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A three-quarter-length portrait slightly to left, head turned to right. Ross looks towards the right and directs his gaze out of the picture space. Although the insignia on the epaulettes is obscured so that his rank is not clear from the uniform, the early 1834 exhibition date and title of the painting confirms he is shown as a commander, since he was only promoted to captain in October that year. Draped over his left shoulder he wears a bear's skin. In his right hand he holds a sheathed sword by its scabbard across his front. The Pole Star shines in the sky top right and in the lower right corner of the painting a magnetic dip-circle sits on a table. Most of the background is either dark sky or the inhospitable rocky terrain of the Canadian Arctic.
The artist has paid considerable attention to detail and concentrated on the luxurious tactile quality of the fur and uniform. He has intentionally highlighted the gold on Ross's braid, the ring on his finger, the brilliance of the star, the gleaming dip-circle, and the tassels, buttons, epaulettes and sword. He has foregrounded the texture of the fur in contrast to the black sky and icy background. Man has tamed nature, symbolised by the bearskin and scientific instrument. Jane, Lady Franklin, who knew Ross well, called him 'the handsomest man in the Navy', to which this portrait lends much support.
The artist was born in Hackney. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1823–1839. This portrait was exhibited at the (Royal) Society of British Artists in 1834 as 'Commander James Clark Ross, RN, FRS, FRAS, FLS, etc., Discoverer of the North Pole'.
Title
Commander James Clark Ross (1800–1862)
Date
1834
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 144.2 x W 112 cm
Accession number
BHC2981
Work type
Painting