The steamer Panther, specially built for Arctic navigation, was commanded by Captain John Bartlett. The expedition, solely for the purposes of art, left St John’s, Newfoundland, on 3 July 1869 flying the U.S. flag, and returned on 3 October. Melville Bay is a coastline of nearly 250 miles from Wilcox Point to Cape York on the north-west coast of Greenland. Bradford sketched the midnight sun and the amazing scenery along the coast. The kinds of hazards the expedition faced are recorded in the painting. The artist noted that the picture depicted a moment ‘when the steamer came near to being lost by being forced on the Icebergs by pressure of the field of ice... ‘. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875. Signed and dated: Wm Bradford / N.Y. 73. Inscribed on the back with the name of the artist, the subject and the date. 1873.