Sir Joseph Banks, Bt, 1771-1773

Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Joseph Banks (1743–1820) was one of two paintings of Banks exhibited in the Royal Academy’s annual exhibition in 1773. Reynolds painted Banks shortly after the latter’s return to England, to a rapturous welcome, having participated in the voyage to the Pacific conducted by James Cook on the Endeavour from 1768 to 1771. Reynolds’ portrait alludes to Banks’ identity as an explorer through the globe on the table, while the inscription on the letter, a quotation from the Roman poet Horace, translates as ‘tomorrow we will set out again upon the vast sea’.

Banks’ legacy has been the subject of re-evaluation in recent decades due to the exploitation of indigenous peoples during the Endeavour expedition, and his active support for British colonial expansion. It was Banks who recommended New South Wales as a site for a penal settlement; he was a patron of Matthew Flinders and others; and his keen interest in Australia’s natural history, exploration and development was sustained through correspondence with early colonial governors. Knighted in 1781, he held positions of great scientific influence and was president of the Royal Society from 1778 until his death in 1820.

National Portrait Gallery, London Purchased with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Pilgrim Trust, 1986
© National Portrait Gallery, London