Researchers Stumble Upon a Rare 118-Year-Old Painting Made by an Antarctic Explorer
Turns out, the frozen landscapes of Antarctica preserve some rich history of ancient explorers. In a grand discovery, a team of conservationists has uncovered a brilliant watercolor painting of a small bird over 118 years old in a pile of penguin poo in Antarctica. Dr. Edward Wilson, a historic South Pole explorer, had created the painting but not during one of his travels to Antarctica, the researchers noted, as reported by The Guardian. The painting was labeled 1899 Tree Creeper, inspired by the bird in the painting typically found in the forest and woodland habitats. Wilson, a scientist and doctor, died in 1912 while on his return trip from the South Pole, along with Captain Robert Scott and three other crew members. While he never made it back home, his painting has remained frozen in time.
In an age-old historic hut in Cape Adare, built during Norwegian explorer Carsten Borchgrevink’s 1899 expedition, the painting was found hidden under a pile of penguin droppings. Trust conservator Josefin Bergmark-Jimenez of the Antarctic Heritage Trust was sure there was nothing of interest in the bunk when she opened it in November 2015. Soon, she was taken aback at the first sight of the vibrant watercolor painting. “I opened it and there was this gorgeous painting ... I got such a fright that I jumped and shut the portfolio again,” she continued. “I then took the painting out and couldn’t stop looking at it – the colors, the vibrancy, it is such a beautiful piece of work. I couldn’t believe it was there.” It was stacked under a pile of miscellaneous papers locked in a bunk at the hut.
Initially, the researchers were unaware of the identity of the painter but speculated it had to be from Borchgrevink’s early expedition or Wilson’s Scott expedition that began in 1911. Wilson and his crew also took shelter in the Antarctic huts. Bergmark-Jimenez concluded that Wilson was the artist only after she attended a lecture on him at Canterbury University in New Zealand. Historic records of Wilson’s unique handwriting gave it away. The mystery of the painter was finally solved, although, the question of how it got there in a poo-laden hut in Antarctica was yet to be figured out.
“It’s likely that Wilson painted it while he was recovering from tuberculosis in Europe,” said Lizzie Meek, the trust’s program manager for artifact conservation. Wilson had famously visited Lyttleton, near Christchurch in New Zealand, an ideal location for spotting treecreepers. This is where he had probably painted the bird using watercolors, which remained preserved for over a century as it was tightly packed in dark and cold storage conditions. If not, watercolors perish with prolonged exposure to light.
Meek further theorized that Wilson took the painting with him to Antarctica in one of his expeditions, likely in 1911, and “somehow made its way from Cape Evans to Cape Adare.” The discovery comes as part of the trust’s bigger mission of restoring 1,500 artifacts from the two huts in Cape Adare. Wilson’s watercolor painting was kept confidential until the team restored all the other artifacts. The official YouTube channel for Antarctic Heritage (@AntarcticHeritage) shared a documented video of their restoration efforts showing Meek who was tasked with packaging all the 1,500 artifacts to bring back to New Zealand for conservation at the Canterbury Museum. The conservationists explored the huts and stayed on location for about two weeks before returning.