Classic Ponting photograph from Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition (1910-1913).

'The Leader's Birthday was the occasion of a festival in the hut, and the resources of the larder were drawn upon to the utmost, in honour of the occasion. It is perhaps needless to say that justice was done, not only by the cook but by the guests, to the ample delicacies which the stores were found to contain. The hut was decorated for this night with sledging flags. The portraits, from left to right are: Dr. Atkinson, Mr. Meares, Captain Oates standing, Mr. Cherry-Garrard, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Nelson, Commander Evans, Captain Scott in centre, Dr. Wilson, Dr. Simpson, Lieut. Bowers, Lieut. Gran standing, Mr. Wright, Mr. Debenham, Mr. Day. Mr. Ponting took the photograph, and therefore does not appear in it.' (Fine Art Society)

The Terra Nova expedition was supposed to be the high-water mark of the Golden Age of Antarctic exploration; led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition was to have been the first to reach the South Pole, marking the event with the planting of the Union Jack flag. However the more professionally equipped Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen got there first. Nevertheless Scott's expedition will always be the one best remembered on account of the tremendous courage and bravery shown by Scott and his companions, Wilson, Bowers, Oates, and Evans on their return from the Pole in appalling conditions - perhaps best exemplified by Lawrence 'Titus' Oates who walked from the tent into a blizzard whilst suffering from frostbite and gangrene, knowing that he was not going to survive the journey but hoping that his self-sacrifice might help the others survive.

The photographs were originally published by the Fine Art Society in 1914 in larger format using a different process. It is difficult to date images such as ours, printed at a later date from the original negatives, however based on external evidence from previous examples we date the present image to circa 1935.

Silver gelatin print, mounted, framed and glazed, captioned below image on mount. Image size: 390 x 274 mm; framed: 455 x 343 mm.

The Fine Art Society's exhibition of Ponting's photographs of the The British Antarctic Expedition, 51.