A NEW exhibition of little-seen photographs reveals in fascinating detail how the Statue of Liberty was built in Paris.

But what is not quite as well known is the part a Bolton artist played in creating enthusiasm and support in America for the giant project years before it actually became a famous landmark.

The modern story begins when journalist Philip Radcliffe - the father of former Bolton School pupil Radio Two DJ Mark Radcliffe - was on a visit to America a couple of years ago.

He was in New York, browsing around the public library there, when he came across a picture by the Bolton-born artist Edward Moran, brother of Thomas whose painting "Nearing Camp, Evening on the Upper Colorado River" was the result of a huge campaign to raise £1.3 million to keep it in the country and which now has pride of place in Bolton Art Gallery. The brothers were the sons of a textile weaver of Irish descent who emigrated to American from the town in 1842, with his family following two years later.

They settled in Philadelphia, and both boys became talented artists. Thomas went on to become a particular American favourite, depicting early scenes of the Wild West, ironically, initially to help the Northern Pacific Railroad to communicate the potential attractions of the area to adventurous travellers.

Basically, to help "sell" this part of America to Americans to help create a profitable destination for a new railway line.

Edward Moran's contribution came slightly later. Among his work is a large oil painting that Philip Radcliffe found dated 1876 and called "The Commerce of Nations Rendering Homage to Liberty".

This depicted the Statue of Liberty years before it was finally unveiled to the American public.

Edward had met the statue's architect, Frederic-Auguste Barthold, and worked on the picture from his sketches. The resulting painting was then used on numerous social and business occasions to inspire patriotic sentiment to support the erection of the statue.

This early "advertising campaign" was obviously successful, and, stunning pictures now in an exhibition in the French capital show, it heralded the huge task of actually building the Statue of Liberty - intended as an enduring symbol of Franco-American friendship but which has increasingly become the face of America's freedom.