To coincide with the Natural History Museum's current Polar Silk Road exhibition by Austrian photographer Gregor Sailer, the ACF London in cooperation with the Czech Centre London, present an exhibition of book illustrations and copies of paintings by Julius Payer (1841–1915), one of the greatest Arctic explorers and painters of polar landscapes.

Born in Teplice-Šanov (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) into a German-speaking family, Payer was a remarkable topographer having explored regions throughout Austria, Greenland and Scandinavia before leading the Austro-Hungarian Expedition to the North Pole in 1872-74 together with Karl Weyprecht.

After being trapped in the ice and then drifting uncontrollably in the Arctic Ocean, the crew discovered a new land in 1873, which they named Emperor Franz Joseph’s Land in honor of the Austro-Hungarian monarch. In 1874, the expedition participants left their ship and headed south to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago with sleds and small boats. There they were rescued by the Russian fishing boat Nikolaj.

To open the exhibition Zdeněk Lyčka from the Czech Foreign Ministry, who has curated the exhibition, will give a short lecture entitled Polar Explorer Julius Payer.

Doors open at 6.30 and the exhibition continues until Thursday 12 October 2023.