Hayes trained at Kildare School of Art, Dublin, before going to sea to gain a better understanding of how to paint boats. He exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, throughout his life, and after he moved to London in 1852, at the Royal Academy and New Watercolour Society, as well as the New and Grosvenor Galleries.
This watercolour was a gift from the artist to Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.