#george back

Oh well. Few months ago, someone Zelda posted the painting of HMS Terror in Twitter, which I'd never seen before. The painting was simple but, for some reason, it caught my eye. I, first, thought, that it displays the Ross Antarctic Expedition, and had an urge to draw a studying copy... Well, I really thought, that somewhere there are Ross, Crozier and Jopson =D Here it is!

Then I realized, that I know NOTHING about this painting. Well, there is a signature in the corner. It says: 'H.M.S. Terror at 10 P.M. March 15 1837 O.S.' That's why I thought it's Ross Expedition. But who is O.S.? Where is this painting? What is it's name? Oh man. To find it out was quite a journey. First, I learned it's in Hubert Sagnières' private collection and the only place it's printed is his book 'For Glory, Not Gold: Expeditions Through Arctic Lands 1818-1876'. Then, with a significant help of Tanya @jolftashi, I realized that I was incorrect, the painting depicts not Ross, but Back Expedition, the certain moment when The Terror was hit by the iceberg at 15 March of 1837. The moment is described in George Back's book 'Narrative of an Expedition in H.M.S. Terror, undertaken with a view to geographical discovery on the Arctic shores, in the years 1836-7', Back, George, Sir., chap.V. Tanya also found the name of the mysterious O.S. and it is Owen Stanley, Second Lieutenant! He, actually, did a lot of sketches, which are collected to the sketchbook of his and can be found here: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138502863/view Later, Zelda approved his name <3 Here, I would like to post the original painting. Because, well. That was quite a story. The man deserves at least his name put at the same place with his watercolor!

POLAR OUTTAKES of the NAUTICAL MAGAZINE & NAVAL CHRONICLE for 1832 to 1839.

on arctonauts!

'Position of H.M.S. Terror on the 22nd Feb 1837. Frost-smoke in the distance': after a drawing by first lieutenant William Smyth in Narrative of an Expedition in H.M.S. Terror, Undertaken with a View to Geographical Discovery on the Arctic Shores, in the Years 1836-7, by Sir George Back (full text on Archive.org).

A man with a sextant takes a reading in front of the beset Terror.

George Back – Scientist of the Day

George Back, an officer in the British Royal Navy, was born Nov 6, 1777.