Michael Garland (American, B. 1952) "Rebecca of Sunnybrooke Farm" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on 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 Cover for the U.S. 29c Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm stamp issued October 23, 1993. One of the most popular children's books of all time, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was written by Kate Douglas Wiggin in 1903. Born in Philadelphia in 1856, Wiggin was educated at the Abbott Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where she became intrigued with the then-new idea of kindergartens. In 1878, Wiggin helped establish the Silver Street Kindergarten in San Francisco, the first school of its kind in the West. Two years later, with the help of her sister, Nora Archibald Smith, Wiggin established the California Kindergarten Training School for teachers. Wiggin's early works, including her enormously popular The Birds' Christmas Carol published in 1887, were written with the hope of raising funds for her work in education. In addition to children's literature, Wiggin wrote several books intended for adult readers. Many of these works grew out of her frequent visits to England -- including the "Penelope" volumes which were half novel, half travelogue. This series took a lighthearted look at American novelist Henry James' theme that the innocence and exuberance of the New World (America) clashed with the wisdom and corruption of the Old (England). Although most of her children's stories are no longer in fashion, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm remains in vogue and is one of the few girls' stories to rival Louisa May Alcott's Little Women in popularity. Image Size: 14 x 12 in. Overall Size: 17 x 15 in. Unframed. (B14252)