| Portrait of Joseph Banks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Benjamin West |
| Year | 1772 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 234 cm× 160 cm(92 in× 63 in) |
| Location | Usher Gallery, Lincoln |
Portrait of Joseph Banks is 1772 portrait painting the American-British artist Benjamin West. [1] It depicts the English botanist Joseph Banks who has recently returned from the historic voyage with the naval explorer James Cook, which charted the Pacific Ocean. It is the first indisputable portrait of the young Banks. [2]
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West was best known for his history paintings such as The Death of General Wolfe , but was also a noted portraitist. From 1792 he served as President of the Royal Academy concurrently with Banks who was President of the Royal Society, both organisations based at Somerset House. Banks is show in heroic pose wearing a Māori flax cloak and surrounded by objects from New Zealand and Polynesia. Today the painting is in the Usher Gallery in Lincoln, having been acquired for the collection in 1989. [3]