Samuel Daniell (1775 – 16 December 1811) was a British painter of natural history and other scenes in Africa and Ceylon. [1] He first went to South Africa in 1799.
Daniell is perhaps best known as the appointed artist for a 1799-1802 expedition to South Africa and the renderings he did there of African animals. [2] He was born and reared in Chertsey.
In December 1799, he went to South Africa for the first time. [3] The drawings he made in southern Africa, including a journey to Bechuanaland, were published by his brother William Daniell in London. [1] During the trip to Bechuanaland, Daniell was named the official secretary and artist for the trip. The trip went from Cape of Good Hope to Bechuanaland. [3] He returned to England from the trip and co-published with his brothers William Daniell and Thomas Daniell, African Scenery and Animals, in 1804. [1] [3]
Daniell later lived in Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, from 1806 to 1811, when he died from tropical fever. [3] [4] His brother William published twelve of his drawings in 1806, with the title: A Picturesque Illustration of the Scenery, Animals and Native Inhabitants of Ceylon. [1]
After Samuel Daniell's death, further engravings based on his drawings were published: In 1820, forty-eight lithographs titled Sketches Representing the Native Tribes and Scenery of Southern Africa, and in 1832, Twenty Varied Subjects of the Tribe of Antelopes. [1]