Benjamin West (1738-1820), an American painter, arrived in England in 1763 after a Grand Tour in Italy and soon won acclaim. In the late 1760s he brought forth his best-known work, the Death of General Wolfe, which became the model for various other death scenes of national heroes, including, to a degree, that of Captain Cook. West preferred producing history paintings to portraits; it was an indication of Banks' social standing at the conclusion of the Endeavour voyage, as well as the depth of his purse, that West agreed to paint him. West was closely associated with Joshua Reynolds, and it was a natural progression, for Banks, from a portrait by West to one by Reynolds. When Reynolds died in 1792, West succeeded him as President of the Royal Academy.
