Exhibition of paintings of historic Antarctic ships
A new exhibition titled 'Gateway to Antarctica' is set to open at the Iziko Maritime Centre on the 26 March 2015. The exhibition, comprising 11 paintings of historical ships that have sailed the Southern Ocean to Antarctica, were created by South African maritime artist, Peter Bilas.
One of the less-well-known attributes of Cape Town is that it is one of the 'Gateway to Antarctica' cities. The South African National Antarctic Programme, based at East Pier in the Cape Town Docks just beyond the V&A Waterfront, is also a revictualling station for the Antarctic programmes of several other nations, including Norway and Germany.
As a means of raising awareness of South Africa's involvement in Antarctica and in the Southern Ocean, the Ship Society of South Africa, in collaboration with the Antarctic Legacy Project of Stellenbosch University and Iziko Museums of South Africa, has arranged an exhibition of paintings of historic Antarctic ships in the Iziko Maritime Centre.
The 11 paintings by Peter Bilas were commissioned by Bill Leith, Captain of South Africa's former supply ship, SA Agulhas. Prior to being transferred to her successor, SA Agulhas II, the paintings were restored (courtesy of GAC Shipping) and with the support of the Department of Environmental Affairs, will now be on public display.
The paintings include Cook's Resolution (1772), Bellingshausen's Vostok and Mirny (1821), Ross' Terror and Erebus (1840), Challenger (1873), Amundsen's Fram (1910), Scott's Terra Nova (1910), Shackleton's Endurance (1915), RSA (1961) and SA Agulhas (1978). The paintings are accompanied by a brief description of the history of the vessels.
The Gateway to Antarctica exhibition will be on view at the Iziko Maritime Centre from the 26 March to the 8 April 2015.
Venue: 1st floor, Union-Castle Building, V&A Waterfront
Tel: 021 405 2880
Open daily from 10h00 to 17h00.
