(1787 - 1873)
Colonel Robert Smith was an engineer for the East India Company and was stationed in India with the Benegal Engineers (1805-30). He was later aide-de-camp for Commander in Chief Sir George Nugent and accompanied Nugent on a tour of India. In 1813 he joined an assignment to survey the frontier between Bihar and Central India. In 1814 he was posted to Prince of Wales Island, returning four years later after serving as field engineer during battles with Nepal. He spent three years in England (1819-22), before being stationed in Delhi. He then retired to Paignton, Devon, where he built his home, Redclyffe Towers. Smith made pencil and watercolour sketches throughout his career and, after meeting William Daniell in c.1822, also worked in oils.
