Ed Vebell (American, 1921 - 2018) "Daniel Boone" Signed lower right. Original Acrylic painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for Epic Events in American History series issued in 1985. Not by any means the first person to settle in the Kentucky country, nor to cross through the famed Cumberland Gap, Daniel Boone nevertheless lives on as a symbol of the individualism of the American pioneer. Born in Pennsylvania in 1734, Boone lived a long and adventurous life. He served in Braddock's ill-fated campaign of 1755. A decade later, flouting (as did many pioneers) a Royal Proclamation which closed the west to settlement, he made his first foray into the Kentucky wilderness. After a protracted journey to the new lands in 1769-1771, he became an agent of Richard Henderson's Transylvania Company and in that capacity marked out the "Wilderness Road" and established a settlement, appropriately named Boonesboro, on the banks of the Kentucky. Captured by the fierce Shawnees in 1778, he escaped in time to warn Boonesboro of impending attack and to command the defense of his settlement. This, more than any other action, helped make him a folk hero in his own time. In 1788, hankering after a new wilderness, Boone moved to what is now West Virginia. From there he was sent east to Williamsburg as a delegate to the Virginia legislature. In 1798, the improper filing of his claims forced him to forfeit all of his Kentucky lands. Disillusioned he moved even further west, into the Louisiana Territory, where a grateful Congress rewarded him with a land grant. There he lived until 1820, a legend during his life, honored for his courage and contributions to the new nation. Image Size: 20 x 21 in. Overall Size: 24 x 26.75 in. Unframed. (B05376) See More