South Georgia Museum

The South Georgia Museum is situated in Grytviken, near the administrative centre of the UK overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

South Georgia Museum, Grytviken

The museum occupies the renovated and converted manager's villa built in 1916, and used as a residence for the manager of the Grytviken whaling station and his family, until the station closed in 1964. The South Georgia Museum was established in 1991 as a specialised whaling museum, subsequently expanding its expositions to include all aspects of the discovery of the island, sealing industry, maritime and natural history, as well as the 1982 Falklands war.

The museum has become a popular tourist venue, visited by cruise ship or yacht tourists. For several years Tim and Pauline Carr served as museum curators, living on board their yacht Curlew moored in the Grytviken port. The museum is now managed by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and is manned by three members of staff who are the only non-permanent residents who live in Grytviken.

The museum displays include a bronze bust of Duncan Carse by British sculptor Jon Edgar. Carse was influential in the mapping of South Georgia and the island's Mount Carse is named after him. The collection of the museum can be viewed online.

Bronze portrait bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton by Anthony Smith on display at the South Georgia Museum.

An occasional artist-in-residence position is supported by the museum. Previous artists to have been resident at the museum include the British sculptor Anthony Smith, who in November 2017 delivered a life-sized bronze portrait bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton to the Museum, which is now on permanent display.[1][2]