Auto Pioneer H. Nelson Jackson (2013)Oil painting by Paul Cheng

Jackson would be reversing the trajectory of Americans past, and would race to get from the West back East. Immediately, he set about preparing. He hired Sewall Crocker, a bicycle racer and mechanic, as his second-in-command, and, on Crocker’s recommendation, bought a used Winton, one of the earliest brands of cars in the U.S. Its rear wheels were worn, and Jackson paid more for it than it was worth. He and Crocker took out the backseat, loaded it with tools, extra gas, and provisions, named it the Vermont, and set out from San Francisco on May 23, 1903.

They did not immediately head east, though. Jackson was not the first man to try to cross America in the car, and a previous attempt had ended in the foreboding desert east of California. Instead, Jackson drove the Winton north, through California and into Oregon, before turning right, into Idaho, where he added a third party to the car–a pitbull named Bud, who was bought for $15 and outfitted with goggles to keep the road dust out of his eyes.

Materials used:

oil

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 91.44 x 60.96 x 1.78cm (unframed) / 91.44 x 60.96cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Impressionistic
• Subject: People and portraits

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