Sir Joseph Banks

Joseph Banks spent most of his early childhood in Lincolnshire on the substantial family estates centred around Revesby. It is likely that these surroundings gave him a taste for natural history that was to become a life-long passion. He embarked, in 1766, on a voyage to Labrador and Newfoundland. Here he carried out detailed studies on the flora and fauna and returned to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. From this voyage he started his Herbarium which rapidly became one of the largest and most important in the world and which today forms the basis of The Natural History Museum's botanical collections. The portrait depicts the great naturalist, explorer and scientist proudly displaying treasures after the triumphant return of Captain Cook's Endeavour from the South Seas. This work was acquired with assistance from the Wolfson Foundation.