffel Tower. Eiffel's metal framework provided the necessary support for the statue's copper skin, allowing it to stand tall and sway safely in the wind

. The statue was built in France by French artisans and craftsmen under Bartholdi's direction, with construction completed in 1884. It was then disassembled into pieces, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, and reassembled on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, where it was dedicated on October 28, 1886

. In summary:

• Concept and design: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (French sculptor)
• Structural framework: Gustave Eiffel (French engineer)
• Construction: French artisans in France
• Gift from France to the United States, dedicated in 1886