A frequent and favored subject of Clark's were the swift Yankee frigates of the early American navy. Of the five paintings by Clark on permanent display in the Peabody Museum collection in Salem, Massachusetts, three depict old ironsides, the U.S. frigate CONSTITUTION. Renowned naval architect B.B. Crowninshield was a major collector of Clark's work and he is noted for donating the bulk of the Peabbody's collection of canvases by this artist.
Although none of the ships portrayed in this painting show any identifying markings, it is almost for certain a portrait of the first squadron of "fast forty-fours", UNITED STATES, CONSTITUTION, CONSTELLATION and PRESIDENT. A major breakthrough in warship design, these swift and lethal frigates established their dominance in celebrated engagements against the Barbary pirates and later by successfully taking on the formidable British navy.
