Scientific: 19th Century Expeditions Curated by
Alan Griffiths
The Introduction includes the table "Expeditionary Fields of Inquiry Objectives, Artists Subjects and Pictorial Information" taken from Roger Balms essay, "Expeditionary Art: An Appraisal" (
Geographical Review, October 2000).
This online exhibition makes no claim to being comprehensive given the vast number of expeditions that were carried out during the 19th century. The intention is rather to stimulate interest in this area for more a complete survey of the subjects. Within this exhibition there are images that will be new to most visitors.
Future additions to this exhibition will include:
- Heinrich Barth and his work with the Central African Mission (1849-1855)
- John Hanning Speke and the search for the source of the Nile (1857-1863)
- Robert O'Hara Burke and his crossing of Australia (1860-1861)
- Francis Garnier and the Mekong River Expedition (1866-1868), the travels of Commander Doudart de Lagrée and the expeditions of Henri Mouhot (1826-1861) one of the first Westerners to visit Angkor
- Nikolai Przhevalsky, remembered for the wild horses named after him, whose expeditions led to a far greater understanding of Central Asia (1871-1888)
- Charles Doughty and his memorable travels in "Arabia Deserta" (1876-1878)
- The Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and the North East Passage (1878-1879)
- Francis Younghusband (1863-1942) and his work in Tibet
- Mary Kingsley and her explorations in West Africa (1893-1895)
If you have a series on these, or any other scientific expeditions, I'd be fascinated to learn about it.
Suggestions for additional expeditions that utilized photography are most welcome.
