George Marston (artist)

George Marston
Born	19 March 1882 Southsea, England
Died	22 November 1940 (aged 58) Taunton, England
Occupation	Explorer, artist

George Marston (19 March 1882 – 22 November 1940) was an English artist who twice accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton on expeditions to Antarctic, first from 1907–09 on the Nimrod expedition, and then later from 1914–17 on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which ended with the crew being marooned on Elephant Island.

Early life

George Marson was born in Southsea (Portsmouth, England). He studied art at Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster).

Nimrod expedition

During the Nimrod expedition, George helped to print the book Aurora Australis whilst stationed on Antarctica during the winter, contributing sketching and lithographs.

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

George was one of the first members to sign up for this expedition, and one of the few to have worked alongside Shackleton before. While marooned on Elephant Island, some of Marston's oil paints were used to caulk the boat used by Shackleton to reach South Georgia.^[1]

Some watercolours and oil paintings by Marson of the expedition (many painted on return from sketches) are held at the Scott Polar Research Institute.^[2]

References

1. "George E. Marston (1882–1940) – Biographical notes".
2. "Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge " Museum catalogue".

External Links