Bartholdi’s sculpture will anchor the Carter’s 2026 exhibition examining the Statue of Liberty’s role as an American icon

Fort Worth, TX, November 19, 2024 — The Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) today announced its 2024 acquisitions of nearly 50 works by an intergenerational group of artists that reflect the expansive view of American creativity celebrated by the Museum. Among the notable acquisitions is a rare cast of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s bronze sculpture Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty), which will serve as the focal point of the Carter’s 2026 exhibition exploring the Statue of Liberty’s place in American history and contemporary culture as an icon and reflection of the country’s values and challenges. The Museum has also brought into the collection key works from its 2024 exhibition program by contemporary sculptor Leonardo Drew, transdisciplinary artist Dario Robleto, painter James Prosek, and sculptor Richard Hunt as well as works by several artists who are entering the collection for the first time, including multimedia artist Delita Martin, photographer and multidisciplinary artist Letitia Huckaby, and ledger artist and muralist John Pepion.

“We’re excited to bring new voices into our galleries and to see the dialogues that emerge between the collection and our visitors,” said Andrew J. Walker, Executive Director of the Carter. “These acquisitions represent American art across generations, demographics, notoriety, and form—all of which are critical to the story of American art we’re telling at the Carter. The acquisition of Bartholdi’s Liberty sculpture in particular is a true home run for us, as this symbol is inextricably linked to American history, art, and culture.”

Bartholdi’s Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty) is a bronze reduction of the Statue of Liberty that sits on New York’s Liberty Island—one of only five domestic-scaled bronzes made in the artist’s lifetime by his authorized French foundry Thiébaut Frères. Cast between 1894 and 1901, and standing nearly three feet tall, this reduction was presented to French portraitist Armand Bouxin around the year 1920, who later gifted the work to his daughter Marie-Therèse upon her marriage to an American serviceman in 1948 because he saw the work as symbolic of American and French union.

Additional Highlights of 2024 Acquisitions Include:

• “The Beautiful Ones” May Have Arrived, 2023, by Njideka Akunyili Crosby. This work marks artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s first foray into printmaking and represents her ongoing exploration of the dialogue between her native home of Nigeria and adopted home in the United States, and further probes what it means to be American.
• Ghana Women, 1957, by John Biggers. This rare chalk and charcoal drawing created in Ghana while on an UNESCO fellowship foreshadows the artist’s iconic murals depicting West African and American culture.
• Three Brothers, Yosemite, 2021, by Binh Danh. Expanding the modes and techniques represented in the Carter’s extensive photography collection, this daguerreotype depicts in stunning detail a scenic view of the mountains at Yosemite National Park created through Danh’s unique natural process of “chlorophyll printing,” in which a leaf is covered by a negative and exposed to sunlight over time to create a monochromatic image.
• Number 226TD, 2022, by Leonardo Drew. This multidimensional work on paper marks the Carter’s first work by the acclaimed abstract sculptor following the Sloping Gallery presentation of his site-specific commission Number 235T in which this work was featured.
• Ms. Jocelyn, 2022, by Letitia Huckaby. This textile work marks the first acquisition by the multidisciplinary artist and photographer and is currently on tour in the Carter’s 2023 exhibition Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation.
• Natural Form, 1968, by Richard Hunt. This rare midcentury sculpture serves as the centerpiece of the posthumous exhibition of the iconic sculptor, Richard Hunt: From Paper to Metal, which is currently on view at the Carter through March 2, 2025.
• Half Mast (21 for Uvalde), 2023, by Crystalle Lacouture. One of the largest and most ambitious works to date of emerging artist Crystalle Lacouture, these works on paper pay respect to the 21 lives lost in the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, shooting.
• Follow Me Little Bird, 2021, by Delita Martin. This striking portrait by Texas-based artist Delita Martin is one of her many works that combine signs, symbols, and language to reconstruct and explore the various identities of Black women in visual forms.
• . . . Of White Bread and Miracles (Ghost Dance 10), 2022, by Chris Pappan. Prominent Indigenous artist Chris Pappan reinforces the crucial history and enduring presence of Native Americans in this ledger drawing-style work. This acquisition joins the Carter’s significant holdings of works on paper by Indigenous artists, both contemporary and historical.
• Two watercolors from Trespassers, 2023, by James Prosek. An important voice in contemporary nature art, James Prosek calls attention to the conservation efforts needed to preserve the Texas Prairie in these two watercolor paintings of prairie flowers, which were featured in his most recent exhibition at the Carter, Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie (2024).
• The First Time, the Heart (First Pulse, 1854; First Flatline, 1870), 2018, by Dario Robleto. Featured in the exhibition Dario Robleto: The Signal, an exhibition centered on humankind’s exploration of outer space and NASA’s Golden Record, this photolithograph by the internationally celebrated Texas artist is part of a series that presents heartbeat waveforms originating from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

About the Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter) is a dynamic cultural resource that provides unique access and insight into the history and future of American creativity through its expansive exhibitions and programming. The Carter’s preeminent collection includes masterworks by legendary American artists such as Ruth Asawa, Alexander Calder, Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Robert Duncanson, Thomas Eakins, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, and John Singer Sargent, as well as one of the country’s foremost repositories of American photography. In addition to its innovative exhibition program and engagement with artists working today, the Museum’s premier primary research collection and leading conservation program make it a must-see destination for art lovers and scholars of all ages nationwide. Admission is always free. To learn more about the Carter, visit cartermuseum.org.

Images (clockwise from top left): Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), Liberty Enlightening the World (Statue of Liberty), 1894–1901, bronze with brown patina and black lacquer, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Purchase with assistance from the Ruth Carter Stevenson Acquisition Endowment, Pat and Shelby Adams, Anonymous, Susan and Stephen Butt, Sue and John Allen Chalk, Julie and Glenn Davidson, Subie and Phil Green, Debra and Ken Hamlett, Karen Hixon, Diane Jacobsen, Christina and Mark Johnson, Luther King Capital Management, Dana and David Porter, Mary Potishman Lard Trust, Richard Russack, Clara and Stephen Smiley, and Barbara and David Wyatt, 2024.26; John T. Biggers (1924–2001), Ghana Women, 1957, white chalk and charcoal on grey wove paper, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 2024.69, © John T. Biggers Estate / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Estate Represented by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery; Richard Howard Hunt (1935-2023), Natural Form, 1968, welded steel, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 2024.23, © The Richard Hunt Trust; Njideka Akunyili Crosby (b. 1983), "The Beautyful Ones" May Have Arrived, 2023, color screen print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 2024.70, © Njideka Akunyili Crosby; Leonardo Drew (b. 1961), Number 226TD, 2022, plaster and paint on paper, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 2024.27, © Leonardo Drew.