This watercolor painting depicts a large four-masted vessel (a full-rigged ship or four-masted barque) sailing with full canvas spread, created in the classic style by A. De Meo, active between the late 19th and early 20th centuries—a 20th-century marine painter specializing in portraits of historic vessels and vintage sailing ships.

The name legible on the bow beneath the bowsprit is Hellesmere (or Ellesmere). In maritime terms, it is a portrait of a 19th-century commercial sailing vessel (a large square-rigged ship or barque).

The Hellesmere is one of the famous iron- or steel-hulled merchant vessels that sailed transoceanic trade routes (such as the Australian grain runs or Chilean nitrate routes) during the golden age of sail in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The artwork showcases the hull featuring characteristic “painted ports” (a black-and-white checkered pattern along the gunwales simulating gunports, a decorative style widely popular on British merchant vessels of the era) and the British Red Ensign flying at the stern.

Artist: A. DeMeo (19th–20th century)

Year: 1920

Dimensions: W 95 x H 70 cm with frame

Medium: Watercolor/gouache on paperboard