During the fall of 1916, Charles Demuth visited the island of Bermuda, staying until the spring of 1917.

[1] An artist who was greatly influenced by the Cubist and Futurist schools, Demuth spent much of his time on Bermuda painting and drawing; the drawings he rendered during this time period are considered to be his Bermuda series of works.

[2][a] Some sources describe the ship as a three-masted schooner,[2] while others note that Elsa was a two-masted bark;[3] art curator Magdalena Dabrowski notes that the description of the Elsa as a schooner stems from a 1944 art exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and that this description has led to Demuth's work being given the incorrect Schooner title.

[2] The drawing itself heavily features Demuth's Cubo-Futurist proclivities; the work is defined by multiple intersecting lines and planes, while the level form of Elsa's hull is contrasted against the triangular shape of her sails.

The Danish flag (a white cross on a red field) can be seen on the hull of the ship.