Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev Art Value Price Guide

Dec. 07, 2024
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev, Soviet Union/ Russia (1933-2000), Queen Isabella Pledging her jewels, oil on masonite
Est: $200 - $400
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev Soviet Union/ Russia, (1933-2000) Queen Isabella Pledging her jewels oil on masonite signed and titled on verso, framed.
Link Auction Galleries
Aug. 14, 2022
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Siren" Original
Est: $200 - $300
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "'Siren' Experiment on Space Station" Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 15K Siren Crystal experiment issued June 30, 1978. During a week-long stay on board Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, the Intercosmos crew of Soyuz 30 carried out a program of research and experiments, some of which had been designed jointly by scientists of the U.S.S.R. and the Polish People's Republic. Medical and biological research, aimed at assessing the influence of space travel on a human body with a particular investigation of the circulatory and cardiovascular systems, was performed. Observation and the photography of Earth's surfaces, and certain technical experiments connected with the functioning of on-board systems and of the orbital complex as a whole were also carried out. On the afternoon of June 29, 1978, the crew executed the "Siren" experiment aimed at studying the processes of obtaining semiconducting materials in weightlessness. The cosmonauts put into an electric furnace, ampoules with source material for growing valuable semiconducting monocrystals. During one of the experiments a triple semiconducting material was developed incorporating cadmium, tellurium and mercury. These semiconducting materials are used to make detectors for infrared telescopes capable of solving many scientific riddles including laser communication, the investigation of pollution, and disease detection. This artwork features the symbolic picture of that crystal experiment. After successfully completing the program of planned research and experiments on board the Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, Soyuz 30 returned to earth on July 5, 1978. Image Size: 7.75 x 9 in. Overall Size: 15.25 x 19.5 in. Unframed. (B05904)
Helmuth Stone
Feb. 27, 2022
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Astronauts" W/C
Est: $250 - $450
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Astronauts" Signed and titled verso. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 6K Launch of Soyuz 28 stamp issued March 10, 1978. On March 2, 1978, at the Baikonur cosmodrome, two cosmonauts walked toward the launching pad. One of them, Colonel Alexei Alexandrovich Gubarev, wore the flag of the U.S.S.R. on the sleeve of his spacesuit. The other cosmonaut, Captain Vladimir Remek, wore the flag of Czechoslovakia. Soon, they would become the first international crew in the history of space launched in the same spaceship, and Czechosolovakia would become the third nation to send a man into space. Gubarev, a pilot-cosmonaut of the U.S.S.R. and hero of the Soviet Union, had made the thirty-day space flight aboard Soyuz 17 and Salyut 4 in 1975. Noting the importance of the flight on which he was about to embark, Gbubarev said, "This flight marks a new stage of cooperation among socialist countries in the exploration and use of outer space under the Intercosmos programs." Captain Vladimir Remek, a citizen of the C.S.S.R., was seventeen years younger than his co-cosmonaut, Gubarev, and admittedly had a profound respect for him, as a son for his father. Says Remek about his early ambitions to fly: "I will remember April 12, 1961 forever. When I heard our director, over the school radio, tell about the first manned flight, I could not even imagine that I also would make a space flight. But that day did cause me to make up my mind to become a pilot like Gagarin." Soyuz 28 was Remek's first space flight. At 6:28 PM Moscow time, Soyuz 28 blasted off, marking another milestone in man's peaceful quest of the cosmos. Image Size: 7.75 x 9.25 in. Overall Size: 10 x 13.25 in. Unframed. (B05910)
Helmuth Stone
Nov. 14, 2021
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Hardships" Oil
Est: $200 - $300
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Hardships of Emigration" Signed lower right. Original Oil on Canvas laid on Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 10c Trans-Mississippi stamp issued June 18, 1998. Traveling 15 miles a day with pack animals, 2-wheel carts or wagons, emigrant families sometimes took over four months to reach the Far West. Top-heavy covered wagons faced many risks: blowing over in strong prairie winds, being knocked over by mountain rocks, getting mired in river mud or sinking to the hubs in desert sand. On the positive side, these "prairie schooners" provided shelter from drenching rainstorms and the scorching sun as they navigated the seemingly endless seas of prairie grass. Broken wagons, putrefying mule, oxen and horse carcasses, and shallow, hastily-dug human graves littered the way west -- testament to the hardships endured by the families that preceded them. Some estimates hold that 1 of every 17 emigrants who started the journey west ended up buried alongside the trail. A mother's diary of her trip paints a vivid portrait of the daily challenges faced by emigrants. "We are creeping along slowly, one wagon after another, out of one mud hole and into another all day ... Them that eat the most breakfast eat the most sand ... It has been raining all day long. The men and boys are all soaking wet and look sad and comfortless. The little ones and myself are shut up in the wagons from the rain ... Lost one of our oxen; he dropped dead in the yoke. I could hardly help shedding tears ... I was sick all night and not able to get out of the wagon in the morning ... Yesterday my eighth child was born ... Take us all together we are a poor looking set, and all this for Oregon." Image Size: 10 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 12.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16013)
Helmuth Stone
Sep. 26, 2021
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Siren" Original
Est: $250 - $450
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "'Siren' Experiment on Space Station" Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 15K Siren Crystal experiment issued June 30, 1978. During a week-long stay on board Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, the Intercosmos crew of Soyuz 30 carried out a program of research and experiments, some of which had been designed jointly by scientists of the U.S.S.R. and the Polish People's Republic. Medical and biological research, aimed at assessing the influence of space travel on a human body with a particular investigation of the circulatory and cardiovascular systems, was performed. Observation and the photography of Earth's surfaces, and certain technical experiments connected with the functioning of on-board systems and of the orbital complex as a whole were also carried out. On the afternoon of June 29, 1978, the crew executed the "Siren" experiment aimed at studying the processes of obtaining semiconducting materials in weightlessness. The cosmonauts put into an electric furnace, ampoules with source material for growing valuable semiconducting monocrystals. During one of the experiments a triple semiconducting material was developed incorporating cadmium, tellurium and mercury. These semiconducting materials are used to make detectors for infrared telescopes capable of solving many scientific riddles including laser communication, the investigation of pollution, and disease detection. This artwork features the symbolic picture of that crystal experiment. After successfully completing the program of planned research and experiments on board the Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, Soyuz 30 returned to earth on July 5, 1978. Image Size: 7.75 x 9 in. Overall Size: 15.25 x 19.5 in. Unframed. (B05904)
Helmuth Stone
Sep. 26, 2021
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Columbus" Oil
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Columbus in Sight of Land" Signed and titled verso. Original Oil painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 1c Columbus Sights Land stamp issued May 22, 1992. At two in the morning on October 12, 1492, a sailor named Juan Rodr?guez Bermejo or Rodrigo de Triana sighted land from the deck of the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus' three ships. It had been more than a month since the men had seen land as they bobbed west on an empty, lonely ocean. Naturally, the next morning the Spaniards were jubilant as they laid eyes upon a tropical paradise flushed with the golden light of dawn. According to legend, disbelievers among the crew were finally convinced that Columbus was divinely inspired and fell to their knees in front of him. This legend was the inspiration of a painting created by George William Henry Powell (1823-1879). In the center of Powell's painting stands a staunch, controlled Columbus among his elated and reverent men. It is believed that engravers crafted the 1-cent Columbus in Sight of Land stamp from Powell's work. Of the 16 commemorative stamps issued in 1893 for the Chicago Exposition, this stamp departs the farthest from the original painting, possibly due to the painting's obvious religious overtones and the U.S. Postal Service's desire to ensure separation of church and state. The original, once thought "lost," but it turned up in a private collection in New York City. Image Size: 10.25 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 13.75 x 23.25 in. Unframed. (B13759)
Helmuth Stone
Aug. 01, 2021
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Astronauts"
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Astronauts" Signed and titled verso. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 6K Launch of Soyuz 28 stamp issued March 10, 1978. On March 2, 1978, at the Baikonur cosmodrome, two cosmonauts walked toward the launching pad. One of them, Colonel Alexei Alexandrovich Gubarev, wore the flag of the U.S.S.R. on the sleeve of his spacesuit. The other cosmonaut, Captain Vladimir Remek, wore the flag of Czechoslovakia. Soon, they would become the first international crew in the history of space launched in the same spaceship, and Czechosolovakia would become the third nation to send a man into space. Gubarev, a pilot-cosmonaut of the U.S.S.R. and hero of the Soviet Union, had made the thirty-day space flight aboard Soyuz 17 and Salyut 4 in 1975. Noting the importance of the flight on which he was about to embark, Gbubarev said, "This flight marks a new stage of cooperation among socialist countries in the exploration and use of outer space under the Intercosmos programs." Captain Vladimir Remek, a citizen of the C.S.S.R., was seventeen years younger than his co-cosmonaut, Gubarev, and admittedly had a profound respect for him, as a son for his father. Says Remek about his early ambitions to fly: "I will remember April 12, 1961 forever. When I heard our director, over the school radio, tell about the first manned flight, I could not even imagine that I also would make a space flight. But that day did cause me to make up my mind to become a pilot like Gagarin." Soyuz 28 was Remek's first space flight. At 6:28 PM Moscow time, Soyuz 28 blasted off, marking another milestone in man's peaceful quest of the cosmos. Image Size: 7.75 x 9.25 in. Overall Size: 10 x 13.25 in. Unframed. (B05910)
Helmuth Stone
Aug. 01, 2021
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Queen Isabella" Oil
Est: $350 - $700
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Queen Isabella of Spain Pledging Jewels" Signed and titled verso. Original Oil painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. $1 Isabella Pledging Aid stamp issued May 22, 1992. "By these presents we dispatch the noble man Christoforus Col?n (Christopher Columbus) with three equipped caravels over the Ocean Seas toward the regions of India for certain reasons and purposes." So read a royal decree announcing the funding of Christopher Columbus' grand scheme to find a westward route to the Indies. This great financial gamble was financed in a large part with more than 1,000,000 maravedis put up by the Holy Brotherhood of Spain -- Santa Hermandad. Another 500,000 came from Columbus himself on loan from his partner Mart?n Alonso Pinz?n. The legend that Queen Isabella pawned her jewels because the royal coffers were depleted from the war with the Moors is merely a fable. Although the Queen offered the jewels to the cause, this never was necessary, yet the story has endured for 500 years. It served as inspiration for artist Antonio Mu?oz Degrain (1843-1924) for his painting Isabel the Catholic Bequeaths Her Jewels, c. 1878. Although this painting was displayed at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris, it was rumored to have been sold to an American. Since that time, the painting has disappeared, although it is presumed to still exist in either Spain or the United States. Image Size: 10.25 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 13.75 x 23.25 in. Unframed. (B13763)
Helmuth Stone
Nov. 15, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Siren"
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "'Siren' Experiment on Space Station" Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 15K Siren Crystal experiment issued June 30, 1978. During a week-long stay on board Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, the Intercosmos crew of Soyuz 30 carried out a program of research and experiments, some of which had been designed jointly by scientists of the U.S.S.R. and the Polish People's Republic. Medical and biological research, aimed at assessing the influence of space travel on a human body with a particular investigation of the circulatory and cardiovascular systems, was performed. Observation and the photography of Earth's surfaces, and certain technical experiments connected with the functioning of on-board systems and of the orbital complex as a whole were also carried out. On the afternoon of June 29, 1978, the crew executed the "Siren" experiment aimed at studying the processes of obtaining semiconducting materials in weightlessness. The cosmonauts put into an electric furnace, ampoules with source material for growing valuable semiconducting monocrystals. During one of the experiments a triple semiconducting material was developed incorporating cadmium, tellurium and mercury. These semiconducting materials are used to make detectors for infrared telescopes capable of solving many scientific riddles including laser communication, the investigation of pollution, and disease detection. This artwork features the symbolic picture of that crystal experiment. After successfully completing the program of planned research and experiments on board the Salyut 6-Soyuz 29 Space Station, Soyuz 30 returned to earth on July 5, 1978. Image Size: 7.75 x 9 in. Overall Size: 15.25 x 19.5 in. Unframed. (B05904)
Helmuth Stone
Oct. 04, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Tsar Nicholas II"
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Tsar Nicholas II - Coronation of the Tsar" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Republic of the Marshall Islands 60c Coronation of Tsar Nicholas II 1896 stamp issued July 17, 1998. On May 26, 1896, Nicholas II was crowned Tsar of All Russia. At his coronation ceremony two events occurred that are said to have foreshadowed his early demise. During the ceremony, a St. Andrew's Cross that Nicholas was wearing mysteriously fell to the floor. This was taken as a bad omen by many people, including his wife the Tsarina Alexandra. Meanwhile, a crowd of half a million peasants had gathered to watch the regal ceremony in a nearby field. The assemblage surged forward and thousands of people were accidentally crushed to death. The Tsar wished to cancel a scheduled party, retire to a monastery and pray. Instead, he relied on the poor advice of his ministers and attended the ball. Nicholas' reputation was damaged immeasurably when no official recognition of the tragedy was made. Image Size: 9.25 x 21.25 in. Overall Size: 10.5 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16044)
Helmuth Stone
Oct. 04, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Cattle in Snow"
Est: $200 - $400
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Western Cattle in Snow Storm" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Canvas laid on Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. $1 Cattle in a Storm stamp issued June 18, 1998. In 1883, the Denver Republican defined a word that would epitomize the West. "If a man works on salary and rides after the herd he is called a 'cowboy'." An observer in the late 19th century elaborated, "(the cowboy) ... is a loyal, long-enduring, hard-working fellow, grit to the backbone, and tough as whipcord; performing his arduous and often dangerous duties, and living his comfortless life, without a word of complaint about the many privations he has to undergo." Driving thousands of cattle hundreds of miles to market, the cowboy faced innumerable hardships, including sickness, drought, prairie fires, stampedes, raging wind, blinding hail, torrents of rain, thunder and lightning, blistering heat, freezing cold, outlaws and Indians. A cowboy's diary provides an intimate look at some of the trail's miseries; "was on my Horse the whole night & it raining hard ... There was one of our party Drowned to day ... Many Men in trouble. Horses all give out & Men refused to do anything ... Awful night ... not having had a bite to eat for 60 hours ... Oh! what a night -- Thunder Lightning & rain -- we followed our Beeves all night as they wandered about ... We Hauled cattle out of the Mud with oxen half the day ... Dark days are these to me ... Sick & discouraged. Have not got the Blues but am in Hel of a fix ... Flies was worse than I ever saw them ... weather very Hot ... one man down with Boils & one with Ague ... Found a Human skeleton on the Prairie to day." Image Size: 10 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 12.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16014)
Helmuth Stone
Oct. 04, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Hardships"
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Hardships of Emigration" Signed lower right. Original Oil on Canvas laid on Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 10c Trans-Mississippi stamp issued June 18, 1998. Traveling 15 miles a day with pack animals, 2-wheel carts or wagons, emigrant families sometimes took over four months to reach the Far West. Top-heavy covered wagons faced many risks: blowing over in strong prairie winds, being knocked over by mountain rocks, getting mired in river mud or sinking to the hubs in desert sand. On the positive side, these "prairie schooners" provided shelter from drenching rainstorms and the scorching sun as they navigated the seemingly endless seas of prairie grass. Broken wagons, putrefying mule, oxen and horse carcasses, and shallow, hastily-dug human graves littered the way west -- testament to the hardships endured by the families that preceded them. Some estimates hold that 1 of every 17 emigrants who started the journey west ended up buried alongside the trail. A mother's diary of her trip paints a vivid portrait of the daily challenges faced by emigrants. "We are creeping along slowly, one wagon after another, out of one mud hole and into another all day ... Them that eat the most breakfast eat the most sand ... It has been raining all day long. The men and boys are all soaking wet and look sad and comfortless. The little ones and myself are shut up in the wagons from the rain ... Lost one of our oxen; he dropped dead in the yoke. I could hardly help shedding tears ... I was sick all night and not able to get out of the wagon in the morning ... Yesterday my eighth child was born ... Take us all together we are a poor looking set, and all this for Oregon." Image Size: 10 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 12.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16013)
Helmuth Stone
Aug. 23, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) Cosmonautics/Gagarin
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Cosmonautics and Gagarin" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. Image Size: 14.25 x 12.75 in. Overall Size: 16.25 x 13.75 in. Unframed. (B12969)
Helmuth Stone
Aug. 23, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) Soyuz-Saluyt Docked
Est: $200 - $400
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Soyuz-Saluyt Docked" Original Watercolor painting on Paper. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 15K Link-up of Soyuz 28 and Space Station stamp issued March 25, 1978. A day after lift-off, Soyuz 28, with cosmonauts Gubarev and Remek aboard, docked with the Salyut 6-Soyuz 27 manned space station that had been orbiting for almost three months with cosmonauts Y. Romanenko and G. Grechko in control. After the docking, checks were made on the airtightness of the docking unit. Then, cosmonauts Gubarev and Remek entered the Salyut 6 station. The cordial "old residents" gave the new boys in town a traditionally hospitable welcome. The Soyuz 28 crew brought letters, newspapers, and magazines. Soon, however, the planned work fo the joint crew aboard the space station began. The experiments performed included one that studied the oxygen regimen in the tissue of a man who was in a state of weightlessness. Another measured the change in the brightness of stars when they were set behind the night horizon of Earth. Observations of Earth were also made, especially of glaciers and the snow mantle of certain areas. One day was set aside for leisure, a day when the cosmonauts summed up the results of their experiments, exercised, and prepared research reports and personal letters for dispatch to Earth. The cosmonauts actually did the work of postal workers by cancelling several letters with a "Space Mail" postmark. Image Size: 7.75 x 9.25 in. Overall Size: 9.75 x 13.25 in. Unframed. (B05908)
Helmuth Stone
Aug. 23, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Return to Earth"
Est: $200 - $400
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "'Return to Earth" Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S.S.R. 32K Return to Earth stamp issued March 24, 1978. On March 10, 1978, everything was ready to meet and greet the international crew upon its return to Earth. Airplanes and helicopters filled the air. Then, Soyuz 28 entered the atmosphere. Inside, cosmonauts Gubarev and Remek felt the g-load increase. At the mission control center, the descent trajectory of Soyuz 28 showed clearly on the central screen. The dot on the screen stopped suddenly as the vehicle began descending by parachute. The helicopters watched as the descent module made a soft landing on Soviet soil about 310 kilometers west of Tselinograd. Cosmonaut Remek was first to leave the capsule, and he was instantly embraced by friends. A few moments later, veteran cosmonaut Gubarev exited to similar exultation. Soviet scientists were especially jubilant over the success of the Soyuz 28 docking, for some experts had predicted that having both Soyuz 27 and Soyuz 28 docked to the Salyut 6 would result in a "whip" effect that would cause dynamic over-stressing of the entire complex. But their fears proved wrong, and the existence of two docking units at the station was an important step forward in speace technology. Said United States astronaut Eugene Sernan, "The Russians have entered the era of shuttle flights. They can replace crews on board a station as if they were on watch. This is a remarkable achievement. The Russians should be congratulated." Image Size: 7.75 x 9.25 in. Overall Size: 10.25 x 13.25 in. Unframed. (B05909)
Helmuth Stone
Jul. 05, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) "Mississippi Bridge"
Est: $250 - $500
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Mississippi River Bridge" Likely Eads Bridge (St. Louis). Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Canvas laid on Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the 2c Mississippi River Bridge stamp issued June 18, 1998. Famous author Mark Twain fondly reminisced about his experiences as a riverboat captain on the mighty Mississippi in Life on the Mississippi, "...the shining river, winding here and there and yonder, its sweep interrupted at intervals by clusters of wooded islands threaded by silver channels; and you have glimpses of distant villages, asleep upon capes; and of stealthy rafts slipping along in the shade of the forest walls; and of white steamers vanishing around remote points." Twain's beloved waterway meanders past many towns and cities, of which the largest is St. Louis. In the early 19th century, St. Louis served as the seat of government for the Territory of Louisiana and the Territory of Missouri. A crossroads of westward expansion and outfitting point for parties traveling the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails, the city became known as America's Gateway to the West. On August 20, 1867, engineer James Eads began constructing a triple-arch steel bridge across the Mississippi at St. Louis. On July 4, 1874, Eads Bridge officially opened amidst great fanfare and celebration. It was the world's largest bridge -- over 1,500 feet long! Eads' achievement was recognized around the world and he became the first American engineer to be awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in London. Even more important, his magnificent creation confirmed St. Louis' sobriquet by providing a reliable and economical means of transporting goods across the unpredictable waters of the Mississippi. Image Size: 10 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 12.5 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16012)
Helmuth Stone
Jul. 05, 2020
Gherman Komlev (1933 - 2000) Troops Guarding Wagon
Est: $300 - $600
Gherman Alexeyvich Komlev (Russian, 1933 - 2000) "Troops Guarding Wagon Train" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Canvas laid on Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the 8c Troops Guarding Wagon Train stamp issued June 18, 1998. Immigrants moving west constantly passed through hostile Indian lands. Because of the constant threat of attack, the United States Army was often asked to provide protection for settlers and their families. At a meeting with the Army, Hunkpapa Sioux Chief Bear Rib expressed his concerns over the emigration of settlers to traditional hunting grounds. "To whom does this land belong? I believe it belongs to me. If you ask me for a piece of land I will not give it. I cannot spare it, and I like it very much. All this country on each side of this river belongs to me, ... and if you, my brother, should ask me for it, I would not give it to you, for I like it and I hope you will listen to me." His words fell on deaf ears as settlers continued journeying to the West in increasing numbers. By the end of the 19th century, the U.S. Army had fought 24 "Indian Wars" and had participated in over 1,000 skirmishes. Even though the estimated 200,000 Indians of the Far West greatly outnumbered the 20,000 troops stationed at over 100 forts, the Indians stood no chance against the cavalry's superior firepower, supplies and tactics. One tribe after another succumbed and surrendered to be placed on reservations. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce echoed their sentiments, "Hear me, my chiefs, I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." In 1883, General William T. Sherman concluded, "I now regard the Indians as substantially eliminated from the problem of the Army." Image Size: 10 x 20.5 in. Overall Size: 12.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16011)
Helmuth Stone