Dudley Talcott

A Hartford native, Dudley Talcott attended Taft School before briefly studying at Yale Art School. He moved to Paris in 1920 where he took classes at an art academy.

Norway

Talcott made his first trip to Norway in 1924. He spent the summer hiking the west coast of the country.

He returned to Norway for several summers after that. There he paddled along the coast in an American “Old Town” canoe.

Talcott wrote and illustrated the book Noravind (North Wind) about his Norwegian canoeing adventures.

Norkap

With his future father-in-law, ship captain Isak Isaksen, Talcott purchased the Norkap in 1929. The boat was to be used to carry cargo as well as for fishing. After a successful first season, the boat had trouble making money with traditional activities.

To share the expense of operating the boat, Talcott conceived of the idea of promoting a fishing and hunting expedition to the Arctic regions. The summer trip, popular with American adventurers, was among the fjords of Greenland in search of seal, walrus, polar bears, and more.

When it became difficult to find sportsmen, Talcott recruited scientific men, such as geologists, mineralogists, and ornithologists, to pay to travel with them. For seven years, the boat hauled fish in the winters and ferried visitors in the summer.

Talcott wrote and illustrated two books about these adventures – Report of the Company, and North of North Cape (The Arctic Voyages of the Norkap II).

Artist

Primarily a sculptor, Talcott worked on both small and large-scale projects in the U. S. during his off-season.

In 1932, he entered two sculptures, The Wrestler and Six Day Bike Racer, in the Olympic competition at the Los Angeles games. He did not win any medals, but The Wrestler received an honorable mention.

In 1973, he produced Kopernick, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. The stainless-steel sculpture stands on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.