Listed Artist Shannon Stirnweis (b. 1931) Signed Portrait Of Sen. Edmund Muskie

Description: Winner receives a signed gouache illustration by well listed American artist Shannon Stirnweis (b. 1931). The illustration depicts an unfinished portrait sketch of Senator Edmund Muskie. Edmund Muskie (1914-1996) was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, a United States Senator from Maine from 1959 to 1980, the 64th Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, and a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1946 to 1951. He was the Democratic Party's candidate for Vice President of the United States in the 1968 presidential election, alongside Hubert Humphrey. Born in Rumford, Maine to Polish parents, Muskie graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, and Cornell University in Ithaca. He worked as a lawyer for two years before serving in the United States Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Upon his return, Muskie served in the Maine State Legislature from 1946 to 1951 against heavy Republican opposition. Despite an unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty of Waterville, he was elected the 64th Governor of Maine in an upset victory as its first Roman Catholic in 1954. Although elected as a reform Governor, Muskie split from his mandate; he amended its constitution multiple times to consolidate power, suspended the "as Maine goes, so goes the nation" doctrine, pressed aggressive economic expansionism and instated strict environmental provisions. Muskie's actions severed a nearly 100-year Republican stronghold and led to the political insurgency of the Maine Democrats. He used his increased public presence to gain a seat in the United States Senate representing his home state. His legislative work during his career as a Senator facilitated a vast expansion of modern liberalism in the United States. He fathered the 1960s environmental movement which culminated in the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970 and Clean Water Act of 1972, hallmarks of international environmental policy. A supporter of the civil rights movement, Muskie rallied support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and tapered Richard Nixon's "Imperial Presidency" by advancing New Federalism. Muskie ran with Humphrey against Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, only to lose by 0.7 percentage points – one of the narrowest margins in U.S. history. He would go on to run in the 1972 presidential election where he secured 1.84 million votes in the primaries coming in fourth out of 15 contesters. The release of the controversial "Canuck letter" derailed his campaign and sullied his public image with Americans of French-Canadian descent. After the election, he returned to the Senate where he gave the 1976 State of the Union Response. Muskie served as first chairman of the new Senate Budget Committee from 1975 to 1980 where he established the United States budget process. Upon his retirement from the Senate, Carter nominated him to serve as the 58th U.S. Secretary of State; he was confirmed to take office by a margin of 94-2. Assuming the office in the middle of a series of violent international conflicts, his most notable success as secretary came when his department negotiated the release of 52 Americans concluding the Iran hostage crisis. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Carter in 1981 and has been honored with a public holiday in Maine since 1987. This piece has provenance from the estate of the artist. Being sold unframed, the piece is in excellent condition with minor edge wear. The piece is taped to a mat, but the mat would need to be replaced. We only included it so you can see the artist's notes on the bottom. The painting itself measures roughly 6.25" x 11.25". Below is some information about the artist. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have prior to bidding or making an offer. Thank you for checking out our listing. In 1931 Shannon Stirnweis was born in the city Portland, Oregon when the squeeze of the Great Depression was just beginning to be felt. Growing up Shannon was an active participant in the sports of his community up into High School where he competed in the Golden Gloves of boxing, as a starting guard on his high school's football, and placed third in the shot put of all city track meet. Following high School Shannon briefly attending the University of Oregon for a year before Shannon transferred to the original Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where he attained a school scholarship and graduated with Distinction in 1954. Following univeristy, Shannon served two years as a Army Illustrator in Germany. Where in his spare time he was able to paint more than thirty portraits of officers and troops that helped pay for the camera that allowed Shannon to place third in an all army photography show. On his return trip to the U.S. found that the demand for artists in Western Galleries to be negligible at best, while in the East the market illustrators was doing quite well in cities like Detroit and New York City. Choosing New York City, Shannon worked for a Madison Ave Advertising Agency for two years as a sketchman, then started interior black and white illustrations for men's adventure magazines, gradually doing color covers for their magazines. Shannon then progressed to the slick (paper) magazines working for Argosy, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Boy's Life, Reader's Digest, Show, Popular Mechanics, Time, American Legion, Guidepost and others. At the same time he worked for advertising clients in a variety of areas such as medical, stamps, movies, and industrial illustrations. He didn't neglect the Book field. Shannon illustrated many paperback covers. Working for almost all of the paperback publishers in N.Y.C. He illustrated over 35 children's books, along with writing and illustrating three books for the Grumbacher Library. The Art of Painting the Dog, The Art of Painting the Cat and The Art of Painting the Wild West. All of our items have been stored in a temperature controlled environment with no pets or smoking allowed. We strive to provide a wide array of artwork, antiques, and collectibles for everyone from the casual collector to other gallery owners. Whether you are a collector or a reseller, we will always try to work with you to the best of our ability to sell you the item you are interested in. We are always adding new treasures to our collection so please feel free to make an offer, as we constantly are turning over our inventory and need to free space up for our newest finds. We will never decline or ignore an offer. 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Price: 95 USD

Location: Hudson, New York

End Time: 2024-11-24T22:54:52.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD