NOTE: Thomas Chambers was the younger brother of the English marine-painter George Chambers. Thomas immigrated to the United States in 1832, landing in New Orleans, Louisiana, before moving to New York City in 1834. Bold color and brushwork, combined with the use of simple outline and two-dimensional forms, distinguish the work of the artist. Chambers' self-description as a fancy painter links him to other fine artists in the period, who often learned their trade insign-painting workshops, and who composed similar imaginative subjects.

Chambers painted U.S.S. Constitution in New York Harbor in 1835. The frigate's figurehead, a life-sized representation of President Andrew Jackson, was installed on the vessel at the Boston Navy Yard in the spring of 1834 amid a storm of controversy. Constitution called briefly in New York harbor in March 1835 en route to Le Havre to bring home our minister to France. She returned to New York in June before departing on a voyage around the world which took three years to complete.