HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Andrew Sabori, at right, and assistant Angelique Steffanelli look over one of the 19 panels of a mural on which they have begun work. RELATED STORIES Laning was a prominent mural painter PHOTO: LOOKING BACK... LITERALLY Advertisement

When Andrew Sabori took a trip to Ellis Island six years ago to research his ancestry, the Pahrump artist had no idea he would come home with an idea for a project that could both salute his forefathers and inspire a younger generation of painters at the same time.

That's exactly what happened, though.

Sabori -- whose depiction of Pahrump's founding residents covers the outer wall of the Nye County School District office -- recently began work on a 19-panel portrayal of the historical contributions of America's immigrant population.

The work is a reproduction of New Deal-era artist Edward Laning's "The Role of the Immigrant in the Industrial Development of America."

Each of the panels making up the mural will be about 60 inches long and 52 inches high, said Sabori, who is four panels into the project.

The completed portion depicts a group of immigrants constructing a railroad.

Other parts will show immigrants logging, mining, working in a steel mill and getting off a boat at Ellis Island, the historical immigrant processing facility where Sabori got his inspiration.

Mostly destroyed in a storm years ago, the original painting only survives through a few leftover panels displayed in a New York courthouse and a couple of hard-to-find photographs, according to Sabori.

"On this project, there were months of gathering information," said Sabori, who twice went to New York "so I would know what I was doing."

Laning's painting was completed in the 1930s under the auspices of the Work Progress Administration, a New Deal agency. According to Sabori, Laning and his helpers received $23 a week combined while working on the piece.

Sabori, who is financing this project himself, said he recently spoke with Laning's widow.

"She's tickled pink because her husband is finally going to get the recognition he deserved," he said.

As for Sabori, recognition is one of the last things on his mind.

More important to him is the chance that the painting could get local youth interested in art.

"I basically want it as a teaching tool, because there's no art here" in Pahrump, he explained. "Maybe this will spur some interest."

To help accomplish that goal, Sabori plans to actually enlist young artists to help finish the painting.

A couple of weeks ago, the artist recruited the help of Angelique Stefanelli, 19, an aspiring actress.

The two met at an art event. Sharing similar backgrounds -- both are Sicilian and have ancestors who went through Ellis -- they soon began talking about art and decided to collaborate.

Helping to complete the painting will be Stefanelli's first major experience with the medium.

"I enjoyed drawing, just on the side, whenever I had a chance, as a hobby," she said, "but when I heard the stories that Andrew was talking about ... I just thought it would be interesting to dabble in it and gain knowledge."

Stefanelli also was inspired by the painting's historical background and how it relates to her own heritage.

"My great-grandparents came over from Sicily and came through Ellis Island, so that was intriguing to me," she said.

Other young artists are expected to contribute, too.

After outlining the individual panels, Sabori plans to bring sections to Pahrump Valley High School, where he'll instruct art students as they contribute.

Sabori expects the project to take another eight months. He hasn't yet decided where the finished product will go first.

The artist said he's been in talks with the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress and Ellis Island, which now houses a museum.