The power of the transatlantic liner ADRIATIC matched head-on against the turbulent Atlantic Ocean marks this work by greenwood as a classic. Crewmen on deck perform their duties while the passengers are bunked in berths, saloon and smoking rooms away from the weather. ADRIATIC was launched on Oct. 17, 1871 and by May had earned the Blue Riband for fastest westbound passage, wresting the record from Cunard's SCOTIA with a 7 day, 23 hour passage from Queenstown to New York. SCOTIA had held the record for more than six years.

Built by Harland and Wolff of Belfast in 1871, ADRIATIC measured 437'2" in hull length with a beam of 40'10". The main mast raised to a height of 150' above the deck. A single screw propelled her, and the 50 first-class, 50 second-class and 800 steerage passengers she was capable of carrying. She was the ninth ship of the line, and ran for 28 years, ten years longer than many comparable ships, including her sister CELTIC. Her record was so outstanding that White Star named another grand liner after her in 1907.

The difficult conditions faced in Atlantic crossings required an adaptable rig. Here Greenwood shows ADRIATIC's fore-and-aft sail aloft, possible not as an aid to her four-cylinder steam engine's 600-hp output, but to help stabilize the roll and pitch of the hull in the face of a steady breeze. She is obviously outpacing the traditional ship off her starboard forward quarter. Greenwood possibly painted this fine work as a direct commission, either from her White Star Line owners, or as a passenger's remembrance.