State urged to buy oils of Shackleton's epic Antartic trek

FIVE paintings depicting Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-17 Trans Antarctic Expedition "should not be lost to Ireland" when auctioned at Christie's in London next month, the Irish mountaineer, Mr Frank Nugent, has said.

Mr Nugent was the deputy leader of the successful Irish Everest expedition in 1993. He is also the co leader of South Aris, the 1997 expedition to recreate the great 1914-17 polar adventure bin which Shackleton and two other Irishmen were involved. The vessel built to track the epic voyage undertook its sea trial in Killary Harbour on the Galway Mayo border this weekend.

The five oils were painted by George Marston, Shackleton's expedition artist, and have not been seen in public for 80 years. They were submitted by a private English collector for Christie's first "theme" sale of art inspired by exploration and travel.

The frame and face of a prize fighter and the disposition of a fallen angel" was how Marston was once described. Shackleton, the Kildare born polar adventurer, selected him not just for his artistic ability but also for his resilience and experience. Marston had been artist on a previous polar expedition in 1907.

The oils record the fate of the trans Antarctic team, including Tom Crean of Kerry and Tim MacCarthy of Cork, after the ship, Endurance, was crushed in pack ice in the Weddell Sea in January 1915. The 28 man crew salvaged boats, provisions and sledges and survived on an Elephant Island ice floe, 350 miles from the nearest land, for the rest of that year.

After the ship sank in November, Shackleton selected five crew to accompany him on a hazardous 800 mile voyage to seek help. The six sailed in horrible seas to South Georgia in the ship's 23 foot lifeboat, James Caird, and then trekked and climbed 30 miles over peaks and glaciers to a whaling station at Stromness.

Only the plight of the 22 crew on Elephant Island sustained them. Not content to have raised the alarm, they returned for the rescue. The event is regarded as one of the world's greatest polar survival stories, and it was a tribute to Shackleton that not a single life was lost.

One of the oils shows the Edurance in the Weddell Sea shortly before it was crushed, while the four others depict the fight for survival in the Antarctic wastes after the ship was abandoned. With photographs taken by the Australian, Frank Hurley, these represent the only illustrative record of the expedition, according to Mr Nicholas Lambourn of Christie's. They have been relined and cleaned, and are expected to reach between £4,000 and £12,000 each.

Mr Raymond Keaveney, director of the National Gallery, told The Irish Times that he appreciated the significance of the works for Ireland. The gallery was "curious" and would "consider" the paintings as a matter of course when the catalogue became available - the auction is due to be held on September 27th. However, criteria for purchase were "pretty tight", he said, as was the gallery's annual budget.

Mr Lambourn said that Christie's had already received quite a few inquiries from collectors of polar expedition material in England and the US. One or two Irish private collectors had also shown interest, he said. He expected that the paintings would be bought by a private buyer or buyers.

Mr Frank Nugent said that purchase by Ireland would be a further, belated, recognition of a forgotten achievement. Coincidentally on the same week as the Christie's auction, South Aris is due to host the Royal Geographical Society's (RGS) original lecture of the expedition - complete with magic lantern slides.

The replica of the James Caird, named as the Tom Crean, was built with FAS assistance, and will be brought to Dublin shortly after trials have been completed in Killary.

Entitled The Shackleton Survival Story, 1914-17, the RGS lecture will be given by its current keeper, Mr Geoff Selly, at University College Dublin (Theatre L, Arts Block) on September 28th; at University College Cork (Science building, Theatre G1) on September 27th; and at Tralee Regional Technical College, Co Kerry, on September 28th. The lectures start at 8 p.m., and admission is £5 (concession tickets, £3). A preview of South Aris will also be given by the participants, led by Paddy Barry and Frank Nugent.