PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT
Print Size: 20" x 20"
Image Size: 17" circle.

Print Signed & Numbered
Issue price: $65.00

Ray's framing recommendation:
1.5 inch gold moulding
Top mat: Mystic Blue
Liner: Medium Gray w/black core
Total frame size: 23" X 23"

Orders came from President George Washington to build a lighthouse at Portland Head in 1787, while Maine was still part of the colony of Massachusetts. Because the new government had little money, he instructed the builders to use local stones from the seaside and nearby fields.
A keeper's house was added later and although there have been minor changes over the years, the tower is essentially the same as originally constructed.

Portland Head light is thought to be the first one completed by the Federal Government after the American Revolution. While under construction in 1790 it was discovered that a nearby headland area was out of view of the light entirely. The building was then made taller and the light finally put in place in 1791.

Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was the site of a year long 200th Anniversary Celebration in 1991, observing the creation of the U. S. Lighthouse Service. Portland Head Light began actual operation on January 10, 1791.

Although hundreds of lighthouses dot the thousands of miles of American coastline, this picturesque location on Cape Elizabeth has endeared the Portland Head beacon to artists, photographers, and tourists for over two centuries.

My initial plan was to publish a porcelain plate of this lighthouse, hence the circular format. Portland Head Light was released as part of my America's Treasures series of prints in 1991.

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RAY DAY
ray@rayday.com