南フランスのマルセイユに生まれ、子どものころパリへ移りました。新聞や雑誌に、政治家や裁判官、パリの市民の姿をユーモアたっぷりにえがいた石版画（リトグラフ）を発表しつづけ、その数は4000点をこえます。油絵では、三等車の乗客や洗濯女など、貧しく働く人々をあたたかい目で描き、のちの画家たちに大きな影響を与えました。
Daumier was born in Marseille and moved to Paris as a child. For newspapers and magazines, he made funny lithographs of politicians, judges and ordinary Parisians, more than 4,000 in all. In his oil paintings, he showed poor working people, such as third-class train passengers and washerwomen, with warmth. He greatly influenced later artists.
