The movie Our Lady of Liberty, produced by John Veltri for television in New York, was created in 1986 to commemorate the Statue of Liberty’s 100th birthday.
The Our Lady of Liberty movie may not be used in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from John Veltri.
OUR LADY OF LIBERTY The Statue of Liberty
Click on photo below to see sideshow of photographs
THE STORY
Veltri’s photographs of the Statue of Liberty, commissioned by Newsweek in 1970 for the first of their “Wonders of Man” series of books, were shot before the Statue of Liberty’s antique torch was replaced with a modern version. The original torch was disassembled and and is now in a museum.
Photographs of the inside of the torch were taken when Veltri was granted permission to enter the torch and climb around inside it.
Veltri also received special permission to explore and photograph Ellis Island, including rooms that had been closed to the public for many years. These photographs, and many others, were exhibited by the City of New York Museum of Immigration and remain in their archives.
Photos © John Veltri. To inquire about the sale of these photographs, and other rare archival images of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, contact John Veltri at john@earthalive.com
Overhead shots of the Lady were captured from a low-flying helicopter, piloted by a Viet Nam veteran that Veltri had hired. Also on board was the Newsweek Art Director, who had requested to come along. Because there was so little space in the helicopter, that meant that she would have to take the place of the photo assistant. Veltri reluctantly agreed to the arrangement when he was assured that she would keep his cameras loaded with film.
The pilot, who had removed most of the helicopter’s floor to allow for better viewing, followed Veltri’s instructions by flying as close as possible to the magnificent statue - a feat that would be outlawed today. While skillfully encircling it, he came so close that he triggered a loud flashing Sensor! Sensor! Sensor! alarm on his instrument panel.
Precariously positioned with a belt strapped tightly around his waist to keep him from falling out, Veltri wedged himself next to the seat and photographed the statue though the helicopter’s open floor, capturing views of the Statue of Liberty that had never before been seen. Wide-eyed and terrified, the Art Director sat frozen in her seat, tightly gripping the yet-to-be-loaded extra cameras.