Aurora are works of art in their own right. Of course artists have been reproducing aurora in paintings and illustration since it was possible. Below are some examples of aurora in art, including various media. It’s interesting to see how the aurora can even be reproduced using woodcut.
Frederic Edwin Church (American), Aurora Borealis, 1865, 56×83, 1911.4.1, Smithsonian American Art MuseumAlexander Leydenfrost (1888 – 1961) 1940s illustrationKonstantin Korovin (Russian, 1861-1939) Northern Lights 1895At the Back of the North Wind, Jessie Willcox Smith, 1919‘Our Little Friends of Eskimo Land Papik and Natsek ‘ by Frances Carpenter published 1931Fun in the Frozen North back cover a 1950s pop up book arranged and illustrated by Molly B. ThomsonEdward Whymper (British mountaineer and illustrator, London, 1840 – Chamonix, 1911), Aurora Borealis, color woodcut, with watercolorNorthern Lights by Meyers Konv-Lexicon, 1870John Patience – The Snow QueenLeonid Zolotarev – The Snow QueenOla (Northern Lights) by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire, 1932‘Aurora Borealis’ Woodcut print by Finnish artist Aukusti Tuhko. 1937 Aurora Borealis in High Latitudes. from the book William MacKenzie’s National Encyclopedia (1891), a colored illustration of the beautiful polar lights in the night sky Kinder des Nordlichts, 1957, I. & E. Parin D’Auliar depicting the Lapps who herded reindeer, wide awake wild animals and the Northern Lights
Authors & illustrators Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, Ingri Parin d’Aulaire, 1972
The Open Road For Boys Magazine. This human generated electricity looks like aurora.
Header image: Ola (Northern lights) by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire, 1932
