Ed Vebell (American, 1921 - 2018) "Opening of Erie Canal" Signed lower right. Original Acrylic painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This artwork was originally published on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for Epic Events in American History series issued in 1985. For decades, Virginia and Pennsylvania had dreamed of a westward canal that would provide access to the lucrative markets of the east coast. However, the rugged reality of the Appalachians stood ominously astride their path. It seemed that New York state alone -- with its Mohawk Valley -- held the key to East-West water access. In 1817, after years of wrangling to secure federal funds, New York took up the monumental project on her own with Governor DeWitt Clinton at the helm. No state had ever attempted such an effort and the ensuing years proved to be long, laborious ones as the canal slowly grew at the rate of one mile a week. It would be difficult to imagine a modern day project that could equal the magnitude of the Erie Canal construction. In any case, it remains the greatest engineering feat that had to that date been undertaken in North America, a prodigious man-made waterway linking the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Erie. On October 26, 1825, Governor Clinton proudly opened the 363-mile, seven million dollar canal. A few days later, by ceremoniously pouring a keg of Lake Erie's water into the Atlantic, he symbolically opened the floodgates of East-West commerce in America. Soon it became apparent that "Clinton's Wonder," the grand Erie Canal, had quickened the American economic consciousness and become a national accomplishment. Image Size: 19.75 x 21 in. Overall Size: 26 x 26.5 in. Unframed. (B06638) See More