Schetky made his last visit abroad in the summer of 1861 at the age of 82. The two-week passage to Lisbon on board the steamer 'Alhambra', during which time he painted this watercolour, was a gift from the directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Schetky was 'up at five or six every morning, sketching everything along the picturesque shores of Spain and Portugal' and produced what were considered 'his best efforts in watercolours'. This example is reminiscent of the coastal views in which Schetky had instructed naval cadets during his time as a drawing master at the Naval Academy at Portsmouth earlier in the century.