Chris Calle (American, B. 1961) "Marshall Islands (Issued by U.S.)" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor/Pencil/Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood Maximum Card for the Republic of the Marshall Islands/U.S. Compact of Free Association stamp issued September 28, 1990. Change has been a way of life for the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Over the centuries, the people of the islands have adapted to the subtle changes in nature, but life in the last one hundred years has been much more dramatic. In the final years of the 19th century, the islands were claimed by Germany and governed by that faraway country for over two decades. By the end of the First World War a new government had laid claim to the islands: Japan. Held for three decades by Japan, the islands were liberated by U. S. forces in World War II, and were designated a United Nations Trust Territory in 1947. Under this umbrella, the Marshall Islands moved to a much-desired independence. Today, after more than one hundred years of dealing with one distant government after another, the people of the Marshall Islands are in control of their own destiny. The first of many important steps was taken in that direction in 1979, when the Marshallese adopted a constitution. In 1982, the people signed an agreement, called the Compact of Free Association, which envisioned complete self-government. The compact came into force when the Trust Territory was dissolved in 1986 and the Marshall Islands became independent. The people of the islands elected a thirty-three member parliament, called the Nitijela, to oversee matters on the islands. The parliament, in turn, elected a president. Image Size: 13.75 x 19.75 in. Overall Size: 19.25 x 23.25 in. Unframed. (B12604)