Sir George Back
(1796-1878), Naval officer and explorerEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 6 portraits
Back was a naval officer who helped to trace the Arctic coastline of North America. He twice accompanied the British explorer John Franklin to Canada's Northwest Territories (1819-22 and 1825-7) and later conducted two expeditions of his own to the same region. The first of these expeditions, in 1833, was to search for another British explorer, John Ross, who had disappeared on an Arctic voyage in 1829. The venture resulted in the exploration of the Great Fish River (now the Back River). In 1836 Back returned to explore the coastal region east from the mouth of the river. His writings include Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River (1836).
by William Brockedon
black and red chalk, 1833
NPG 2515(46)
The Arctic Council planning a search for Sir John Franklin
by Stephen Pearce
oil on canvas, 1851
NPG 1208
by Camille Silvy
albumen print, 16 April 1861
NPG Ax52484
by Ernest Edwards, published by Alfred William Bennett
albumen print, published 1865
NPG Ax14765
by Edward Francis Finden, published by John Samuel Murray, after Richard Woodman
stipple engraving, published 1828
NPG D33854
The Arctic Council planning a search for Sir John Franklin
by James Scott, after Stephen Pearce
mezzotint, published 1853
NPG D9472
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.