HMS Assistance In The Ice | Thomas Sewell Robins | Oil On Canvas

In the summer of 1845, Sir John Franklin set sail with two ships—the Erebus and Terror—on a fateful mission to find the elusive Northwest Passage, a route that would connect the Atlantic to the Pacific. The ships vanished into the unforgiving Arctic, and for years, their fate remained a mystery. Search expeditions were launched, none more determined than Captain Horatio Austin’s in 1850-1851. Under Captain Erasmus Ommanney’s command, HMS Assistance ventured north, guided by a young Inuit named Kallihirua. Despite rumours of a massacre, no trace of Franklin’s men was found, and after spending a winter trapped in ice, the ship returned, defeated, to England.

The painting serves as a visual reminder of the dangers of Arctic exploration and the enduring mystery that drove many expeditions into Canada’s northernmost regions. It symbolizes the quest for discovery that ultimately expanded knowledge of Canada’s vast Arctic landscape.