Cecil Henry Meares; Lawrence Oates
Cecil Henry Meares; Lawrence Oates
by Herbert George Ponting
carbon print, 26 May 1911
18 in. x 13 1/2 in. (457 mm x 343 mm)
Purchased, 1979
Primary Collection
NPG P121
Sittersback to top
- Cecil Henry Meares (1877-1937), Lieutenant-Colonel, linguist and Antarctic explorer. Sitter in 3 portraits. Identify
- Lawrence Edward Grace Oates (1880-1912), Antarctic explorer. Sitter associated with 4 portraits. Identify
Artistback to top
- Herbert George Ponting (1870-1935), Photographer and antarctic explorer. Artist or producer associated with 13 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
This portraitback to top
Two of Captain Scott's companions on his last Antarctic expedition. Oates, nicknamed 'the soldier' and called by Scott 'the cheery old pessimist', was devoted to animals. Meares, a linguist, was taken on as an interpreter of Russian, and was also in charge of the dogs. The photograph shows them (Oates on the right) at the blubber-stove in the stable at the winter quarters at Cape Evans, where they were constantly seen cooking bran-mash for the ponies. Ponting was commissioned to film and photograph Scott's expedition. His experience is recorded in his book The Great White South (1921).
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 465
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Captain Scott's Last Expedition (23 July 2007 - 28 January 2008)
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1911back to top
Current affairs
Asquith's Liberal government introduces the Parliament Act to curb the powers of the House of Lords following the clash between the Commons and Lords over the 1909 People's Budget. The Act removed the Lords' power to veto bills, reduced the length of Parliament from seven to five years, and provided for the payment of MPs.Art and science
Ernest Rutherford discovers the structure of the atom. The New Zealand born physicist working in Manchester showed with his Nuclear Model that electrons orbited a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons. The discovery paved the way for nuclear physics.International
The Polish Chemist, Marie Curie, becomes the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for her discovery in 1898 of the radioactive element, Radon.The Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre. The masterpiece was missing for two years, during which time suspicion fell on avant-garde poet Guillaume Apollinaire and his friend Pablo Picasso, before Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of the Louvre, was arrested in Florence.
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