American Export Lines Ocean Liner / Cruise Ship SS Constitution Painting Art Print by Marine Artist Robert Lloyd

Designed by Henry Dreyfuss, SS Constitution would become one of the most profitable ships of the post war era. Variously described by commentators past and present as one of the most beautiful, elegant and graceful ships ever built, she was constructed at the Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Launched on 16 September 1950, her maiden voyage commenced on 25 June 1951. Along with her sister, Independence, she gave American Export Lines two of the finest ships afloat, carrying exactly 1000 passengers as first designed and around 1150 after her 1959 refit.

From her maiden voyage, SS Constitution captured the hearts and minds of the American public and this was re-inforced through her use in numerous films and television series, including the Cary Grant film "An Affair to Remember" and "I Love Lucy".

She became the sweetheart of the American public when she took Grace Kelly to Monaco to become Princess Grace. With the reduction in Atlantic traffic, most American Export Lines were converted to cruising, especially in the lucrative Mediterranean market.

She was laid up for a number of years before being refitted and going cruising again from 1980. By 1997, the ship was showing her age and with new regulations coming she was sold to an Asian concern. On being to towed to the Far-East she began taking on water and sank.

In Marine Artist Robert Lloyd's Marine Ocean Liner Painting, SS Constitution is seen on her sea trials.