- Reflections of a Polar Explorer
This temporary exhibition will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks from Friday 28 October – Sunday 12 November 2011. The exhibition may be viewed in the Palatine Room at Collins Barracks and will be open Mondays* – Saturdays from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm and on Sundays from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
This loan exhibition from the Fram Museum, Oslo celebrates the centenary of the polar expedition undertaken by the celebrated Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928). Amundsen was the first person to winter in Antarctic and the first to navigate the Northwest Passage. He is most famous for being the first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911.
The exhibition consists of images taken from the lantern slides used by Amundsen in public lectures about his South Pole expedition of 1910-1912. The text panels are based on Amundsen’s own accounts of the expedition. Many of the slides were hand-coloured to enhance the entertainment value for his audiences. The slides were believed to have been lost but were re-discovered in the 1980s. They have now been restored and this exhibition offers the first opportunity for Irish visitors to re-live the expedition through contemporary accounts and images.
Amundsen’s expedition ship, the Fram, was made by the Scots-Norwegian naval architect and shipbuilder Colin Archer who also designed the Asgard used by Erskine Childers to land guns and ammunition at Howth, Co. Dublin on 26 July, 1914. The Asgard is currently undergoing conservation at the National Museum of Ireland and will open to the public in 2012.
This exhibition has been generously made available by the Royal Norwegian Embassy of Ireland.
*Please note that while the main galleries are closed on Mondays, this temporary exhibition and the Museum’s restaurant are open on Mondays.