American Museum of Natural History

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Fact Sheet

EXHIBITION	The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition
DATE	April 10 October 11, 1999
CONTENT The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition documents one of the greatest tales of survival in expedition history: Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 voyage to the Antarctic. Just one day's sail from the continent, the ship Endurance became trapped in sea ice. Frozen fast for ten months, it was crushed and destroyed by ice pressure, and the crew was forced to abandon ship. After camping on the ice for five months, Shackleton made two open-boat journeys, one of which -- a treacherous 800-mile ocean crossing to South Georgia Island in the James Caird -- is now considered one of the greatest boat journeys in history. Trekking across the mountains of South Georgia, Shackleton reached the island's remote whaling stations, organized a rescue team, and saved all of the men he had left behind. The exhibition presents more than 150 compelling photographs taken by ship photographer Frank Hurley, who documented the expedition. Hurley captured the breathtaking world of ice around him, the fortitude of Shackleton and his crew, and the majesty of their beloved ship. The photographs, printed from the original negatives and Hurley's album of prints, are displayed chronologically in the most comprehensive exhibition of Hurley's work ever presented. They are complemented by incredible film footage, rare color images, and artifacts - including diaries, personal effects, and the actual James Caird - from the journey. The exhibition also utilizes three-dimensional models, a computer interactive that allows visitors to experience the perils of open-boat navigation, and videos that examine the historic, geographic, and scientific context of the voyage.
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition is divided into the following sections: The introductory area familiarizes visitors with Sir Ernest Shackleton, James Francis "Frank" Hurley, the continent of Antarctica, and the history of its discovery. A video on the heroic age of Antarctic exploration sets the stage for the Shackleton expedition. A timeline of historic maps and photographs from the 16th through the 20th century is included, along with a model of the Endurance, and one of Frank Hurley's diaries. A large image of the Endurance trapped in the ice draws visitors into an area where Hurley's photographs of the expedition unfold with explanatory wall text, diary excerpts, and artifacts from the journey. The photographs in this area present the men's outward journey and the first encounter with the ice, as well as scenes of living on the ice, keeping busy, sledge dog pals, at home on the Endurance, and science and study. A store box and hoosh pot from the Endurance are among the artifacts found here. A large engraved plexiglass reproduction of the Endurance stands on an inlaid tile floor representing the ice around the ship. Surrounding the installation are Hurley's images of the Endurance in the ice, views of the ice, and fighting the ice. A video explains how Shackleton's ship was beset by sea ice, and its devastating effects. The next area presents Hurley's dramatic images of the break-up of the ship, the ocean camps, and being on the march. The break-up of the Endurance is highlighted by original film-footage taken by Hurley. Computer animation enhances the video to illustrate the ice pressure that crushed the ship. Next, three large screens project the rolling ocean, clouds, and the sun in a section devoted to navigation. Here visitors confront the formidable challenge Shackleton faced in sailing a small, open boat 800 miles, in 50-foot waves, with only a sextant, some charts, an unreliable chronometer, and a few sightings of the sun to guide him. Standing before the James Caird, visitors may handle interactive sextants, and with the aid of a computer program, set a course for South Georgia. The interactive allows visitors to "take a sight" of the sun, displays the course the boat would take with that sight, and compares it to Shackleton's actual course. The experience underscores the extraordinary skill of the crew and the terrible odds they faced. The actual sextant used in the crossing is also on view. Hurley's photographs of Elephant Island and of the launching of the James Caird to South Georgia Island flank the area, along with the crew's primus stove and a tartan shirt from the expedition. Photographs of the crossing and the rescue are found just beyond this section. The concluding area showcases Hurley's portraits of twenty crewmembers, along with descriptions of what they achieved after the expedition. Shackleton's life following the Endurance expedition, and his death in 1922 on South Georgia Island, are presented in a video. Ten reproductions of rare color images from the expedition, taken by an early color process called the Paget method, are also included. A final panel presents some of today's research in the Antarctic, with a look at the study of the color of ice.
ORGANIZATION	Caroline Alexander, guest curator, and Ross D. E. MacPhee, chair and curator, Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History.
PUBLICATION	The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, by Dr. Alexander. 214 pages, 143 photographs. Published by Alfred A. Knopf Publisher, New York, in association with the American Museum of Natural History. Available in bookstores nationwide for $29.95.
SPONSORSHIP	The Shackleton exhibition is made possible by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Cullman 3rd.

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