# Daniel Maclise artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/daniel-maclise/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T20:03:20.410Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1806-01-25
- Death date: 1870-04-25
- Nationality: Irish
- Movements: Victorian painting, History painting
- Common media: oil painting, watercolor, lithography, engraving, book illustration, mural painting

## About Daniel Maclise

Daniel Maclise (1806–1870) was an Irish painter, illustrator, and printmaker who became one of the leading history painters of Victorian Britain. Born in Cork, Ireland, he moved to London in 1827 and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Arts, where he won early prizes for his draftsmanship. A portrait sketch of Sir Walter Scott, drawn when the novelist visited Cork in 1825, helped launch his reputation. Maclise became celebrated for large-scale historical and literary subjects, most notably his monumental fresco murals in the Palace of Westminster—The Death of Nelson and The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher. He also produced illustrations for Shakespeare editions and was a sought-after portraitist of Victorian public figures. Elected a Royal Academician in 1840, Maclise moved in literary circles that included Charles Dickens. His work bridges the traditions of academic history painting and Victorian literary illustration, and his influence extended across painting, printmaking, and book design.

## Common works and media

Maclise worked across oil painting, watercolor, lithography, engraving, and book illustration. Works commonly encountered in the market include oil paintings of historical and literary subjects, portrait paintings and drawings of Victorian-era figures, book illustrations for literary editions (notably Shakespeare), lithographic prints—sometimes signed Alfred Croquis—and preparatory studies and sketches related to his Palace of Westminster mural commissions.

## Market and appraisal context

Daniel Maclise's work appears at auction in categories spanning British and Victorian paintings, Old Master works on paper, prints, and illustration art. Finished oil paintings of historical and literary subjects tend to achieve the strongest results, while drawings, watercolors, and lithographic prints offer more accessible price points. Key valuation factors include medium (oil versus work on paper), subject matter—with naval and military themes being particularly desirable—provenance, condition, and any documented exhibition history. Collectors should be aware that Maclise sometimes used the pseudonym Alfred Croquis, and variant spellings of his surname appear in older catalog records, which can complicate attribution research.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine scholarly identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. This page draws on museum records, library authority files (Getty ULAN, VIAF, Library of Congress, RKD), and biographical sources to establish artist identity and market context.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1161631
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Maclise
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500014844
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/3271806/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr92007687
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/daniel-maclise-365
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/51806