MME4066806: New York City, 2008. The five founders of the Statue of Liberty: 3 - Statue of Frederic Auguste Bartholdi by Phillip Ratner on Liberty Island. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (August 2, 1834 - October 4, 1904) was a French sculptor. He is also known as Amilcar Hasenfratz. The work for which he is most famous is the Statue of Liberty, donated in 1886 by the Union Franco-Americaine (Franco-American Union), to the United States. Before starting his commission, Bartholdi traveled to the United States to personally select New York Harbor as the site for the statue, Ratner, Phillip (b.1942) / Bridgeman Images