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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

'Sacred' Mountain of the Antarctic

A fleet of ships in the bay with a mountain in the background
Description: Painting, Watercolor on Paper; by Standish Backus ; 1956; Framed Dimensions 21H X 39W
Accession #: 88-186-AY
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"The great 'Sacred' mountain of the Antarctic, this 13,000 foot active volcano is among the most majestic, beautiful, inspiring and forbidding prominences on earth. So domineering that one is aware of its existence visually from well over 100 miles distance, so aloof that it seems to maintain its own mantle of weather apart from anything being experienced by our lowly fleet at her feet (though quite capable of throwing 100 knots of wind in our direction when bored with her other moods), so terrifying that to step boldly at random on her flanks would amount to becoming engulfed instantly in some vast crevasse, so benign in the soft, warm light of the low sun as to permit her to take high place among the sentimental scenic settings in the world. In such a mood as the latter have I tempted to record a brief moment of Erebus. Vessels represented, from the left, MSTS Greenville Victory, Arneb, Nespelen, YOG-34, Wyandot, Navy icebreaker Edisto, Coast Guard icebreaker Eastwind."--Commander Standish Backus.

Topic
  • Exploration, Expeditions and Voyages
Document Type
  • Art
Wars & Conflicts
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Location of Archival Materials