Artist Biographies

George Francklin Atkinson

George Francklin Atkinson (1822-1859) was an English author, illustrator, and member of the Bengal Engineers, an engineering unit of the East India Company’s army. Atkinson worked for the Bengal Engineers from 1841 to 1859, and was there for the gruesome Sepoy Revolution in 1857. From 1854 onwards, Atkinson was the executive engineer for the Umballa division, building the artillery Mess House and St. Paul’s Church in Ambala. Atkinson wrote several books humorously documenting his experiences in India, writing Indian Spices for English Tables; The Campaign in India: 1857-58; and Curry and Rice, was an editor to The Delhi Sketch Book, and a contributor to the Illustrated London News and Leisure Hour.

Thomas Daniell

Thomas Daniell (1749-1840) was an apprentice to a heraldic painter and worked at Maxwell’s on Queen Street before going to Royal Academy schools. On his journey to India from 1786 to 1794 with his nephew William Daniell, he completed various plates on the sceneries he saw in India, including 12 Views of Calcutta and Magnum Opus.

Captain Robert Melville Grindlay

Captain Robert Melville Grindlay’s entire career in British India was one of a documentarian, someone who would record the subcontinent for bookkeeping and returning knowledge to the imperial core. Born in 1786, Grindlay joined the East India Company on his father’s recommendation in 1803. He was with the Bombay Native Military for 17 years, where he toured across northwest India as part of regiment expeditions. This included Ahmedabad, where he drew this piece on the spot, documenting it for future viewing, both in India and in Britain. Throughout his travels of the northwest, he grew fascinated of the architecture, culture, and landscapes, working to uphold the East India company through artistic pursuits.

John Hamilton Moore

John Hamilton Moore (c. 1738-1807) was a Scottish teacher of navigation, hydrographer, and chart-seller. Born in Edinburgh and educated in Ireland, he joined the Royal Navy before establishing a navigational academy in Brentford in 1770. In 1772, Moore published The New Practical Navigator and Daily Assistant, a popular epitome of navigation, establishing his credentials. "Ceremony of Weighing the Great Mogul" is published in his later work, A New and Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels (1785).

Baron de Montalembert

The draftsman Baron de Montalembert is most likely Marc René de Montalembert (1777-1831). He came from a French family that emigrated to England during the Reign of Terror and had served in the British army. When he created the drawing in 1807, he was the aide-de-camp to General Sir John Cradock, the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army at the time. Besides "Dancing Snake and the Musicians," he was attributed as the draftsperson of several other prints in the volume. In 1809, he married James Forbes’s daughter, Elizabeth Rosea Forbes. This relationship is evidenced by a letter written by Forbes in 1817, in which he refers to Marc René de Montalembert as “my son-in-law the Baron de Montalembert.”

Edward Orme

Edward Orme (1775-1848) was born in Manchester. He sold and published aquatints and etchings in his shops in Conduit Street and New Bond Street.

William Purser

Purser was a topographical draughtsman, architect, painter, and member of the Royal Academy and Society of British Artists, exhibiting between 1805 and 1834. His focus was on architectural subjects and landscapes from his travels to Italy and Greece (1817-1820) and the Near East in the 1820s and 1830s.

James Redaway

James Redaway engraved landscapes from various countries including Switzerland, Italy, Northumberland, Westmorland, India, and the Middle East. Redaway worked in London with his brother and nephew as “J. Redaway & Sons.” Redaway engraved works by notable artists including J.M.W. Turner.

Joseph Constantine Stadler

The engraver Joseph Constantine Stadler (1780-1822) is a German painter who specialized in aquatint engraving.

Thomas Charles Wageman

Thomas Charles Wageman (circa 1787-1863) was a British painter and engraver most known for his prolific career in portraiture. Many prints were produced after his drawings and watercolors, particularly of actors and actresses. Wageman was also a founding member of the New Society of Painters in Water-Colours, now known as the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. In addition to his work as a painter, Wageman was also an engraver. He is attributed with the soft-ground etchings in James Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs: A Narrative of Seventeen Years Residence in India.

Samuel Wale

Samuel Wale (1721-1786) was one of the most distinguished British painters and book illustrators of the 18th century, known for his architectural works and vignettes. As an illustrator, he made designs for over 100 publications, but preferred for others to engrave his works, such as Charles Grignion. He studied drawing at the St. Martin’s Lane Academy and took part in all major mid-18th century efforts to establish an academy of arts in London. He was an original member of The Society of Artists and at the Royal Academy, where he was appointed the first professor of perspective.

William Westall

William Westall (1781–1850) was a British artist known for his landscape drawings and topographical views produced during overseas travel. He participated in early nineteenth-century expeditions across Africa, Australia, and Asia with the support of British imperial powers. Recording architecture, geography, and monuments encountered abroad, Westall’s work emphasized clarity of composition and careful observation, qualities well suited to translation into print. His drawings frequently served as source material for engraved and published images, extending their reach beyond the original sites depicted. Westall later became an Associate of the Royal Academy, and his work contributed to shaping British visual knowledge of distant landscapes and architectural traditions.