"With two records by photographer Augusto Malta (1864 – 1957) , Brasiliana Fotográfico remembers the history of the Statue of Friendship. In 1922, on the centenary of Brazil's independence, on the initiative of the North American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil, around 40 thousand dollars were raised to create a monument that symbolized the friendship between the two countries. A bronze sculpture of a woman was presented to the country, standing, holding in her left hand the North American and Brazilian flags decorated with laurel leaves and, in her right, a laurel palm.
The Amicitia , which became known as the Statue of Friendship, designed by Charles Keck (1875 – 1951), is just over 4 meters high, weighs around 9 tons and was cast in the workshops of Henry Bonnard, in New York. At the time the sculpture was offered to Brazil, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro was Carlos Sampaio (1861 – 1930). The administrations of Alaor Prata (1882 – 1964) and Antonio da Silva Prado Júnior (1880 – 1955) passed and the statue remained stored in the Warehouses of Companhia Expresso Federal ( Correio da Manhã , October 21, 1930, in the penultimate and last columns ).
In 1931, under the management of federal intervener Adolfo Bergamini (1886 – 1945), in response to the request of several personalities and institutions, among them the Centro Carioca, on the initiative of Pedro Viana da Silva, director of Afforestation and Gardens, the sculptor Benevenuto Berna (1865 – 1940) finally designed a pedestal for the statue: two intertwined medallions, with the busts of George Washington and José Bonifácio, with two palms, representing the two nations, surrounded by ivy leaves to symbolize friendship.
On the day celebrating the 155th anniversary of the independence of the United States, July 4, 1931, the monument was inaugurated at the confluence of Santos Dumont and Presidente Wilson avenues, in front of the Santa Luzia church. Present were Getulio Vargas (1882 – 1954), head of the Provisional Government, Edwin Morgan, ambassador of the United States, Oswaldo Aranha (1894 – 1960), minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, as well as several other authorities and diplomats ( Jornal do Brasil , July 4, 1931 , and Correio da Manhã , July 5, 1931 ). It was a very popular event in the city and the city hall photographer, Augusto Malta, couldn't help but record the event.
Eleven years later, on July 9, 1942, with a much higher pedestal, the statue was reopened in Praça Quatro de Julho, in front of the current United States consulate in the presence of several authorities, including the mayor of Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro, Henrique Dodsworth (1895 – 1975), the North American ambassador Jefferson Caffery and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oswaldo Aranha ( Jornal do Brasil , July 10, 1942 )." (
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