Liberty Arm & Torch
Leo Sewell's Monument to Play!
As part of the restoration and expansion of Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, Please Touch created a huge ‘monument to play’ made out of toys. As visitors enter the Great Hall, a stunning space crowned by a soaring dome, they encounter a life-sized, 40-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty’s Arm and Torch. In true Please Touch Museum fashion this sculpture is created out of toys, games and other ‘found objects’—wood, plastic and metal—gathered and assembled by Philadelphia artist Leo Sewell. The subject matter holds a special place in Memorial Hall’s history: The original Statue of Liberty Arm and Torch was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition as part of a fundraising effort. Cash donations were collected in Philadelphia from May to November 1876, to help fund the pedestal that now holds the full statue in New York Harbor.
Leo Sewell collected objects for the sculpture from 2005-2008. Classic toys like a Sit ‘N’ Spin are joined by Santa Claus, baseball bats, action figures, license plates bearing the logos of Philadelphia pro sports teams, skis, dolls, board games, and Philly’s favorite fighter, Rocky Balboa. The sculpture also contains remnants found inside Memorial Hall. At the base of the Torch is a brass bulb that came from a chandelier that used to hang in the Great Hall, and there’s a “No Diving” sign rescued from the swimming pool once housed in the East Gallery.
Sewell completed the flame in his Philadelphia studio in 2006. The flame was hoisted into the Great Hall in April 2008 before Sewell started working on the Arm & Torch during the months of May and June. By the end of the summer, the 40-foot replica of Lady Liberty’s Arm & Torch graced the museum’s Great Hall in its full glory ready to welcome children and their families for generations to come.
About Leo Sewell
Leo Sewell is no stranger to Please Touch Museum. He is the creator of “Artie,” the popular life-sized elephant sculpted from hundreds of discarded playthings, including a youth football helmet, a 1960s era Batmobile, Smurfs, a Spider-Man action figure, and a red Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot (sans his blue opponent). Sewell, who says he “grew up near a dump,” has played with junk for 40 years, and has developed his own assemblage technique. His works are collected by corporations, museums, and individuals throughout the world. Leo continues to cull the refuse of Philadelphia out of which he fashions pieces of all sizes, from a life-sized housecat to a 24-foot stegosaurus. His sculptures have appeared on Captain Noah and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and are a favorite at Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums in 23 cities worldwide. For more details on his work, visit www.leosewell.net.
Why did the Arm & Torch visit Philadelphia?
Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was a joint effort between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In the United States, theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights assisted in providing needed funds. The Centennial Exhibition was an ideal event to raise funds for the project. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April of 1886. On October 28, 1886, the dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in front of thousands of spectators. She was a Centennial gift ten years late.