Admiral Sir John Ross, 1777 - 1856. Arctic explorer
About this artwork
Ross, the son of a lowland minister, joined the Navy at the age of nine and rose to the rank of Rear-Admiral. In 1818 he commanded the first of a series of government-backed expeditions to discover a northern sea-route from the Atlantic to the Pacific - the Northwest passage. On his second Arctic expedition in 1829 Ross's ship, the Victory, was trapped in ice for years and had eventually to be abandoned. In 1834 Ross was knighted for his services to Polar exploration. Only the thick fur wrap in this portrait hints at the bitter conditions of Ross's travels.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner (1787 - 1849) Scottish
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title:Admiral Sir John Ross, 1777 - 1856. Arctic explorer
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date created:About 1834
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:94.00 x 72.40 cm; Framed: 131.70 x 111.70 x 15.50 cm / 30.00 kg
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1884
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accession number:PG 8
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner
Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner
The portrait painter Benjamin Faulkner was born in Manchester. He was a prolific exhibitor, sending works to the Royal Academy of Arts nearly every year from 1821 until his death, and always giving a London address, although many of his sitters were Mancunians. His brother, Joshua William...
