Museums

The donation includes a 2012 series of 12 portrait drawings of Scott of the Antarctic’s team and 4 portrait busts of ‘anonymous Antarctic explorers'. The work can be viewed in the exhibition Hardihood, Endurance and Courage: Explorations through art by Clare Abbatt, at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery from Saturday 4 March.

South Pole explorers

Inspired by a quote from the last diary entry of Robert Falcon Scott, this exhibition features 12 large scale drawings of the men of the Terra Nova expedition in which Scott sought to be the first to reach the South Pole. Scott perished after achieving this, but 5 weeks after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the Pole first. Clare Abbatt has captured the resilience and determination in the faces of these 12 explorers. The exhibition also features sculptures including works inspired by the explorers as well as new works. Entry is free.

Covid portraiture

Clare’s more recent work includes a 2020 portrait drawing of Mr Rob Hicks, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, wearing his PPE during the Covid crisis. This portrait was created in response to Tom Croft’s Instagram project of NHS heroes, and will be featured in our upcoming portrait exhibition.

The museum is very grateful for such a significant donation of work by an outstanding Northamptonshire portrait artist.