English: BPLDC no.: 09_03_000072

Subtitle: Frigates, Constitution and Boston

Creator: King, Frederic Leonard (American painter and illustrator, 1879-1947)

Date created: 1934-1935

General format: oil on canvas

BPL Department: Special Collections, East Boston Branch Library

Dimensions: visible image 22 ½ x 57 in., framed 25 ½ x 60 in.

Description: "Old Ironsides," as the Constitution is affectionately called because her wooden walls were so hard to pierce, was launched at the Boston Navy Yard in 1797. She carried 52 guns and was considered the finest example of shipbuilding of the day. She was used during the War of 1812. The Constitution is still afloat in Boston Harbor. She has been rebuilt so often that not more than 15 of the original timbers remain.

Notes: The description above was written in 1935. Ships Through the Ages, originally four murals painted by Frederic Leonard King between 1934 and 1935, was commissioned as part of the Public Works Art Project for the Jeffries Point Branch of the Boston Public Library. In 1956, the Jeffries Point Branch closed, and each mural was divided into multiple paintings and relocated to the East Boston Branch Library where they are currently on display; however, several sections of the murals are missing.