Alexander Buchan artist

Alexander Buchan was a Scottish artist who accompanied Joseph Banks on James Cook's first voyage aboard the *Endeavour*. Employed as a landscape and figure painter, Buchan was tasked with documenting the people and scenes encountered during the journey. He suffered from poor health, including epilepsy and bowel disorders, which ultimately led to his death in Tahiti on April 17, 1769.

Buchan's artwork includes natural history drawings and ethnographic sketches, particularly of the people of Tierra del Fuego. After his death, Banks acquired all of Buchan's drawings, which are now held by the British Natural History Museum and the British Library. Some of his works were later altered by artist Giovanni Battista Cipriani for publication in John Hawkesworth's *An Account of the Voyages* (1773), transforming Buchan's realistic depictions into more classical representations. Despite these changes, Buchan's original sketches remain significant historical records of the voyage and its encounters. His death was deeply regretted by Banks, who valued his contributions to documenting their travels.