Dennis Lyall (American, B. 1946) "American Shoals Lighthouse" Signed lower right. Oil on Canvas. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This artwork originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day of Issue Maximum Card for the U.S. 25c American Shoals stamp issued April 26, 1990. The American Shoals Lighthouse stands in solitude with its feet in the sea, and is visible from the Overseas Highway at Saddlebunch Keys. Oblivious to the onslaught of waves even after the passage of over one hundred years, the lighthouse blinks its staccato warning of dangerous reefs to give mariners their bearings in a seascape that can appear as foreign as the surface of a planet from another galaxy when blanketed in darkness. As early as 1851, plans were in the works for a series of great offshore lighthouses like American Shoals to mark the reefs which lurk perilously silent in Florida's waters. These towers, all of skeleton iron construction to help them withstand the hurricane's fury, were built one at a time over a period of almost thirty years. American Shoals, the last of the series, was completed in 1880. The ironwork for this tower was fabricated in the north and, along with other necessities, shipped to Key West, the base of the operation. The site of the lighthouse itself was fifteen miles to the east of the key in four feet of water on Florida's outermost reefs. It was first lighted on the night of July 15, 1880, and the American Shoals Lighthouse has since helped to significantly reduce the number of shipwrecks along this treacherous coastline. Today, this tower is just the sort of vintage lighthouse that The Lighthouse Preservation Society seeks to save for the future. Image Size: 12.5 x 17.5 in. Overall Size: 14 x 19.5 in. Unframed. (B12269)