THE AWE OF THE ARCTIC - A VISUAL HISTORY

For centuries, the region north of the Arctic Circle has exerted a strong fascination on the people who live beyond its borders. Tales of the ancient Greeks, Norse mythology and early travelogues formed the basis for vivid imaginations of ice-free waters and a legendary people on the northern edge of the world. Expeditions to the Arctic in search of raw materials and trade routes gradually replaced these legends with more accurate information. But even these stories were full of incredible details about a strange world - the accompanying illustrations and later photographs were intended to promise truthfulness and show what could hardly be described.

Scarlett Hooft Graafland: Lemonade Igloo, 2007 © Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Photography Collection, The New York Public Library Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations

From the expeditions of the 16th century to contemporary artists whose works document the effects of the changing climate on the fragile landscape, this volume draws on the New York Public Library's extensive collections to trace how the Arctic has been depicted, defined, and imagined, and to reflect on how this visual representation shapes our contemporary conception of the North Pole and the people for whom it is home.