Object Details
Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
Robert Edwin Peary, 6 May 1856 - 2 Feb 1920
Exhibition Label
Born Cresson, Pennsylvania
At the turn of the twentieth century, naval officer and explorer Robert Edwin Peary made multiple expeditions into the Arctic region, mapping areas previously uncharted by a non-Indigenous person. Peary claimed to have reached the “farthest north” in the Western Hemisphere—all testimonials eventually disproved. However, “The Race to the Pole” captivated audiences worldwide, affording Peary an unrivaled and iconic status as an explorer.
During his travels, Peary treated the Inuit disrespectfully, selling off fragments of the Innaanganeq meteorite, which were their only source of iron for tools. In Greenland, he convinced six Inuits to travel with him to New York City, where anthropologist Franz Boas studied them. Four of them died of tuberculosis; for a time, the bones of one, Qisuk, were on display at the American Museum of Natural History. The museum stored the bones of these four people until 1993, when they were returned for traditional burial in Qaanaaq, Greenland.
Nacido en Cresson, Pensilvania
A principios del siglo XX, el oficial naval y explorador Robert Edwin Peary hizo varias expediciones a la región ártica y produjo mapas de áreas hasta entonces inexploradas por personas no indígenas. Peary alegó haber llegado “más lejos que nadie hacia el norte” del hemisferio occidental, lo cual luego fue desmentido. Sin embargo, “la Carrera hacia el Polo” cautivó al público del mundo, dando a Peary fama de explorador icónico y sin rival.
Durante sus viajes, sin el menor respeto hacia los inuits, Peary vendió fragmentos del meteorito de Innaanganeq, única fuente de hierro que tenían para sus herramientas. En Groenlandia convenció a seis inuits de que viajaran con él a Nueva York, donde el antropólogo Franz Boas los estudió. Cuatro murieron de tuberculosis; por un tiempo, los huesos de uno de ellos, Qisuk, se exhibieron en el Museo Estadounidense de Historia Natural. El museo conservó los huesos de estas cuatro personas hasta 1993, cuando los devolvieron a Qaanaaq, Groenlandia, para darles un entierro tradicional.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
1908-09
Object number
NPG.93.353
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image/Sheet: 20.2 x 12.7cm (7 15/16 x 5")
Mount: 33 x 24.5cm (13 x 9 5/8")
Mat: 45.7 x 35.6cm (18 x 14")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
20th Century Americans: 1900-1930
On View
NPG, South Gallery 322
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Exterior\Ship
Vehicle\Ship\Deck rail
Equipment\Optical Devices\Binoculars
Costume\Outerwear\Coat\Jacket\Parka
Robert Edwin Peary: Male
Robert Edwin Peary: Science and Technology\Explorer
Robert Edwin Peary: Science and Technology\Explorer\Arctic
Robert Edwin Peary: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Officer
Robert Edwin Peary: Politics and Government\Government official\Surveyor
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.93.353