Thomas Birch
American, born England, 1779–1851
Capture of the Tripoli by the Enterprise
INV-1201
Thomas Birch
American, born England, 1779–18511806–12
Capture of the Tripoli by the Enterprise
Thomas Birch American, born England, 1779–1851 →paintingamerican arts
Date
1806–12
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
45.1 × 65.1 cm (17 3/4 × 25 5/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Through prior acquisition of the Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection
At the turn of the 19th century, conflict arose between the United States of America and the North African Barbary State of Tripoli. President Thomas Jefferson refused to continue to pay tribute or ransom to Tripoli to prevent the pirating of American merchant ships sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. Jefferson dispatched the American ship Enterprise to the Tripolitan waters as a sign of resistance just as Tripoli increased its tribute demands and declared war against the United States. Thomas Birch, an early specialist in maritime painting, captured the battle between the Enterprise and a Tripolitan cruiser in the Mediterranean’s dark, violent waters. The break in the clouds sheds light on this conflict and illuminates Birch’s fine details and precise rendering of these ships.
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