Dennis Lyall (American, B. 1946) "The Great White Fleet Sails 1907" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Canvas board.
Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
This painting was published on the Fleetwood Old Glory's Proudest Moments Cover postmarked December 16, 2002.
On December 16, 1907, celebration was in the air at Hampton Roads, Virginia. At 10:00 a.m., President Theodore Roosevelt tugged on a halyard and tightly-wrapped cloth bundles at the ship's yardarm broke open into brilliantly-colored signal flags. Sixteen of America's proudest battleships, immaculately painted in white to symbolize peace and manned by 14,000 sailors, began a 43,347-mile voyage around the world. To the people watching, many of whom could remember warships with sails and muzzleloading cannon, the double line that stretched from Ft. Munroe to the open sea two miles away was a proud vision of modern technology. To Roosevelt, the ships and their mission were symbol and substance of America's proclamation that she was now assuming a broader obligation toward maintaining world peace than ever before. Influenced by sea- power proponent Alfred Thayer Mahan, Roosevelt wanted America's navy to show the flag around the world both as a symbol of goodwill and an assertion of America's proper role as a world sea power. The voyage of the Great White Fleet, as it came to be known, was an example of unabashed "Big Stick Diplomacy." For Roosevelt it was the fulfillment of a dream he had as Assistant Secretary of the Navy: to rebuild America's neglected navy into one second only to that of Great Britain. On February 22, 1909, Roosevelt welcomed the Great White Fleet home to Hampton Roads, his point made to the world, his support earned from the American people.
Image Size: 15 x 12.75 in.
Overall Size: 18.5 x 16 in.
Unframed. (B17043)
Condition
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