Sir David Young Cameron (28 June 1865 – 16 September 1945) was a Scottish painter and, with greater success,

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, mostly of townscapes and landscapes in both cases. He was a leading figure in the final decades of the

Etching Revival The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as t ...

Biography

Cameron was the son of the Rev. Robert Cameron of the United Presbyterian Church, and his wife Margaret Robertson, and was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. One of five children, his sister Katharine (Kate) Cameron (1874–1965) was also an artist and sometimes included in the "Glasgow Girls".( David was educated at

The Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldes ...

. From around 1881 he studied at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

and in 1885 enrolled at the

Edinburgh School of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

. Cameron became a skilled etcher and gained international recognition by the 1890s. He was elected associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers (RE) in 1889. In 1895 he was elected Fellow of the RE. He exhibited regularly from 1889 to 1902, before resigning his membership in 1903. Cameron's subjects included architectural studies, of which he produced a number of popular 'sets' and landscapes. He received various medals and awards for his etchings. He published a number of sets of etchings, including "The Clyde Set", "The North Holland Set" and "The North Italian Set". In general his prints feature areas of great darkness, offset by highlights. Cameron would later become known for his church interiors and barren landscapes of Scotland done in

drypoint Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically iden ...

. The feathery lightness of these drypoints was in visual contrast with the rock and water of the subjects. He became highly sought after by collectors, until the Great Crash of 1929 brought a collapse in prices for prints in general. He exploited his popularity by producing an unprecedented number of

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of his prints, and is believed to hold the record at twenty-eight states in one case. As well as becoming well known as an etcher, Cameron also produced a great many

oil paintings Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...

and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

sketches of landscapes and architectural subjects. His earliest known oil painting dates to 1883. His work was influenced by the

Glasgow Boys The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook Schoo ...

and the

Hague School The Hague School () is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of re ...

. His first exhibition of 14 paintings received mixed reviews. Amongst the many good reviews others described his work as lacking in subtlety and substance with too much concentration on decoration. This was due in part to his romanticising of his subjects. From 1900 he stopped exhibiting portraits and figure studies, concentrating solely on landscapes and architectural subjects in both his painting and etching. File:David Young Cameron - Harfleur - B1994.4.806 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg, ''

Harfleur Harfleur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western Fr ...

'', etching and

, 1903 File:David Young Cameron - Beauvais - B1994.4.123 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg, ''

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

'',

, 1910 File:Rocks and Ruins by David Young Cameron 1913.JPG, ''Rocks and Ruins'', 1913 File:Ben Ledi by David Young Cameron.jpg, ''

Ben Ledi Ben Ledi (Beinn Leitir in Scottish Gaelic) is a mountain in Stirling, Scotland. It is high, and is therefore classified as a Corbett. It lies about northwest of Callander, near the village of Kilmahog. It is situated in the Trossachs, an ar ...

'' In 1899 Cameron and his wife moved to

Kippen Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east of Loch Lo ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. This was near to

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

with views of

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (, ), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossach ...

and across to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

. They lived in the village for rest of their lives, as well as keeping a house in London. They also made regular trips abroad including visits throughout Italy and France. Italy provided the inspiration for a number of etchings of architectural subjects, with church interiors proving successful. His etchings, which examined light and shade, again show the influence of the Hague School as well as Whistler and

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

David Young Cameron - Menteith - Sarjeant Gallery

David Young Cameron - Craigievar Castle - B2001

In 1901 Cameron became a member of the anti-

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

society the

International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred ...

, (later The International) that had been founded by Whistler in 1898. He exhibited with the society from 1898 and later served on its council. Following his resignation from the RE, Cameron and 11 other artists formed The Society of Twelve in 1904 with the objective to promote the original print. He became a member of the

Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

in 1906. He was elected Associate of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

(RsA) in 1904 (on his 6th attempt) and became RsA in 1918. Having previously been elected Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in the engraver class in 1911, in 1916 he was also elected ARA for his painting. He was elected a full Royal Academician (RA) in 1920. During these years Cameron's work was also exhibited at the Royal Society of Oil Painters, the Royal Glasgow Institute, the

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 w ...

, as well as showing in overseas exhibitions. After 1907 Cameron's work showed a greater focus on Scottish landscape subjects and from 1908 to 1917 he moved from etching to painting. Around this time he largely stopped including figures in his compositions, apart from in his architectural studies. By this time his works were receiving wide critical acclaim and he was well known both in the UK and abroad. Around 1908 his work began to lighten in colour, prior to this Cameron's work had been criticised for being too dark with a heavy use of brown tones. Visits to France and Italy in the 1920s seemed to have a further influence on his works and brought about a much brighter palette. His painting can be characterised by an interest in tone and design over colour and detail. At the same time there was a shift in influence away from the Glasgow Boys and their decorative style and he became known for his atmospheric highland landscapes. Cameron was well known and liked in the art world and held a great many appointments to societies and boards. On the retirement of RsA president Sir James Guthrie in 1919, it was suggested that Cameron stand for the presidency. Cameron declined however, citing too many existing responsibilities in London. In 1917–18 Cameron was commissioned by the Canadian Government to paint the war in France. Cameron was knighted in 1924 and was a Trustee of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

from 1921 to 1927 and the

Scottish National Gallery The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Play ...

, and was the King's Painter and

Limner A limner is an illuminator of manuscripts, or more generally, a painter of ornamental decoration. A mention of medieval limners' work appears in the book ''Methods and Materials of Painting'' by Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865). United Ki ...

in Scotland from 1933. In 1914 he was sculpted by

Percy Portsmouth Percival ("Percy") Herbert Portsmouth RSA FRSBS (1874–1953) was a 20th-century British sculptor. His most notable public work is Elgin War Memorial, and the similar War Memorial in Thurso. Life He was born in Reading, England, in 1874, th ...

ARSA. Cameron died in

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

on 16 September 1945.

References

External links

* *
Print REbels: Haden – Palmer – Whistler and the origins of the RE

Works in the National Galleries of ScotlandTate: ''The Wilds of Assynt''Tate: Sir David CameronCollection of images''Culloden Moor''

University of Michigan – Sir David Young CameronDavid Young Cameron's biography & artwork from the Permanent Collection of the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries, Scotland
biography & virtual representation of David Young Cameron's artwork of Gracefield Arts Centre at exploreart.co.uk
Sir David Young Cameron exhibition catalogs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, David Young 1865 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters 20th-century British printmakers 20th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Royal Academicians Royal Scottish Academicians Scottish knights Scottish male painters Scottish printmakers 19th-century British male artists