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.
A landmark in the annals of American photography and polar adventure, William Bradford's book The Arctic Regions was first published for subscribers in 1873. No more than three hundred copies of the leather-bound elephant folio are known to have been printed. The book has been a prized possession of major American and European museums, libraries, and collectors ever since. With an introduction written by the noted polar historian Russell A. Potter, The Arctic Regions is now available for the first time to the trade. As the pace of global climate change quickens and the magnificent Arctic icecap dwindles, its publication could not be more timely or important.
This superb collection of works by Native Alaskan and Canadian Inuit artists celebrates their creativity and skill while highlighting the history and culture of the Arctic. Over the course of his life, artist, adventurer, and collector Thomas G. Fowler gathered a rich and diverse group of works by Native artists from the Arctic. He was inspired by the concept of yua, a recognition that all things, including objects, have a unique inner essence or spirit. The works in his collection embody this view and highlight the raw materials used to make them--walrus tusk, whale bone, driftwood, stone--evoking the Arctic environment and attesting to Fowler's appreciation of form and design. With works dating from 300 BCE to the 21st century, his collection includes objects meant to be used and admired: utensils, weapons, dance regalia, kayak models, decorative pipes, and cribbage boards. It also features dynamic, mixed-media sculptures by contemporary artists such as Abraham Anghik Ruben, David Ruben Piqtoukun, Judas Ullulaq, and Susie Silook. With color illustrations highlighting eighty objects, this book explores a variety of topics relating to the North American Arctic region: the ancient cultures of the Bering Strait, historic ways of life in northwestern Alaska, the ethos of Yup'ik dance, and the history of collecting Arctic art. Combining art historical and anthropological essays with lively, personal accounts from modern artists and scholars, the volume explores the connection between humans and the environment, the interwoven nature of the spiritual and the quotidian, and the aesthetics of Arctic life. Published with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Renowned travel writer and TV host Robin Esrock has explored every inch of Canada’s Prairies to craft the definitive Bucket List. From food and culture to nature and adrenaline rushes, Robin has the inspiration and information you’ll need to follow in his footsteps and discover everything Manitoba and Saskatchewan have to offer.
Bitter cold and constant snow. Polar bears, seals, and killer whales. Victor Frankenstein chasing his monstrous creation across icy terrain in a dogsled. The arctic calls to mind a myriad different images. Consisting of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, the United States, Russia, Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, the arctic possesses a unique ecosystem—temperatures average negative 29 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and rarely rise above freezing in summer—and the indigenous peoples and cultures that live in the region have had to adapt to the harsh weather conditions. As global temperatures rise, the arctic is facing an environmental crisis, with melting glaciers causing grave concern around the world. But for all the renown of this frozen region, the arctic remains far from perfectly understood. In A History of the Arctic, award-winning polar historian John McCannon provides an engaging overview of the region that spans from the Stone Age to the present. McCannon discusses polar exploration and science, nation-building, diplomacy, environmental issues, and climate change, and the role indigenous populations have played in the arctic’s story. Chronicling the history of each arctic nation, he details the many failed searches for a Northwest Passage and the territorial claims that hamper use of these waterways. He also explores the resources found in the arctic—oil, natural gas, minerals, fresh water, and fish—and describes the importance they hold as these resources are depleted elsewhere, as well as the challenges we face in extracting them. A timely assessment of current diplomatic and environmental realities, as well as the dire risks the region now faces, A History of the Arctic is a thoroughly engrossing book on the past—and future—of the top of the world.
Archaeological digs have turned up sculptures in Inuit lands that are thousands of years old, but "Inuit art" as it is known today only dates back to the beginning of the 1900s. Early art was traditionally produced from soft materials such as whalebone, and tools and objects were also fashioned out of stone, bone, and ivory because these materials were readily available. The Inuit people are known not just for their sculpture but for their graphic art as well, the most prominent forms being lithographs and stonecuts. This work affords easy access to information to those interested in any type of Inuit art. There are annotated entries on over 3,761 articles, books, catalogues, government documents, and other publications.
