In the late spring of 1892 Arctic explorers Robert E. Peary and Evind Astrup made a long and difficult crossing of the northern Greenland ice cap, becoming the first Euro-Americans to visit what is now known as Peary Land. This northernmost coast of Greenland remains one of the most isolated and rarely visited places on Earth.

Artist/geologist Per Kirkeby spent the summer of 1963 in Peary Land working as a geologist. His experiences in the stark and beautiful landscape led him to turn his attention more fully to art, sparking a long and productive career.

To celebrate the exhibit Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculptures at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum has brought together a selection of photographs by Peary and Kirkeby illustrating these two very different men’s first encounter with this amazing landscape.