Title: EDWARD WILSON; ARTIST OF THE ICE
2001 11 X 23 INCHES

Edward A. Wilson:
1872-1912, British explorer, artist, naturalist, doctor, ornithologist.

Dr. Edward A. Wilson was one of the great figures in the heroic age of
Antarctic exploration. As doctor and zoologist, he was a member of both Scott’s
Antarctic expeditions, Discovery , 1901-4, and Terra Nova, 1910-13. He was one
of the party that died on the return from the South Pole early in 1912.
Scott wrote of him just before he died himself, "…a brave true man, the best of
comrades and the staunchest of friends…". Wilson’s watercolor paintings and
meticulous drawings, done in the Antarctic, combine an artist’s talent for
atmosphere and impression with a scientist’s accuracy. He is considered the
foremost artist to travel to Antarctica. However, it is the man himself and the
aura that surrounded him, that gave him the greatest distinction. His courage,
his deep unobtrusive faith, his understanding and compassion, were there at
all times for others. If Scott was the brains of the two expeditions.
"Uncle Bill" Wilson was the heart.