"Beginning of a Legend" by Pete Peterson Original Limited Edition Serigraph on Paper Hand Signed, titled and numbered by the artist Image Size: 24" x 32" Paper Size: 28" x 36" Edition Size: 325 (email us for exact edition#) The total triage: 325 Regular Edition, 125 Roman Numeral, 45 APs, 37 HCs and 9 printer proofs. 100 percent guarantee of authenticity Condition: Mint Gallery Retail: $1,800.00 (unframed) Certificate of Authenticity and appraisal is included. Make an Offer! Beginning of a Legend It is a question and a quandary. Having just escaped a British squadron of five ships, Captain Isaac Hull is eager to sail the “Constitution” from Boston’s Harbor. Protocol says he should wait for orders to arrive from Washington. If, however, those orders say he must stay at anchor, he’d lose the advantage of open water and the opportunity to show what this mighty ship can do in battle. He sails. Will history prove the leaving wise? Oh, yes. Captain Hull’s decision was correct. Ant he U. S. “Constitution” – “Old Ironsides” – proved a valiant defender in the war of 1812. The oldest U. S. naval vessel, she was the second of three large 44-gun frigates designed by Joshua Humphreys. She was built in Hartt’s Naval Yard in Boston and launched (after great difficulty) on October 21, 1797. The only survivor of the U. S. Federal Navy, she is well maintained and afloat today at Boston Navy Yard. Pete Peterson 1931 - 2002 Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1931, Peterson spent four years at sea with the U.S. Navy.His principal duty- as a hand on an ocean-going tug sailing the Aleutian Islands, North Pacific, Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean- imprinted the northern waters indelibly in his mind.A return to civilian life allowed him to explore the coasts- from Bath, Maine to the Florida Keys, from San Diego to Point Barrow, Alaska.While his artistic talents found some expression in his work as draftsman, cartographer, industrial designer and architect, each was a means to an end painting.Peterson has been particularly drawn to the transitional time of marine history- 1840 to 1930- when sails gave way to steam.He admires the grace and romance of the wind ships and the muscle of the workboats.Though his professional career does include portraiture, figure studies, landscapes, cloudscapes, and still life, images of water and wind always prevail. Several times each year, Peterson leaves his Columbia, Missouri studio and returns to the country s coastal waters.Gathering facts from marine libraries, walking the docks and photographing current settings allow him to create the work he favors the fictitious, but feasible, scene.That point in time and place that could have occurred for the vessel I m painting. This commitment to authenticity has made him a new favorite of those who love traditional form, the lure of the past or simply the sea, itself.