Samuel Davis was born in the West Indies in 1760, where his father was Commissary-General. After his father's death, he came to the British Isles and later joined the Madras Infantry as a cadet. He sailed to India, arriving in Madras in early 1780, and the following year, as Ensign and Assistant Engineer, he took part in the second Mysore war. In 1783, Davis, by now Lieutenant, was appointed by Warren Hastings to accompany Samuel Turner's mission to Bhutan and Tibet as 'draftsman and surveyor'. He made drawings and kept a diary, but he was refused permission to enter Tibet and had to return to Calcutta, where Hastings secured a writership for him in the Bengal Civil Service. He subsequently held several posts, including Assistant to the Collector and Registrar of the Adalat Court, First Assistant in 1787, Factor in 1788, Collector of Burdwan in 1793, Magistrate of Benares (1795), First Magistrate of the 24-Parganas (1800), and also Superintendent-General of Police at Calcutta. His last post was that of Accountant-General of India, which lasted from May 1804 until February 1806, when he resigned from the civil service and returned with his wife and children to England. In 1810 Davis became a Director of the East India Company, remaining in the post until he died in 1819. This painting is a view of Calcutta from Fort William, which was completed by the East India Company in 1699.