Family Tree of Thomas Bancks and Elizabeth Montgomery
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Ricky Jay notes that “Family trees, designed and executed for prestigious commissions, played an important role in Buchinger’s career as a calligrapher. . . . In 1727 in Belfast, Buchinger commemorated both the union and offspring of Thomas Banks and Elizabeth Montgomery, who had married in 1714. . . . On the branches of the family trees are fruits shaped like apples, within which Buchinger wrote the names of seven of the Banks children and their birth dates, between 1715 and 1725. He left some fruits blank, as was his custom, to allow for additional offspring. Long after Buchinger’s death, another hand added ‘Thomas Banks’ (perhaps a grandson), born ‘February the 25[th] day of 1752.’”
Artwork Details
- Title: Family Tree of Thomas Bancks and Elizabeth Montgomery
- Artist: Matthias Buchinger (German, Ansbach 1674–1739)
- Date: 1727
- Medium: Pen and ink
- Dimensions: Sheet: 7 in. × 11 1/2 in. (17.8 × 29.2 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Collection of Ricky Jay
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints