24 November 2011

Arctic photography exhibition at University

Image: 'Eskimos going aboard the Eclipse' by Alexander Rodger, 1894 (courtesy of Dundee Art Galleries & Museums)

An exhibition of photographs taken by naturalists during expeditions to the Arctic in the late-19th century will open at the University of Dundee on Saturday.

Alexander Rodger and David Dickson undertook three missions to the Arctic between 1892 and 1894 at the behest of Professor D’Arcy Thompson, who asked them to collect specimens for his Zoology Museum at what was then University College, Dundee.

They also took photographic equipment with them, and managed to capture some fascinating shots of life among the whalers and the native people of some of the northernmost settlements on Earth.

Drawn from three separate collections, these photographs have been brought together for the first time for an exhibition at the Tower Foyer Gallery.

Image: 'Seal in Boatswain's Arms' by David Dickson, 1894 (courtesy of Perth Museum & Art Gallery)

The exhibition has been created by the University of Dundee Museum Services in partnership with the University of St Andrews School of Art History, the University of St Andrews Library Special Collections, Dundee Art Galleries & Museums and Perth Museum & Art Gallery.

Curator Matthew Jarron explained, 'For much of the 19th century, Dundee was the European capital of the whaling industry, with up to 15 ships sailing from Dundee to the Arctic every year.

'D'Arcy Thompson realised the potential for acquiring unique collections for his Zoology Museum, and sent his assistant, Alexander Rodger, and one of his students, David Dickson, on three separate whaling voyages in 1892 and 1894.

'Rodger later accompanied D’Arcy as official photographer on his own epic expedition to the Bering Sea in 1897, and some of these images are also included in the exhibition, along with numerous fascinating specimens acquired for the museum.'

The exhibition is on show in the University Tower Building from Saturday, 26th November until Thursday, 26th January (closed during University holidays between 23rd December and 3rd January).

For further information contact 01382 384310 or museum@dundee.ac.uk.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277