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| Thomas Birch |
| 1779-1851 |
| European/American Artist |
| Birch was born in London, England. He came to the United States with his father in 1794 and settled in Philadelphia. During the War of 1812, the infant American Navy, to everyone's surprise, regularly defeated the supposedly invincible British fleet. Birch made his reputation with depictions of these naval battles, which were both romantically thrilling and as accurate as he could make them (details were often derived from interviews with members of the ships' crews). In one painting, Birch documented, with fine patriotic passion, the defeat of the British warship Guerriere by the USS Constitution. As the damaged Guerriere is driven up against the Constitution, the British standard sinks into the sea, and American flags wave triumphantly against a sky pink with clouds and smoke. The Constitution, nicknamed "Old Ironsides" for the virtually impenetrable oak planking of its hull, now is docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. |
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