(Above) Polar Study of a Collapsed Iceberg
Exhibition: A Terrible Beauty - Edward Wilson in Antarctica 1902 – 1912, Brantwood, Coniston, until May 24 2010
Lonely figures trekking across barren ice landscapes, men enveloped in blizzards and atmospheric phenomena sending prisms of light across the sky are among the remarkable images in a new exhibition at Brantwood, John Ruskin's former home in the Lake District.
The collection of paintings and drawings are by Edward Wilson (1872-1912), who combined the roles of surgeon, scientist and artist on Captain Scott's ill-fated final expedition to the South Pole.
Looking North in McMurdo Straight
Wilson actually accompanied Scott on two expeditions to Antarctica and during a ten-year period managed to capture the terrible beauty of the Polar region in a series of paintings and sketches covering everything from Emperor penguins to the drama of man battling against the elements.
A self-taught artist and naturalist, Wilson's first journey to the South Pole was as companion to Scott and Ernest Shackleton on the Discovery Expedition of 1901. It was an eventful and dangerous journey that saw the three men cheat death by a whisker.
(Above) Mount Markham, Cape Wilson
Six years later Wilson was back as a key member of Scott's 1910 Terra Nova expedition. After helping to set up base camp he led the 1911 Winter Journey, with Henry Robertson Bowers and Apsley Cherry-Garrard, to the Emperor penguin breeding grounds at Cape Crozier to collect eggs for scientific study.
Once again Wilson and his party almost perished in the near-total darkness, numbing temperatures and unforgiving South Pole blizzards.
They made it back, exhausted and emaciated, to Cape Evans on August 1 1911, five weeks after setting off. They had managed to bring back three eggs. Cherry-Garrard later documented the trip in his best selling book, The Worst Journey in the World.
Parhelion (Mock Suns)
Wilson's final Polar journey began on November 11 1911 as part of Scott's chosen party of five.
He was one of the men who made it to the South Pole – on January 18 1912 – only to discover that Roald Amundsen and his Norwegains had made it there five weeks before them.
On September 12 1912 the frozen body of Edward Wilson was discovered alongside those of his companions, Scott and Bowers. They had died on their return, only 12 miles short of their supply depot and potential safety.
Taking Observations in a Blizzard
Wilson's surviving drawings and paintings offer a remarkably clear insight into the conditions on these legendary Polar expeditions.
In particular, his eye for the unique aerial effects of the region, as well as his studies of Emperor penguins and other fauna, mark them out as some of the finest works to evoke the stark beauty of Antarctica.
As an artist, Wilson was profoundly influenced by the writings of John Ruskin, so it is appropriate for his work to be exhibited at Brantwood.
The exhibition also marks the centenary of the departure of the Terra Nova expedition and is jointly presented by the Royal Geographical Society and the Brantwood Trust.
(Above) Three Men With a Sledge in Snow
Works have been loaned from the Royal Geographical Society, Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery and Abbot Hall, Kendal. In addition, polar clothing of the type worn by Wilson has been loaned by polar explorer Geoff Somers.
All images courtesy Brantwood
