Studio Visit Maritime Artist
Austin Dwyer
I was born in Ireland in 1938. Looking back on my life, I remember imagining what I would be when I grew up. Parents have their ideas for your future and mine were no different. At twelve, my father’s destiny for me was to become a tradesman. My mother, with a more romantic direction saw me as a great musician. Even my maiden aunt who lived with us, chirped in. I would be a sea captain as were all her male predecessors. I admit that I regarded the idea of exploration exciting, so I naturally turned to someone Irish. I read all that I could find on Sir Ernest Shackleton.
I developed a very strong dislike for the cold. I remember one cold wintry night, with empathy for those early explorers of the roaring sixties; I went to bed without my hot water bottle, an indulgence never repeated.
Immersing myself in his memoirs and Antarctic expeditions, I was excited, imagining his 800-mile journey across a cold turbulent sea. Trekking across a mountain to reach South Georgia Island didn’t appeal to me. My ruminations suggested pictures of anxiety, all in the safety of my imagination. I soon realized that painting those images would be most challenging, and that I could share my images with people whose reading of these events might be enhanced by my paintings.
So it was, at that early age, my ideas about becoming a fine artist were sown. I would concentrate on becoming an illusionist. I did make every effort to oblige my father to become a bricklayer. I made an effort to please all of their suggestions. I built brick walls, floated floors, studied music, took a great interest in literature, studied art and went to sea. My travels finally brought me to America where I immediately joined the USAF. At last, I could explore the South Pacific from the comfort of a C-124 Globemaster
SEATTLE WASHINGTON, THE EARLY SIXTIES
Upon my discharge from the military, I met Mig Peters and fell madly in love. After she finally consented to marry me, I decided that it was time for me to settle down. Together we created 8 wonderful children, 23 grandchildren and 3 great grand children. After we were married, I decided to continue with my art education and studied at the Burnley School of Professional Art. After graduation I taught there for 14 years. In 1968, I developed my own advertising agency. I was an illustrator during the day, returning home to my studio where I finally painted what I dearly loved, marine art.
The paintings in this article involve just 4 of Shackleton’s ships and a lifeboat, the Caird. The Endurance, Nimrod, Aurora and the Quest, would have been nothing more than plates of steel, wood, twisted tar lines and bales of cloth had it not been for Ernest Shackleton and the men who served under him. It is their story that gave these ships character and soul.
ENDURANCE
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| © Endurance Open Sea Austin Dwyer |
The Endurance, built in Norway for polar conditions, was 44 meters long with a 7.6-meter beam. Her forward mast was square rigged while her two after masts carried fore and aft sails. Her steam engine was 350 horsepower giving her over 10 knots. Unfortunately, Endurance was not designed bowl-bottomed, rather she was more vertical-walled which may have contributed to her being crushed and not popped up by the ice. I painted her in the Weddell Sea under sail. Later I show two crew members sounding ahead of the ship. She finally headed into the ice pack and eventually I painted the evacuation.
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| © Endurance In the Ice by Austin Dwyer |
On August 6th 1914, Endurance sailed for the southern regions to the Weddell Sea. Shackleton’s quest was to circumnavigate the South Pole. She sailed through heavy ice pack and on January 18th after weeks of intense weather, Endurance was completely compressed in the ice pack. She drifted for months, locked in the ice, the final pressure crushing her beam until her bow slowly lowered beneath the sea. Shackleton and 27 men gathered supplies, lifeboats, and 69 dogs and set up camp on Elephant Island.
THE CAIRD
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| © The Caird by Austin Dwyer |
Shackleton chose the Caird, which was the strongest of the three lifeboats and most likely to survive an 800-mile journey to South Georgia Island. It would prove the survival for the rest of his men. She was only 22 feet and converted to a sailboat by the chippy that reinforced the hull, added a main and mizzenmast, a deck and a rudder. She encountered hurricane wind and tumultuous seas. It took 17 days and was the most arduous open-boat journey of all time.
THE AURORA
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| © The Aurora by Austin Dwyer |
Shackleton returned to the area on the Aurora to rescue the rest of the crew. Aurora was a Barquentine with a 98 horsepower engine. She had a strongly built wooden hull. Her bow had been re-enforced with heavy steel plates. I painted her having the rudder repaired after being damaged by a storm.
The Chilean government loaned Shackleton a steamer named the Yelcho and on August 30, 1917. All the men were rescued.
THE NIMROD
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| © Nimrod by Austin Dwyer |
The Nimrod was built for whaling and seal hunting. She had an auxiliary steam engine with a top speed of 6 knots. The Nimrod was painted depicting Shackleton’s arrival at Cape Royd’s hut on Ross Island. The hut was built as a stopping off point to the south. The painting describes Mount Erebus, Antarctica’s second highest volcano and the transferring of supplies to the hut just before a fierce storm hit the bay.
THE QUEST
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| © The Quest by Austin Dwyer |
The Quest was a steamer and schooner rigged. She was 34 meters long with a beam of 7.3 meters. She was involved in meteorological and geological research. Shackleton’s last days of exploration were on the Quest for it was here that he suffered a fatal heart attack. The date was the January 5, 1922.
CONCLUSION
As a young man, I lived vicariously through these sea voyages of Sir Ernest Shackleton. I will never allow my imagination to forget that there is still so much more to paint.
2014 marks the 100-year anniversary of Ernest Shackleton’s journey to the Antarctic. I am fortunate and proud that these paintings will be displayed in Dublin (my home town) as part of a permanent exhibition on Shackleton. I have come full circle. Austin Dwyer
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