Independence & Constitution (1951)
American Export Lines contacted Henry Dreyfuss as World War II was coming to a close to work on a trio of liners for their Mediterranean route. Funding issues postponed the project, and the focus shifted to a new Four Aces which became a testing ground of sorts for what would become the Independence and Constitution.
To help publicize the ships, a three-day art exhibition was held in the Park Lane Hotel in mid-November 1950. The ships were identical, with the main exception of the First Class Dining Room. Joe Jones created a mural of Boston Harbor for the Independence, while Lyonel Feininger's was one of a Mediterranean harbor for the Constitution.
ARTIST ROSTER
John Amore, Henry Billings, Xenia Cage, Lyonel Feininger (Constitution), Gibbs & Cox, John H. Jacoby, Joe Jones (Independence), Edmund Lewandowski, Lawrence Kupferman, Bruno Mankowski (Independence), Frank Nastasi, Getel Kahn Nastasi, Emile Norman, Polks Model Craft, Anton Refregier, Allen Saalburg, Max Spivak, Ruth Vollmer, Samuel Walker
BASIC STATS
Length: 682' | Beam: 89' | Passengers: 1,000
23,720 gross tons | Speed: 23 knots
An exaggerated, out-of-scale-with-her-surroundings image. (mc)
Joe Jones' mural of Boston Harbor in the Independence's First Class Dining Room. (mc)
An interesting attempt to make the ship more hip. It didn't last long, but it's clearly an ancestor to today's hull art, particularly that found on the ships of Norwegian Cruise Line. (mc)
An exaggerated, out-of-scale-with-her-surroundings image. (mc)