Martin Kaplan writes:

"His training was, like so many artists of the day, grounded in copying classical models with a strong emphasis on French interpretation. The half dollar's Liberty of 1876could have easily been based on dozens of classical and French examples, such as the pattern 5 franc obverse of 1851 shown below, left."

"Figure 2. Sample of French coin designs by Jean-Baptiste Eugène Farochon (1848, left) and Eugène André Oudiné (1868, center) typical of the style learned by Morgan andbrought to his earliest American coin and medal work."

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: GIRL ON THE SILVER DOLLAR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n38a02.html)