The Artistic Legacy of Joseph Banks Large-Print Guide Rotation
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The artistic legacy of Joseph Banks Exhibition text in large print Please return to the information desk after use Left case The artistic legacy of Joseph Banks Two hundred years after his death, this display uses some of the extraordinary collections amassed by Joseph Banks (1743–1820) to explore his life and interests. Banks was one of the most influential people in British science in the late 1700s and, with the help of a large inherited fortune, he dramatically changed how many people understood the natural world and used its resources. During his lifetime, Banks’ collections were among the most comprehensive accounts of the natural world. His rare manuscripts, artworks, preserved insects, shells and pressed plants formed the basis of the Natural History Museum’s collections and are central to its origins. Although Banks’ passion was for plants, he supported many areas of science. He was president of Britain’s oldest scientific 1 institution – the Royal Society – and an adviser to King George III. Banks also advocated for the British colonisation of Australia, after sailing there on HMS Endeavour as a young man. He lived in an age when British science and colonialism were closely linked through trade, travel and the exploitation of natural resources. In time, the impacts of this on many Indigenous people, such as Australia’s Aboriginal population, were catastrophic. 2 Left case – part 1 Top left Joseph Banks William Dickinson (1746–1823) after Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) Engraving on paper based on an original painting 1774 This portrait of Joseph Banks was completed after he returned from a voyage to Iceland. Although it bears a Latin quotation translated as ‘tomorrow we’ll sail the vast deep again’, Banks did not go on another voyage. Instead, he continued to be an important funder and supporter of the natural sciences in Britain. 3 Bottom left Copy of Journal of a Voyage to Newfoundland & Labrador: Commencing April ye Seventh & Ending November the 17th 1766 Original by Joseph Banks, copy by Sarah Sophia Banks (1744–1818) Ink on paper Original 1766, copy 1772 Sarah Sophia Banks made this handwritten copy of her brother’s journal. It records the first voyage Joseph Banks took, aged 23, to the east coast of modern-day Canada. The experience Banks gained on this ten-month journey was vital for his future work, enabling him to study, collect and preserve nature while on an expedition abroad. 4 Top right Joseph Banks Niccolò Schiavonetti (1771–1813) after Thomas Phillips (1770–1845) Engraved print based on an original oil painting 1812 This portrait shows Joseph Banks in his old age and at the peak of his influence. He appears as president of the Royal Society, Britain’s oldest scientific institution, and wears the star-shaped insignia of the Order of the Bath. King George III granted this honour to mark Banks’ contribution to British science, having already made him a baronet. 5 Bottom right Old man banksia Banksia serrata Gabriel Smith (1724–1783) after Sydney Parkinson (c1745–1771) and John Frederick Miller (1759–1796) Colour print 1983 This engraved print shows a plant collected by Joseph Banks in Australia in 1770, during a four-year voyage across the Pacific on HMS Endeavour. While on the voyage, Banks carried out important scientific research. This group of plants – or genus – was later named in his honour. Aboriginal people have their own names for Banksia and probably knew of the plant for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. 6 Left case – part 2 Top left Dingo Canis familiaris dingo Artist unknown, Port Jackson collection Watercolour on paper Before 1790 This watercolour of a dingo was used to create the animal’s first description by Western scientists. The unknown European artist was possibly one of the naval officers who sailed on the first fleet of ships transporting convicts to establish a penal colony in Australia. The collection of artworks was later purchased by Joseph Banks. 7 Bottom left Superb fairywren Malurus cyaneus Artist unknown, Port Jackson collection Watercolour on paper Before 1790 This painting was created by an artist who sailed on the first fleet of ships to establish a penal colony in Australia. It is part of a collection of 69 artworks that gives an insight into the country’s plants, animals and Aboriginal population, as well as its colonisation, through European eyes. Joseph Banks, who acquired the collection, was keen that a visual record was made of the new European settlements. 8 Top right Broad-leaved monsonia Monsonia speciosa Francis Masson (1741–1805) Watercolour on paper 1775 This plant comes from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which was a Dutch colony for most of the 1700s. As informal director of London’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Joseph Banks commissioned botanist Francis Masson to record and send back plants and seeds. 9 Bottom right Triggerfish Balistapus undulatus Mungo Park (1771–1806) Watercolour on paper 1792 The Scottish explorer Mungo Park was one of the first Europeans to explore West Africa. Supported by Banks, he also travelled to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, where he painted this fish. On his return, he presented a scientific paper in which he described eight species of Sumatran fish new to Western science. 10 Middle case Joseph Banks and voyages of exploration Joseph Banks made his name sailing on Captain James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific from 1768 to 1771. Many of the artworks in his collections give insights into this expedition. Cook’s ship – HMS Endeavour – first sailed to Tahiti to observe the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun. The voyage then sailed south as part of a secret mission to seek a long-rumoured ‘great southern continent’, which saw the Endeavour make landfall on the east coast of Australia. Banks funded others to join the voyage and assist with his scientific work, including two artists and a botanist. With the occasional help of local people, his team collected many plants and recorded them visually. The voyage marked a new approach to Western scientific study and was an important event in European exploration. However, it eventually led to colonial exploitation and expansion, which had 11 a negative impact on Indigenous people, many of whom lost their land, culture and lives. Cook captained two more voyages to the Pacific, but Banks did not travel on these. Instead, he acquired plants and drawings and supported the publication of accounts describing the expeditions. 12 Middle case – part 1 Top left Broad-leaved paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia Sydney Parkinson (c1745–1771) Graphite and watercolour on paper 1770 During HMS Endeavour’s voyage across the Pacific from 1768 to 1771, artist Sydney Parkinson made many illustrations of plants, such as this. Joseph Banks and the ship’s botanist Daniel Solander collected thousands of plants, which Parkinson recorded. For speed, he made outline pencil drawings with touches of colour for reference. 13 Bottom left Broad-leaved paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia Frederick Polydore Nodder (active c1770–1800) Watercolour on paper 1782 Like some others made on the Endeavour voyage, this painting remained unfinished when Sydney Parkinson died of dysentery six months before the voyage ended. After returning to London, Joseph Banks employed a team of watercolour artists to complete Parkinson’s illustrations. They worked at Banks’ house on Soho Square, where he also kept his vast library and collections of pressed plants, preserved insects and shells. 14 Top right Broad-leaved paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia Gerard Sibelius (1734–1785) Engraved copper plate 1773–1784 This engraved copper plate shows a plant collected on the Endeavour voyage and would have been used to make prints. Joseph Banks employed a team of 18 engravers to produce prints for an account of the voyage. Despite the time and effort spent on the project, a finished work was not published until 200 years later, due to the death of botanist Daniel Solander and Banks’ involvement in public affairs. 15 Bottom right Broad-leaved paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia Collected 1770 This is one of over 30,000 plants collected on the Endeavour voyage. Among these, Banks and other botanists described over 3,600 species new to Western science, known as type specimens. The pressed plants became part of Banks’ scientific collection – still studied today for what it tells us about the history of naming, describing and classifying the natural world. 16 Middle case – part 2 Top left Pseuderanthemum repandum Georg Forster (1754–1794) Watercolour on paper 1774 German naturalist Georg Forster painted this plant from the Pacific island of Vanuatu when he was just 17. He travelled to the country with his father on Captain James Cook’s second Pacific voyage from 1772 to 1775. Joseph Banks did not take part in this voyage but later acquired Forster’s paintings. 17 Bottom left Serval Leptailurus serval Georg Forster (1754–1794) Watercolour on paper 1775 Georg Forster painted this serval, a wild cat native to Africa, on the return leg of Captain James Cook’s second Pacific voyage. He observed it at the Cape of Good Hope on the west coast of South Africa. Forster’s report of the journey, A Voyage Round the World, contributed significantly to forming a Western view of Polynesians. 18 Top right Lapland longspur, Calcarius lapponicus alascensis Tufted puffin, Lunda cirrhata William Wade Ellis (1751–1785) Watercolour on paper 1778 These illustrations by amateur artist William Wade Ellis show two Alaskan birds, one of which was painted from life. Assistant to the ship’s surgeon, Ellis created these on Captain James Cook’s third Pacific voyage (1776– 1780), which searched for a passage from the North Pacific to the North Atlantic.