Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Wilson's Watercolors from Antarctica

Edward Wilson painting auroras in the hut
In 1910, Edward Wilson was on Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole, serving as biologist and doctor. 


He was also a watercolorist, and he produced color images of a world that was otherwise only known by black and white photos.

Wilson, Midnight
Although Wilson perished on the expedition in 1912, his watercolors were published in 1922 in a book called "The Worst Journey in the World" 

Edward Wilson, The great ice barrier
 looking east from Cape Crozier
The comment about the painting above reads: "The Great Ice Barrier is the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf that extends for hundreds of miles. It is where the glaciers that flow from the Antarctic land mass begin to float on the sea providing a cliff of ice with only very rare places where a landing is possible. These ice-cliffs prevented the early explorers of Antarctica from making landfall, they would sail for days in awe of the height and extent of the ice."
at

2 comments:

  1. Susan KrzywickiApril 8, 2020 at 4:06 PM

    Love the one called Midnight.

    To produce such beauty amidst such desperate circumstances...

    ReplyDelete
  2. RajaApril 8, 2020 at 6:19 PM

    I've read the book of an ill-fated and tragic expedition. These are remarkable watercolours. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'