Gateway to America

Franklin Mint Plate Collectable

Original Oil Painting on Illustration Board
- Franklin Mint Collection
- Not available for printing

Immigration has been the foundation of our country, it has made it so great, so different than most other countries. This painting was one in a series of plates I painted for the Franklin Mint, about Ellis Island with the Statue of Liberty in the background. I hired models, had them wear the clothing style immigrants wore in 1900. They were motivated to exhibit both pride and hope for a better life, concern and yet the fear of possibly being turned back.