Arctic Artist: The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman With Franklin, 1819-1822 (Rupert's Land Record Society Series) [Hardcover]

George Back (Author), I. S. Maclaren (Author), C. Stuart Houston (Author, Editor), Rupert's Land Record Society (Corporate Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994 | ISBN-10: 0773511814 | ISBN-13: 978-0773511811 | Edition: First Edition

"Arctic Artist" is the liveliest and most complete account of Sir John Franklin's tragic first expedition to the Arctic. George Back's prose captures the drama of the journey, while his superb watercolour sketches reveal the beauty and wonder of this northern land. Published for the first time, this is the complete text of Back's journal. "Arctic Artist" completes Stuart Houston's trilogy of the journals of Franklin's officers. Back's journal is particularly valuable because it is the only one that records the entire expedition; Franklin himself relied on it for his own published account of the journey. Both the journal and Back's earlier notes have been edited by Houston, who provides an introduction and extensive annotations, as well as synopses of the frank comments regarding the expedition recorded in the various journals of the Hudson's Bay fur trade posts. I.S. MacLaren's commentary on Back's paintings reveals a midshipman-artist of exceptional talent. Conversant with the artistic conventions and aesthetic temper of his age, Back used his sketch-books not only to depict the expedition's progress but also to capture his imaginative response to the northern wilderness. MacLaren edits and comments on two other documents written by Back during the expedition: a candid letter to his brother and a poem dramatizing the disaster that claimed the lives of eleven of the twenty explorers in Franklin's party. "Arctic Artist" will be of interest to Franklin and Arctic enthusiasts, and to Canadian studies, northern studies, art history, and anthropology specialists. C. Stuart Houston is Professor of Medical Imaging, University of Saskatchewan. I.S. MacLaren is Associate Professor of Canadian Studies and English, University of Alberta. Both Houston and MacLaren have a passion for historical accounts of the early fur trade and of those intrepid explorers who first reached the Canadian Arctic and opened up the Canadian west. This book is part of the Rupert's "Land Record Society Series."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 403 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr; First Edition edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773511814
• ISBN-13: 978-0773511811
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Explorer!, July 14, 2009

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Ronald K. Schlie - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Arctic Artist: The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman With Franklin, 1819-1822 (Rupert's Land Record Society Series) (Hardcover)

Journals can sometimes be hard to read and this one is no exception. The reader has to sift through the daily repetitive entries and pull the story out of the pages. If one is looking for a simpler read one might consider Franklins journal/narrative. It reads more like a story but lacks detail. Franklin having lost his original journal had to use Back's journal to refresh his memory to publish his. I recommend this book to those in search of the real story and are able to sift out the daily weather reports. I find it amazing that he was able to find time to create his excellent artwork and be a true explorer of the arctic. To view these works in person would be a joy!!