Gene Boyer (American, 20th C.) "Martin Luther King, Jr." Signed and dated lower right. Original Acrylic painting on Cold Press Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day of Issue Proofcard for the 15c Martin Luther King, Jr. stamp issued on January 13, 1979. "Violence is not only morally repugnant, it is pragmatically barren." With these words, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, planted the seed of an idea that would become his lifelong dream. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, where this Proofcard was issued, Dr. King graduated from Morehouse College, and then completed advanced studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, and at Boston University. Like his father and maternal grandfather, he had planned to be a Baptist minister. Yet, his approach to religion was unique. He believed that the church was not defined by the outer walls of a building or Bible studies alone; but that the economical, social and even political needs of all people were within the scope of his personal responsibility. Racial violence in the decade between the mid-fifties and sixties mapped out his ministry for him. King insisted that nonviolence was the only way to effect a lasting change. In 1954 he led a boycott of the Birmingham, Alabama, transit system to force desegregation. His continued nonviolent protest activities drew more and more participants resulting in the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in Civil Rights. He had a dream and gave it substance, creating a ministry that spans the continents. Image Size: 11.5 x 10 in. Overall Size: 18.5 x 17 in. Unframed. (B05984)