Up for auction is an Unmatted and Unframed Limited Signed and Dated 1997 Photograph of Comet Hale-Bopp Over Mount Rushmore. It was created by Arthur Oakes, a resident of Keystone, South Dakota; taken on Kodak E-6 film and enlarged on photographic paper. It was captured by shooting the comet in the shadow of the north side of Mount Rushmore, and then reshooting the same frame with the comet back over the Four Presidents with only bright moonlight for exposure.

Comet Hale-Bopp was one of the most widely observed comets of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades. Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered the comet separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye. It was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months, due to its massive nucleus size. This is twice as long as the Great Comet of 1811, the previous record holder. Accordingly, Hale–Bopp was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997.

The two exposures on the same film were done to avoid the artificial light on the Four Presidents. The comet is as close as possible to the position as it was over the presidents, when artificial light prevented the two different exposures from occurring in the same photo. This is one of only 1000 limited prints done by Arthur and it is signed and dated.

The artist-photographer (Arthur Oakes), is also known for being responsible for keeping the lights on Mount Rushmore in December 1995 after a phone call from the White House ordered them to be shut off due to budget cuts. There is a portion of an article about Arthur, the presentation of this photograph to the USS Rushmore, and information about his campaign to "keep the lights on" Mount Rushmore." We met and worked with Arthur and his wife, Marilyn in 2012, during our first RV workamping job at their fantastic Buffalo Rock Lodge B&B outside of Keystone, SD. He was an amazing individual...and a great cook too. Sadly he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2015, but his wife has kept the lights on and the door open at their fantastic B&B (with an amazing view of Mount Rushmore too). Here's a link to an article about Arthur https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-who-paid-to-keep-mount-rushmore-lights-on-dies

This amazing treasure will head your way within 2 business days of payment in a USPS Priority Flat Rate envelope. Sorry about the cost but that's what it is these days. Thanks for looking and hopefully buying. Your purchase will help purchase gas for my trip to Alabama to visit a friend who I haven't seen in 50 years.