Exhibition reunites artworks from Captain Scott’s final expedition – a century on

sjr81 — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 08:53:35 +0000

Visions of the Great White South opens at Bonhams in Bond Street on August 2 and uses collections from the fateful Terra Nova expedition, held by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��British Antarctic Expedition, better known by the name of its ship the Terra Nova, took place from 1910-1913. Captain Robert Falcon Scott appointed Dr Edward Wilson, a close friend and a fine watercolourist, as his chief scientist. He also invited camera artist Herbert Ponting to join the expedition as official photographer; a bold move in an era when high quality photography required great skill and careful attention in ordinary circumstances, let alone in the extreme environment of the Antarctic. Both Wilson and Ponting captured expedition life as well as keeping a visual record of scientific phenomena that the crew were studying.

Making use of the Scott Polar Research Institute’s historical collections, the exhibition will also show examples of Captain Scott’s photography from the expedition in a series of beautiful new platinum prints of his work, produced by Belgian photographic publishers Salto Ulbeek in collaboration with the Scott Polar Research Institute. Scott was taught photography by Ponting during the expedition, and, in the images he produced, the influence of both Ponting and Wilson can be discerned in the ways he captured the vast and compelling landscapes of the Antarctic.

Both Ponting and Wilson hoped to hold a joint exhibition. However, the catastrophic loss of the South Pole party including Scott and Wilson made that impossible.

Owing to the death of Dr. Wilson his pictures could never be reproduced for sale, as he had intended. His widow, therefore, considered it better that they should be exhibited separately. ̽��ֱ��whole beautiful series of his water colours was shown at the Alpine Club, whilst my photographs were exhibited at the Fine Art Society's galleries, London.

Herbert Ponting

Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, said: “It is a great privilege to hold the remarkable paintings of Edward Wilson and the striking photography of Herbert Ponting in the Scott Polar Research Institute’s historic collection. By reuniting their work in this special exhibition we are pleased to give the public the opportunity to see their works together and at their best.”

Alongside the historic artworks, visitors will have the opportunity to see contemporary interpretations of the ‘great white south’. For several years the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute, with the support of Bonhams and the Royal Navy, have run an artist-in-residence scheme which sends an artist to the Antarctic on board the icebreaker HMS Protector. Artists including Captain Scott’s grand-daughter Dafila Scott and renowned wildlife artist Darren Rees will exhibit their responses to the frozen wilds of Antarctica.

Robert Brooks, Chairman of Bonhams, said: “It is an honour for Bonhams to exhibit the art of two such extraordinarily talented and brave men and to be able to hang works together publicly for the first time ever. ̽��ֱ��Terra Nova expedition is famous, of course, for the tragic loss of Captain Scott and his companions. But its purpose was primarily scientific and Wilson and Ponting's work reminds us of the pioneering quest for knowledge that underpinned the venture."

̽��ֱ��chairman of the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute, Rear Admiral Nick Lambert, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Friends are extremely grateful for Bonhams’ and the Royal Navy’s ongoing support of the Artist in Residence Programme enabling five artists to experience and record Antarctica’s fabulous environment hosted by HMS Scott and HMS Protector over the past five years. ̽��ֱ��exhibition is a brilliant opportunity to display modern works alongside those of the Terra Nova expedition.”

̽��ֱ��Friends are also pleased to announce that this summer their first Arctic artist-in-residence will be travelling to Svalbard, with the support of One Ocean Expeditions.

A new exhibition has reunited the iconic photography of Herbert Ponting with the watercolours of Edward Wilson – more than a century after the two Antarctic explorers first dreamt up their plan for a joint exhibition.

By reuniting their work in this special exhibition we are pleased to give the public the opportunity to see their works together and at their best.

Julian Dowdeswell

Emperor penguins drawn by Dr Edward Wilson on board the Terra Nova

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Conquering the Antarctic: ̽��ֱ��Scott Centenary Concert Tour

sjr81 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:27:47 +0000

This landmark concert tour seeks to retell the inspiring human story behind this epic expedition to the South Pole through music, words and photography, and features excerpts from Vaughan Williams’ film score Scott of the Antarctic, interwoven with moving readings from Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition diary and letters read by Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville.

̽��ֱ��iconic music of Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 7 (Sinfonia Antartica) will also be performed, alongside stunning projections of expedition photographs by Herbert Ponting, now digitally restored in high definition.

At the heart of the programme is the world premiere of a new work by British composer Cecilia McDowall, entitled Seventy Degrees Below Zero. ̽��ֱ��cantata for solo voice and orchestra was inspired by a phrase written by Scott to his wife: “Dear, it is not easy to write because of the cold – 70 degrees below zero.”

Composer McDowall found “the restrained, personal writings of Scott, set against a backdrop of human endeavour and resilience in such inhospitable terrain, deeply affecting and a rich resource on which to draw.”

Featuring leading British tenor Robert Murray, the piece sets McDowall’s music to words by poet Seán Street, who uses as his inspiration entries in Scott’s expedition journals.

“Scott's journals are full of quotations from classical and Victorian poetry,” says Street. “His was a poetic, as well as a scientific journey."

̽��ֱ��tour visits Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff and Cheltenham between 3-8 February before coming to London as part of Music Nation a Countdown Event for the London 2012 Festival.

This tour is made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England, ̽��ֱ��Colwinston Trust, ̽��ֱ��RVW Trust, ̽��ֱ��Summerfield Charitable Trust and ̽��ֱ��Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust.

For full concert details visit: http://www.cls.co.uk

Tickets are available to purchase through the box offices of the individual venues.

City of London Sinfonia, in collaboration with the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), will embark on an ambitious concert tour in February to celebrate the centenary of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-12.

His was a poetic, as well as a scientific journey.

Sean Street

SPRI

Captain Scott writing his journal during the Terra Nova expedition

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̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Herbert Ponting

Exhibition reunites artworks from Captain Scott’s final expedition – a century on

Conquering the Antarctic: ̽��ֱ��Scott Centenary Concert Tour