Thomas Baines

Born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, in 1820, Thomas Baines trained first as a coach painter before leaving for South Africa in his early twenties. He worked as a scenic and portrait painter in Cape Town, then began traveling more widely, using his art to document places, people, and events across the region.

Baines became known for combining the eye of an artist with the habits of an explorer and observer. He served as an official artist during the Eighth Frontier War in southern Africa, joined Augustus Gregory's expedition in northern Australia in the 1850s, and later took part in expeditions in southern Africa, including travels connected with David Livingstone and journeys into the Zambezi region.

His paintings, sketches, and written accounts remain valuable not only as works of art but also as historical records of exploration in the colonial era. He died in Durban in 1875, leaving behind a body of work that still attracts readers, historians, and admirers of travel art.