Skip to main content
Menu

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

The Fly Catching Macaroni (Sir Joseph Banks)

1772
Matthias Darly

etching on paper (frame: 43.7 cm x 36.3 cm depth 1.7 cm, plate-mark: 17.6 cm x 12.2 cm)

Joseph Banks KCB (1743-1820), naturalist, grew up on his father's Lincolnshire estate, Revesby, but his lifelong interest in botany developed at Eton and Oxford. At the age of twenty-five, he suggested to the council of the Royal Society that they recommend him for inclusion on the voyage of the Endeavour. With Daniel Solander, he collected hundreds of specimens of plants and animals of the South Seas, of which many are depicted in the volumes which have come to be known as Banks' Florilegium. One of the great stars of eighteenth century London, Banks was President of the Royal Society for more than forty years, from 1778 to 1820. His association with Australia far outlasted the voyage with Cook: it was he who recommended it as a site for a penal settlement; he was a patron of Matthew Flinders and others; and his keen interest in Australian natural history was sustained through correspondence with all the early governors of New South Wales. At one point, Carl Linnaeus suggested that the continent be named Banksia. From 1788 to about 1810, though Banks held no official post, his role as de facto head of Australian affairs was widely acknowledged. During this period, he was deeply involved in schemes to drain the fens around Revesby, his family seat in Lincolnshire, through a system of canals. As the fens dried up, great stretches of pasture became available and Boston sheep fair became a major venture. Banks thus became keenly interested in sheep, particularly merinos (the volume The sheep and wool correspondence of Joseph Banks runs to nearly 700 pages) and he was designated Groom of His Majesty's Spanish Flock. He was involved with the first public sale of the breed on 15 August 1804, at which John Macarthur made significant purchases for his property at Camden, New South Wales.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Matthias Darly (age 52 in 1772)

Sir Joseph Banks KCB (age 29 in 1772)

Subject professions

Science and technology

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency