William Cuthbertson, the artist on the Scotia, 1902-04
The artist on the 1902-1904 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, organised and led by Scottish scientist and explorer William S Bruce, was William A Cuthbertson who had studied art in Edinburgh and Paris. Although sophisticated photographic equipment (including a stereoscopic Verascope and a "movie" film camera) was taken on the expedition, a traditional artist was still needed to record those details which were beyond the technical capability of the equipment of the time. Coloured illustrations, for example, were not at that time possible by purely photographic means. Close examination of this image shows that the seal has been posed for the portrait, and the seal's nose has been propped up with a stick or a nail. On the safe return of the Scotia in 1904, in recognition of his contribution to the success of the expedition, Cuthbertson was awarded the bronze medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
