Sir Alexander Allan (1764-1820), an army officer serving in the Madras Infantry, took part in the third and fourth Mysore Wars (1790-1799) fought by the British against Tippu, Sultan of Mysore. An amateur painter, Alexander Allan executed a series of sketches of the Mysore region in Southern India whilst serving in the third war. These sketches were published as Views in the Mysore Country in 1794