Career
As a young man, Daniel travelled abroad studying the attribution of paintings with Roger Fry. His installation as Director in January 1929 is seen as a strike against "experts" and the increasing professionalisation of art history, on the part of the Trustees. In 1929, the Gallery bought the Wilton Diptych and Titian"s group portrait of The Vendramin Family.
These are considered the two major purchases of Daniel"s directorship.
Also that year the highly controversial dealer Joseph Duveen became a Trustee. Like many directors of the National Gallery, he was a trustee of the Iveagh Bequest.