TitleThe Constitution and the Java
Artist
Carlton Theodore Chapman
(American, 1860 - 1925)
Date1914
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 32 1/4 × 48 1/4 in.
Framed: 37 1/2 × 53 5/8 × 2 in.
SignedSigned lower left: "Carlton Chapman copyright 1914"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, May 18, 1914
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number211-P
Label TextAmong Chapman's favorite subjects from the War of 1812 was the battle of the U.S.S. Constitution and the British frigate Java off the coast of Brazil on December 29, 1812. The three-hour combat was a decisive and prestigious victory not only for the captain of the Constitution, Commodore William Bainbridge, but also for the U.S. Navy as a whole. The crew of the Java experienced heavy losses, and the ship was left crippled after the battle. It is this moment of aftermath-with the British crew abandoning the Java-that Chapman depicts. The painting was reproduced in color in the May 1914 issue of Scribner's (opp. 539) as The Victory of the "Constitution" over the "Java," December 29, 1812. Chapman painted at least three other versions of the battle, two of which are in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.
