Charles J Lundgren (New York, Connecticut, 1911 - 1988) "Modern Icebreaker - Louis S. St. Laurent" Signed lower left. Original Oil Painting on Masonite. 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 Canadian 14c Labrador stamp issued November 15, 1978. Schooner-rigged ships built with oak hulls thick enough to withstand the tremendous pressures of ice once forged a wake into the remote channels of the Canadian north. Skippered by men of dauntless strength and skill, these early ice vessels often pushed back the frozen frontier and accomplished the impossible. Today, even greater accomplishments are possible as armor-clad icebreakers charge and smash their way through ten feet of ice pack, opening important waterways like the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system in the winter, and the Arctic channels in the summer. The largest Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker is the steel giant, Louis S. St. Laurent, named after a distinguished Canadian Prime Minister. The St. Laurent is 366 feet long and equipped with enough turboelectric drive to muscle her way through the viselike grip of the ice pack. When challenged, she rides up onto the ice pack using the ship's weight as the force behind the driving wedge of the bow. Many icebreakers are built with enormous holding tanks so that in the event they should become locked in ice, water is taken aboard and then pumped out alternately from the bow and stern; a violent movement that rocks the icebreaker and releases it from the ice. Canada's fleet of icebreakers has opened a new era in the exploration of the Arctic, and in the development of Canada's inaccessible northern areas where mining projects are underway. Image Size: 19 x 20 in. Overall Size: 22 x 26 in. Unframed. (B06163)