Lee Hoiby composed The Lady of The Harbor to commemorate the centenary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. For his setting, Hoiby chose to use an excerpt of Emma Lazarus' poem, The New Colossus, with which the statue had become associated since 1903, when a plaque with the text of the poem was mounted on the inner wall of its pedestal. Hoiby's setting captures the majestic presence of the 'Mother of Exiles' with a flowing fanfare depicting the calm waters surrounding the statue. For the mounting vocal line, Hoiby chose to set the most memorable stanzas of the poem in which Liberty welcomes the poor, tired, tempest-tossed masses. The song's soaring finale perfectly encapsulates the significance that the 'lady of the harbor' held for the countless many whom she greeted as they made their way to Ellis Island.

Uploaded on the 130th anniversary of the arrival of the Lady of the Harbor to the United States, the Statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, and was met with great fanfare. Unfortunately, the pedestal for the Statue was not yet complete and the entire structure was not reassembled on Bedloe's Island until 1886. Construction on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island.