The Queen of the Arctic: Louise Arner Boyd

Elisabeth Isaksson; Anka Ryall

doi:10.33265/polar.v42.9075

Elisabeth Isaksson Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø, Norway
Anka Ryall Centre for Women’s and Gender Research, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.9075

Keywords: Polar exploration, gender, glaciology, photography, Greenland, Norwegian polar history

Abstract

Louise Boyd (1887–1972) was a female pioneer in Arctic research whose legacy includes the exploration of north-east Greenland. In this Perspective piece, we use a broad interdisciplinary approach to investigate her career as a photographer and expedition leader. When documenting glacial retreat during the 1930s, she was at the forefront of the development of glaciology as a research discipline. Without family obligations and with seemingly inexhaustible financial resources, she used Arctic exploration to create an independent and self-defined life for herself.

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References

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