BOOK REVIEW

Daniells’work unearthed:
A boon To Art Lovers, Historians

Santanu Ganguly

Daniells’ India: Views from the Eighteenth
Century
Introduction: B.N. Goswamy
ISBN: 978-93-81523-63-6
Size: 425×298 mm, Illustrations: 95, Hardback
with dust jacket
Price: Rs 6,000/-, Pages: 204

Thomas Daniell and his nephew William travelled across India, painting oriental sceneries wherever they went. This special book presents a selection of their work in India. One of India’s premier publishers, Niyogi Books, has presented an exquisite selection of the Daniells’ work in India in its latest publication titled ‘Daniells’, India: Views from the Eighteenth Century, which was released by Shri Jawhar Sircar, Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati. Professor B. N. Goswamy, distinguished Art Historian, who has written the foreword to the book was present on the occasion. Leading historian, Professor Mushirul Hasan, Director General, National Archives of India who inspired the publication could not attend as he was indisposed.

Professor B.N. Goswamy is a leading authority on Indian art. His work covers a wide range and is regarded, especially in the area of Pahari painting, as having influenced much thinking. With the publication of the book, the works of Thomas and William Daniell, which were hitherto lying in the confines of the National Archives of India have become easily accessible to public. Thomas Daniell was thirty-six years old when he and his nephew William, barely sixteen, sailed out from Gravesend in April 1785 and headed for the East. They arrived in Calcutta via China the next year. Their views were widely appreciated and are representative of that fascinating period.