Samuel Davis (1760-1819), one of the earliest European amateur painters had visited the Indian sub-continent during British colonial rule. He arrived in Madras in 1780 sailing through the famous East India Company ship 'Earl of Oxford' (weight- 758 ton; launched on 1778-1796). Davis spent twenty- six years (1780 - 1806) in India and during these long years, though he was loaded with tedious official duties ranging from police, judiciary and revenue to higher accountancy, his spare time was used by utilizing his inner ability in depicting the landscapes and buildings of southern, eastern and northern India and exclusively the sceneries, monasteries, ruins, cascades, bridges and palaces of Bhutan which added a significant impact in the history of European paintings in India.

These paintings are not only the graphic records but also through these paintings one can visualize the refreshing splendor of 18th & 19th centuries India and Bhutan.

Tassisudan