November 10, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:

Bobby Moore, Interim Curator

(814) 472-3920

Travis Mearns, Public Relations Coordinator

(724) 238-6015

ARCTIC EXPLORER FEATURED IN SAMA-LORETTO EXHIBITION

            Loretto – The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art is pleased to announce the opening of Robert E. Peary: Accomplished Arctic Explorer. On view December 4 through March 6 in the Museum’s rear Zamias Gallery, the exhibition includes 13 prints generated from black and white photographs and hand-tinted glass lantern slides gifted to the Cresson Area Historical Society by The Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine.

            Peary was born in Cresson in 1856, but moved to Maine as a young child after the death of his father. After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1877, Peary found work with the Coast and Geodetic Survey in Washington, D.C., and later with the US Navy. By the age of 30, he had made his first trip to Greenland. Between 1886 and 1909, Peary spent more than 10 years in the Arctic, exploring the Greenland ice cap and the coasts of northern Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Beginning in 1898, he focused his efforts on trying to reach the North Pole. At times, he and his men suffered from frostbite (which claimed eight of his toes) and near-starvation, but on each expedition he learned more about surviving in the far north. In later years, he learned many lessons from the native people of the region, the Inughuit, and would rely on them to drive dog teams and hunt animals for food, as well as to teach his assistants these essential skills.

            In 1908, Peary embarked on his last expedition to try to reach the North Pole. Peary and his men set sail on his custom-built ship, the SS Roosevelt, one of the strongest wooden vessels ever built. Eventually, he would have to rely on dog-drawn sledges for his final attempt to reach the North Pole. After 37 days of sledging on sea ice, Peary and five of his crew arrived at the North Pole, the first people to reach that destination.

            The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Loretto is located on the campus of Saint Francis University. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays. The Museum is open to the public free of charge. For more information, please call the Museum at (814) 472-3920 or visit www.sama-art.org.