Sir John Everett Millais, Bt

The North-West Passage

1874

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

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Not on display
Artist
Sir John Everett Millais, Bt 1829–1896
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 1765 x 2222 mm
frame: 2157x 2623 x 145 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by Sir Henry Tate 1894
Reference
N01509

Display caption

The north-west passage was the unnavigable sea route round North America which was thought to provide a passage to the East. In time, it became synonymous with failure, adversity and death, with men and ships battling against hopeless odds in a frozen wilderness. Millais painted this picture in 1874 when another English expedition was setting off. Previous representations had shown the desolate beauty of the terrain with details such as wrecked ships to underline the futility of man’s ambition. Millais encapsulates the risks of such a voyage primarily through the old seaman, with his grim, distant look and clenched fist.

Gallery label, March 2010

Victorian/Genre

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