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Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912) Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912) Edward Adrian Wilson, Antarctic explorer, naturalist, doctor and gifted artist, was born on 23 July 1872 in Cheltenham, England. As a young child, he showed a keen interest in natural history and a talent for drawing. A predominantly self-taught artist, he went on to read Zoology at Cambridge University, taking his degree in 1894. Following some time abroad, he studied medicine, also at Cambridge, and qualified in 1900. Wilson was appointed Junior Surgeon and Zoologist on the National Antarctic Expedition under Commander Robert Falcon Scott and set sail on the Discovery in August 1901. Returning in 1904, Wilson wrote up the expedition findings relating to the mammals and birds that had been observed and collected. In the following year, he served on the Committee of Inquiry on Grouse Disease as Field Observer and contributed artwork towards the final report that was published in 1911. Wilson also started work on the illustrations for A History of British Mammals (1910- 1921) by G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, who greatly admired Wilson's Antarctic watercolours. In 1910, Scott invited Wilson to join his new National Antarctic Expedition on the ship Terra Nova as chief of the scientific staff. Tragically Edward was one of the team who died with Captain Scott on the return journey from the South Pole in March 1912.
The Mountain Hare skins in this watercolour are scientifically depicted but with a sympathetic touch. Wilson has meticulously drawn the fur, whiskers and feet. The figures show the transition from summer to winter pelage (coat). Figures 1 and 2 show the Irish Mountain hare subspecies, Lepus timidus hibernicus in its summer and winter pelage respectively. Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 show the Scottish mountain hare subspecies, Lepus timidus scoticus. Figure 3 shows the summer pelage, figures 4 and 5 the intermediate pelage and figure 6 the winter pelage.
In Britain, the Mountain Hare mainly occupies heather moorland. The Irish sub-species can grow up to nearly 60 cm in body length. The Scottish subspecies is smaller but may grow up to nearly 54 cm in body length. The coat on the Scottish subspecies becomes white in the winter whereas the Irish subspecies does not turn fully white. The white coat in Scottish Mountain Hares may have evolved to provide camouflage from predators in winter, as snow is common in winter months in Scotland. It has also been suggested that the white colour in high latitudes may provide a thermal advantage; the scattering of light in the lower layers of fur results in a type of 'greenhouse effect' causing a warm layer near to the animal's skin.
The Edward Wilson Drawings Collection The Collection of Drawings of British Mammals (c.1905-1910) by Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912), was commissioned for A History of British Mammals (1910-1921) by Gerald Edwin Hamilton Barrett-Hamilton (1871-1914) and was continued after the author's death by Martin Alister Campbell Hinton (1883-1961). The collection consists of 50 art originals, of which 27 were published in A History of British Mammals (1910-1921). The work was published in parts and the Mountain Hare skins plate as shown here was published in November 1910.
Exhibition and publication details Barrett-Hamilton, G. E. H. & Hinton, M. A.C. (1910- 1921) A History of British Mammals. 3 volumes. Gurney and Jackson: London. Other artworks of Edward Wilson are also held by the Natural History Museum.
References and further reading [Anon.] (2003) Edward Wilson: The Explorer as Artist. Nature in Art, vol. 11, no. 1, p.14. British Antarctic ('Terra Nova') Expedition (1910-1913).
Expedition under command of Capt. R.F. Scott. (1914-1964).
Natural History Reports. British Museum (Natural History):
London. Corbet, G. B. & Harris, S. H. (eds) (1991) The Handbook of British Mammals. 3rd edition. Blackwell Scientific: Oxford. 588pp. Due South : Art and the Antarctic. Free special display at
the Natural History Museum: 24 February - 1 August 2004 Great Britain. Committee of Inquiry on Grouse Disease. Chairman, Lord Lovat & Secretary, A. Stewart Leslie (1911) The Grouse in Health and in Disease: Being the Final Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Grouse Disease. 2 volumes. Smith, Elder & Co: London. McBride, A. (1988) Rabbits & Hares. Whittet Books: London. 127pp. Rudmose B. R. N. (1927) Wilson, E. A. (1872-1912). Dictionary of National Biography. 1912-1921. Oxford University Press London, 582-583pp. Seaver, G. (1933) Edward Wilson of the Antarctic: Naturalist and Friend. John Murray: London. 299pp. Seaver, G. (1937) Edward Wilson: Nature-Lover. John Murray: London. 221pp. Seaver, G. (1948) The Faith of Edward Wilson. John Murray: London. 48pp. Wilson, D. M. & Elder, D. B. (2000) Cheltenham in Antarctica: The Life of Edward Wilson. Reardon Publishing: Cheltenham. 144pp. Wilson, E. A. & King, H. G. R. (1972) Diary of the "Terra Nova" Expedition to the Antarctic, 1910-1912: An Account of Scott's Last Expedition. Edited from the Original Mss. in the Scott Polar Research Institute and the British Museum. Blandford Press: London. 279pp. Wilson, E. A. & King, H. G. R. (1982) South Pole Odyssey: Selections from the Antarctic Diaries of Edward Wilson. Blandford Press: Poole. 176pp. Wilson, E. A.; edited by Roberts, B. (1967) Edward Wilson's Birds of the Antarctic. Blandford Press: London. 191pp.
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