The Constitution and the Guerriere (Soft Version) Poster

The Constitution and the Guerriere ca. 1845 is a painting by Thomas Chambers. Born in England, Chambers worked in the United States as a prolific marine, landscape, and “fancy” painter between 1832 and about 1866. In the 1930s and 1940s, with the discovery of the Museum’s signed painting, Chambers emerged as a folk original, embraced posthumously by modern art enthusiasts as the “American Rousseau.” Here, Chambers focused his attention on a well-known marine battle in the War of 1812 featuring the U.S.S. Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides. Basing his composition on an engraving by Cornelius Tiebout after a painting by Thomas Birch, he took certain liberties with his source, advancing the action and showing the British ship, H.M.S. Guerrière, with all its masts broken. Although this artwork is digitally restored, the cracks and the fine lines are left intact on this painting to honour the time this painting emerged from. The soft version has lesser cracks and fine lines compared to the vibrant version.