pation of that colony. He was appointed secretary and draughtsman to a mission under Mr. Truter and Dr. Somerville, despatched in 1801 by the acting governor, Lieutenant-general Francis Dundas, to visit ‘the country of the Booshuanas’ (Bechuanaland). The expedition reached Lataku, then believed to be the remotest point of South Africa ever visited by Europeans, and met with a friendly reception. A narrative of the journey by Mr. Truter, the senior commissioner, is given as an appendix to Sir John Barrow's ‘Voyage to Cochin China’ (London, 1806, 4to). A number of sketches made by Daniell during the journey were subsequently engraved and published by his brother. Daniell proceeded in 1806 to Ceylon, and spent several years there in travelling and sketching. He died there in December 1811, aged 36. The ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ 1812, thus refers to his death: ‘Mr. Daniell was ever ready with his own eye to explore every object worthy of research, and with his own hand to convey to the world a faithful representation of what he saw. Unhappily, whilst traversing and occasionally taking up his abode in swamps and forests, the strength of his constitution, which he too much confided in, did not enable him to resist the approaches of disease’ (vol. lxxxii. pt. ii. p. 296). Daniell exhibited in landscape at the Society of Artists and at the Royal Academy at various times between 1791 and 1812 (Graves, Dict. of Artists). His published works are:
- ‘African Scenery and Animals,’ 2 parts, London, 1804–5, fol.
- ‘Picturesque Illustrations of Scenery, Animals, &c. … of Ceylon,’ London, 1808, fol.
- ‘Sketches of Native Tribes, &c. in South Africa,’ with illustrative notices by Dr. Somerville and Sir John Barrow, London, 1820, 4to.
- ‘Sketches of South Africa,’ London, 1821, 4to.
- ‘Twenty varied Subjects of the Tribe of Antelopes,’ London, 1832, oblong 4to.
[Authorities cited above; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
DANIELL, THOMAS (1749–1840), landscape-painter, born at Kingston-on-Thames in 1749, was the son of an innkeeper at Chertsey. He served his time to a herald painter and was afterwards (1773) a student of the Royal Academy. In 1784 he went to India, taking with him his nephew, William Daniell [q. v.] There he pursued his profession for ten years, and published in Calcutta a series of views of the city. Uncle and nephew returned together to England, and set to work on a great publication, ‘Oriental Scenery,’ which was completed in 1808. In 1796 Thomas was elected associate, and in 1799 a full member of the Royal Academy. He was fellow of the Royal Society, of the Asiatic Society, and of the Society of Antiquaries. Between 1772 and 1830 he exhibited 125 landscapes at the Royal Academy, and 10 at the gallery of the British Institute. He made money by his oriental paintings and publications, and retired comparatively early from active life. He died, unmarried, at Earl's Terrace, Kensington, on 19 March 1840, at the age of ninety-one. ‘His works are characterised by great oriental truth and beauty; the customs and manners of India are well rendered. His painting was firm but sometimes thin; his colouring agreeable.’ He published:
- ‘Oriental Scenery,’ 144 views, 1808.
- ‘Views in Egypt.’
- ‘Hindoo Excavations at Ellora,’ twenty-four plates.
- ‘Picturesque Voyage to China by way of India.’
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists.]
DANIELL, WILLIAM (1769–1837), landscape-painter, was nephew of Thomas Daniell, R.A. [q. v.] In 1784 he accompanied his uncle to India, and there helped him with drawings and sketches. On their return in 1794 he worked upon their important publication, ‘Oriental Scenery.’ Between 1795 and 1838 he exhibited as many as 168 pictures at the Royal Academy and 64 at the British Institute. His earlier exhibits were Indian views, but from 1802 to 1807 he sent many views of the north of England and of Scotland. He published ‘A Picturesque Voyage to India,’ ‘Zoography,’ in conjunction with William Wood, F.S.A., ‘Animated Nature,’ 1807, ‘Views of London,’ 1812, and ‘Views of Bhootan,’ 1813, from drawings by Samuel Davis, of the East India Company's service, who visited Bhootan in 1783. In 1814 Daniell began ‘A Voyage round Great Britain’; this was published in four volumes in 1825. The British Institution awarded him 100l. for his sketch of the ‘Battle of Trafalgar’ in 1826. He painted, together with Mr. E. T. Parris, a ‘Panorama of Madras,’ and afterwards, unaided, another of ‘The City of Lucknow and the mode of Taming Wild Elephants.’ He became a student of the Royal Academy in 1799, in 1807 was elected associate, and in 1822 a full member of that body. He died in New Camden Town 16 Aug. 1837. ‘A View of the Long Walk, Windsor,’ in the royal collection, is one of his best pictures. There are two examples of his work in the South Kensington collection, one of Castel Nuovo, Naples, the other of Durham Cathedral.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Cat. South Kens. Mus. Coll.; Graves's Dict. of Artists.]
