Photography by Frank Hurley, official photographer to the Shackleton Endurance Expedition.
“Dawn After Winter”
“Endurance Frozen in the Ice 16 August”
“2 November…try & save negatives & bared from head to waist probed…the mushy ice. The cases…containing the negatives in soldered tins I located…& practically all were intact.
9 November… selected the pick of my negatives about 150 & owing to the necessary drastic reduction in weight had to break & dump about 400.” Hurley
“The Endurance beset by pack ice during the Polar Night”
“Members of the Endurance Expedition probably September 1 1915”
James Mann Wordie diary and notes.
Ernest Shackleton notes and personal items.
“About the exhibition
Honoring the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the men of the Endurance Expedition of 1914-1917, newly digitized images will reveal previously unseen details of the crew’s epic struggle for survival both before and after their ship was destroyed.
At the heart of the exhibition are more than ninety high resolution images, taken by Shackleton’s official expedition photographer Frank Hurley, and saved by him under the most extreme circumstances to provide a lasting record of the men of the Endurance and their story.
For the first time, the fragile glass plate and celluloid negatives, stored securely at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) for more than 80 years, have been digitised directly from the originals. Now viewed at full definition, the images unlock the remarkable detail captured originally by Hurley in his photographic processing, including interior images of the Endurance and high resolution information of life on the pack ice of the Weddell Sea.
As one of the first truly modern documentary photographers and film-makers, Australian born Hurley hoped to have his images seen at as large scale size as possible. 100 years later, this intention will be honored with giant dimension prints, some over 2 metres in width and height, at the heart of the exhibition, providing viewers with a sense of awe and wonder.
In addition to the newly digitized images, the exhibition will include a number of ‘precious survivors’ – personal artefacts that were carried through every stage of the successive journeys for survival from the Weddell Sea to Elephant Island and onto South Georgia. These include the Bible from the Society’s collections, originally presented to Shackleton by Queen Alexandra on visiting the Endurance on 16 July 1914 and inscribed by her.
The exhibition has been researched, written and curated by Meredith Hooper, the Antarctic historian, writer and broadcaster, from original source material in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, whilst also drawing also on information provided by descendants of some of the 28 men on the expedition.
Special thanks
Enduring Eye is kindly supported by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), with the Governments of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
The Society acknowledges the generosity of the UKAHT as lead supporter of the curation and creation of the exhibition and in contributing specialist knowledge and expertise to the exhibition as part of its role in the protection, conservation and promotion of the public understanding of the United Kingdom’s Antarctic heritage. We also thank Rolex for its support of the Society’s Picture Library and contribution toward conservation of its collections.”
We saw this exhibit at the National Library of Scotland. This exhibition continues its tour of venues across the UK.