Charles J Lundgren (New York, Connecticut, 1911 - 1988) "La Grande Hermine Sailing Ship" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 20c Roanoke Voyages stamp issued July 13, 1984. On the morning of May 19, 1535, the first rays of sunlight to creep over the La Grande Hermine. Below, on the decks of "the big weasel," Jacques Cartier and his crew busily readied for the long voyage across the Atlantic. Charged by King Francis I of France to explore the region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Jacques Cartier was experienced and prepared for this trip, for a year before he had voyaged to Canada and explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence. La Grande Hermine, accompanied by two other ships and weathering foggy seas, took over a month and a half to cross the Atlantic. Reaching the New World at the coast of Labrador, Cartier sailed south, through the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and the continent, and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Then he turned the La Grande Hermine west and started up the St. Lawrence River. Following the river as far as it would take him, he set up camp for the winter. Cartier named the mountain there Mont Royal, which later came to be known as Montreal. The crew enjoyed the hospitality of the Huron Indians through the harsh Canadian winter. Cartier wrote, "All our beverages froze in their casks. And on board our ships, below the hatches as on deck, lay four fingers' breadth of ice." After the winter, the La Grande Hermine sailed for home. Cartier discovered and explored the St. Lawrence River, made an intelligent estimate of the resources of Canada and became friends with many of the Indian tribes of the area. Image Size: 20.5 x 19 in. Overall Size: 26 x 24 in. Unframed. (B08931)