PETER B. KAPLAN

In the world of photography, one name comes to mind when there's a need to show skyscrapers and other engineering marvels from on high — Peter B. Kaplan. The St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Chrysler Building, the Brooklyn and the Golden Gate Bridges, the World Trade Center, Toronto's CN Tower, the Empire State Building, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and the Eiffel Tower among others —"Peter B" has done it all. His greatest subject and his greatest passion, however, stands in New York Harbor: The Statue of Liberty.

From the early 1980's to the present, Kaplan has captured on film one of the most famous monuments on earth — during every season, under every lighting condition and from every angle. His breathtaking photos of the Statue, as well as other subjects, hang in museums and private collections throughout the world and his pictures have been published in leading publications both in the United States and abroad. Time, Life, Newsweek, Smithsonian, National Geographic books, The New York Times, Stern, Paris Match and Geo are but a few that have featured his works. Peter's Statue images alone appear on a total of 172 stamps from 15 different countries around the globe.

Kaplan met his wife Sharon, then a Creative Director for WABC radio in New York, while she was covering the Liberty restoration project. Presently they live in Delaware with their daughter and son who, not surprisingly, are named Ricki Liberty and Gabriel Liberty. An avid collector of Statue memorabilia, Peter's is the largest private collection in the world.

Kaplan envisioned Liberty For All back when he began his journey documenting the Statue's restoration in 1982. His goal was to share, through his photographs, his own affection for and awe of Lady Liberty, and the immensity and drama of her historic restoration. His unique ability to climb and the use of his "pole" allowed Kaplan to create images from angles and perspectives nobody has ever seen before. It is a dream come true to see this vision come to fruition.