Viking Sea Art Collection

EXPLORERS’ LOUNGE |

EXPLORERS’ LOUNGE | DECKS 7–8 ROALD AMUNDSEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDERS BEER WILSE Anders Beer Wilse (1865–1949) was a Norwegian photographer known for his outdoor photography. In 1884, Wilse immigrated to the United States, but the lure of Norway’s natural beauty proved too much for him and he returned with his American wife 17 years later. Wilse’s love of the outdoors was a perfect match for Roald Amundsen. He was able to capture Amundsen on film both at his home in Svartskog, Norway, and on one of his polar expeditions to Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (1872–1928) was a Norwegian polar explorer, called by some “The Last Viking.” Born to a family of shipowners and captains in Borge, Norway, exploring was in Amundsen’s blood. However, due to his mother’s encouragement, he pursued non-maritime activities. It was not until the age of 21, after his mother’s death, that Amundsen began to follow his true desires. The mystery of the polar regions drove Amundsen’s career. Inspired by Fridtjof Nansen’s Greenland expedition in 1888, Amundsen began a series of expeditions to some of the world’s most inhospitable and previously unknown places by air, land and sea. The survival skills he learned as first mate on a Belgian expedition to Antarctica were vital in the years to come. Amundsen is most well-known for his achievements as an explorer—the first to successfully reach the South Pole and fly over the North Pole—but he was also a record keeper and author of six books, including My Life as an Explorer, written just one year before his disappearance. 6

EXPLORERS’ LOUNGE | DECKS 7–8 7