Ivan Akimovich Sushchenko (Russian, B. 1930) "Western Mining Prospector" Signed lower right. Original Oil on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the 50c Western Mining Prospector stamp issued June 18, 1998. On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California. Although many people were skeptical of the news of the discovery, President James Polk's opening message to Congress in December laid their doubts to rest. He declared, "The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by authentic reports." Struck with gold fever, hundreds of thousands of Americans and foreigners journeyed to the Far West in search of their fortune. Within four years of the discovery of gold, California's population had swollen from 14,000 to more than 250,000! In 1859, gold was again discovered -- this time in Colorado, followed by finds in Montana in 1863, South Dakota in 1876 and Arizona in 1877. Each new discovery led to boomtowns springing up overnight across the West. A prospector foresaw the outcome of the gold rushes, writing, "As the discovery of gold in the mountains of California was the forerunner of an immense emigration, and the immediate cause of the erection of a new and powerful state upon the Pacific coast, so the recent discovery of the precious metal in and around the vast 'mother range' of our mountain system, is destined to exert an incalculable influence upon the growth and prosperity of the country. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts, instead of being, as they are now, divided countries, will become parts of a compact whole, joined and cemented together by bonds of mutual interest." Image Size: 10 x 20.25 in. Overall Size: 12.5 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B16007) See More