Name/Title
The Franklin Expedition's HMS Erebus and TerrorEntry/Object ID
2022.04.03Description
Giclée canvas reproduction print (ca. 2020) after 2015 oil painting by John Horton.
This image depicts an historical mid-19th century scene of the doomed British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition's or Franklin Expedition's HMS Erebus and Terror, both reinforced bomb ships selected for work in polar ice. In 1845, the naval officer and explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) set sail from England with these two ships in search of a Northwest Passage to serve as a trading shortcut between Europe and Asia, across what is now Canada's Arctic. This is a portrayal of the ships in a frozen landscape, with some sailors in a life boat and other boats being launched. The sky is ominous and the scene is shown in an foreboding northern light.Artwork Details
Subject Place
Region
Subarctic and ArcticContext
The Franklin Expedition met with disaster after both ships and their crews, totaling 129 officers and men, became icebound in what is today the Canadian territory of Nunavut. After being icebound for more than a year the ships were abandoned in 1848. By then, Franklin and some two dozen others had died. The survivors set out for the Canadian mainland, all perishing from starvation and hypothermia, as well as other maladies.
Many searches were undertaken throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, both official and unofficial, involving family, navy personnel, explorers, journalists, and local guides and interpreters, some making good use of Inuit oral histories. However, it was not until 2014 that a Canadian search team led by Parks Canada located the wreck of the Erebus in an area that had been identified by Inuit in the eastern portion of Queen Maud Gulf that lies between the northern coast of the mainland and the southeastern corner of Victoria Island in Nunavut. Two years later, the Canadian Arctic Research Foundation found the wreck of the Terror south of King William Island. Research is undertaken every year at the wreck sites, now protected as a combined Canadian National Historic Site, the first such site to be co-managed by the Inuit and Parks Canada. This includes a summer Indigenous Guardians Program for the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror which began in 2017, based on an Australian model of land protection and management. Public access to the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site is not yet allowed.
Of note, the wrecks of the Erebus and Terror were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1992, despite no one at that time knowing where they were.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
John Malcolm Horton, OBCRole
ArtistDate made
2020Time Period
21st CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in London, England, John Malcolm Horton is an acclaimed Canadian marine painter, lifetime marine volunteer and a philanthropist supported by his art. He attended the Poole & Bournemouth Schools of Art, served in the Royal Navy and worked in the shop fitting trade, notably with Frederick Sage & Co. of London, engaged as a designer and architectural artist. In 1966, immigrated to Vancouver and set up his architectural rendering practice. Along with this work he began to develop his art portfolio depicting tugs, fishing boats, freighters and naval vessels, coastal history and its waters.
Horton’s insistence on accurate detail is legendary including a vessel’s detail as well as the background, such that his paintings reflect an historical story. His paintings are showcased in collections across Canada and beyond and he has done commemorative coin designs for the Canadian Mint. His work has also been exhibited many times by the Royal Society of Marine Artists. He is a member of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists, the Federation of Canadian Artists, and The Honourable Company of Master Mariners of Canada. In 2002 he accepted the Canadian government’s invitation to record the nation’s navy in action against terrorism in the Arabian Gulf.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
Signed lower left: John M. HortonDimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
61 cmWidth
91.4 cmAcquisition
Acquisition Method
GiftDate
Apr 2021Notes
Donated in memory of late Club Member Edward (Ed) Kustan (1945-2021), April 2021Relationships
Related Entries
Notes
By John Malcolm Horton:
2017.02.06 CC1 and CC2 , Canada’s First Submarines off Trial Island, August 5, 1914
2022.04.03 The Franklin Expedition's HMS Erebus and TerrorCopyright
Notes
Images are provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the copyright holder. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to determine the copyright holder and to obtain permission(s) as needed.
![Portraits of Captain Sir John Franklin and his Crew. Sketches from May 1845 daguerreotype portrait photographs by Richard Beard [Greenhithe, Kent, England]. Published in The Illustrated London News, 1851](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/5457/dfcccc90-e2f1-11ed-b719-9d4e542c40e7-vUVFF4K.lg@2x.jpg)
