The progressive degradation of the polar ice caps, the result of a warming earth, is but another indication of climate change’s consequences. Such warming not only alters the ecosystems that creatures have evolved to inhabit, it is destroying a powerful visual phenomenon. The North Pole is a singular and magnificent spectacle of the natural world, and as such, it has been described and captured by artists for centuries. “The Awe of the Arctic: A Visual History” focuses on the last 500 years of woodcuts, engravings, lithographs, photographs, and more, beginning with works created by 16th-century explorers. Drawing from the New York Public Library’s own collections, the exhibition works its way up to contemporary art that deals specifically with the modern environmental crisis. —Jack Sullivan