John Wayne – Gallant Duke is an artistic depiction of this iconic movie star by American artist Mark Lewis. Mark’s work has not only garnered its own international acclaim, but it also has fascinating relevance to the cultural and political history of the United States. Mark Lewis is the 10th Great Grandson of Richard Carder, who was one of the 23 signers of the first document in American history that severed both political and religious ties with England (the Portsmouth Compact in 1636) and formed a colony that would eventually become Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Mark is also one of only a few surviving relatives (and the last in his lineage) of baseball legend Cy Young, the winningest pitcher in MLB history. Due to these unique ancestral ties to such significant members of American history, combined with Mark’s own artistic talent for painting and recreating famous photographs of Pop Culture icons, we believe that this piece is a sound investment for collectors of modern and contemporary American art.