A CARVED AND POLYCHROME PAINT-DECORATED 'GODDESS OF LIBERTY' CIGAR STORE FIGURE

A popular patriotic symbol, this "Goddess of Liberty" is similar to a zinc figure produced by William Demuth and Co. in New York City. It is likely that the carver of the present figure used the zinc figure as a model. For an illustration of Demuth’s figure and further information on the "Goddess of Liberty" see Richard Miller, Avis Berman, Cynthia G. Falk, Lisa Minardi and Ralph Sessions, A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America (Alexandria, 2014), p. 212.