Lot 177: Admiral Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield F.R.S. (British, 1820-1894)

signed with monogram and inscribed "Xmas 1890", watercolour and bodycolour

11 x 15 cm. (4 1/4 x 5 7/8 in.)

Albert A. E. Franklin C.V.O., C.B.E.

"Erebus" and "Terror" were sent to the Arctic on a voyage of exploration to find the North West Passage in 1845-48. Commanded by Sir John Franklin, the expedition was beset by misfortune and eventually ended in the deaths of all of the 129 men aboard the ships. When the expedition failed to return, the Admiralty, and then Lady Franklin, sent numerous search parties over almost thirty years to try and locate the missing men.

Admiral Sir Edward Inglefield, as Captain, took the chartered "Isabel" on one of these unsuccessful relief expeditions in 1852, one of the first to be funded by Lady Franklin personally.