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Overview
D.Y. Cameron was a successful painter and a very influential etcher. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art before joining life classes at the Royal Scottish Academy. His work was acclaimed in Edinburgh, London, Berlin and Munich. During the First World War, Cameron was appointed official war artist to the Canadian government and in 1933 was made the King's Painter in Scotland. Cameron was highly sought after by collectors until the Great Crash of 1929 brought a collapse in prices for prints in general. Despite his excellence as a printmaker, his work still remains underrated both in art historical and market terms.
Strong tonal contrasts characterise his prints and his stark and dramatic paintings, which are mainly landscapes and cityscapes. His prints often feature areas of great darkness, offset by highlights. Cameron’s etchings are notable for their use of drypoint, a skill that he had mastered over his years of production. This is particularly evident in his studies of church interiors, as here, and Scottish landscapes.
This is an etching/drypoint print of the Romanesque north transept of Winchester Cathedral. In his interiors Cameron liked to contrast the irregular patterns of light cast from a window with the rich darkness of the shadows, and accentuate the mass and strength of the architecture. It has been romantically suggested that this atmospheric quality and the emphasis on the tomb evokes 'dark thoughts of death'. The impact is definitely more modernist than in his earlier, more topographically exact renderings of church interiors: one such example is Notre Dame de Dinant (1907), also in Te Papa's collection (1956-0001-5). Throughout his life Cameron had a deep religious faith (he was the son of a minister) and his interest in themes like this reflected his belief that beauty, decoration but perhaps above all a sense of reverence and even holy mystery were essential elements in the practice of worship.
Sources:
Arthur M. Hind, The Etchings of D.Y. Cameron (London; Halton and Truscott Smith, 1924)
National Galleries Scotland, https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/sir-david-young-cameron
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/31000/winchester-cathedral-1925
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Young_Cameron
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art December 2018