A ship’s portrait of the packet ‘Antarctic’ which was built in 1851. She was mainly used on the Liverpool to New York transatlantic route. Her name is visible on the vessel and she is shown flying the American flag. The house flag flying from the main mast probably indicates the New York shipping company Augustus Zerega & Co. Zerega & Co. who ran several trans-Atlantic lines to Liverpool, Antwerp and Glasgow in the late 1840s and early 1850s. The Red Z Line, whose flag was a blue-white-red vertical tricolour with a red Z on the centre, operated immigrant ships from Glasgow to New York from 1848 until the late 1850s. Another line, called simply the Z Line, operated immigrant ships from Antwerp to New York, 1847-1851. The Transatlantic packet ships sailed to a regular timetable and were amongst the most renowned of the pre-1850 sailing ships as well as passengers they carried gold and mail. The Transatlantic packet ships were amongst the first deep-sea sailing vessels to be affected by competition from steam-powered vessels who began to concentrate on emigrant traffic.

The painting is signed and dated 1853.