Artist started in stucco

According to court documents, Robert Davidson got his start in the construction industry with Valley Plastering in the early 1970s, starting as a water boy hosing down Las Vegas stucco exteriors.

He climbed the corporate ladder over a period of 16 years, reaching the position of executive vice president before leaving in 1987 to start his own business.

In the early 1990s, Davidson was contracted to do plaster and stucco work on the Luxor Hotel. When another subcontractor could not complete the face of the 110-foot Sphinx statue, Davidson volunteered to take it over.

During the three months he worked on the Sphinx, Davidson became acquainted with Tracy Jones from Western Architecture. Jones then introduced Davidson to the company contracting out work for the Statue of Liberty replica.

Davidson continues to work in the construction industry. recognize it was me,’’ Davidson said when asked why he sought compensation, according to court records.

4.9 billion stamps

About 4.9 billion stamps with Davidson’s Lady Liberty were sold, generating $2.1 billion in sales for the Postal Service, according to court filings. The Postal Service estimates it made a $71 million profit on the sale of the stamps.

“It’s a fairly common stamp,” Shepard said, adding that the stamp is popular as well.

“Ironically, the more popular the stamp, the less collector’s value it has,” he said.

The Postal Service argued in court that Davidson’s replica contains “no truly original work” and thus it need not compensate him.

The court said a replica can be copyrighted if it is a new and original expression of a previous work.

Davidson’s Lady Liberty face is “unmistakably different” from the original statue and that is what drove Mccaffrey to choose it, the court ruled. The Postal Service could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Davidson hopes that the Postal Service will at long last own up to what it did and recognizing his rights,” Bice said in the statement.

Contact Todd Prince at 702-3830386 or tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.

Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-journal @benjaminhphoto The court said Robert Davidson’s replica Lady Liberty can be copyrighted if it is a new and original expression of a previous work.

United States Postal Service The U.S. Postal Service issued the Statue of Liberty Forever stamp in December 2010. The image on the stamp is of the replica Lady Liberty outside New Yorknew York and not of the original in New York Harbor.