Royal Scottish Academy

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 and Scottish landscapes.

This print was issued to subscribers of a special edition of The Royal Scottish Academy 1826 – 1916, by William Darling McKay and Frank Rinder. It shows William Henry Playfair’s two great Neo-classical gallery buildings in the centre of Edinburgh, set beneath the magnificent backdrop of the Castle. Playfair strove to achieve harmony between the buildings and their picturesque surroundings. Cameron captured these temples to the arts and their setting with his typically economical use of line, creating an atmospheric print that celebrates Playfair’s designs. Cameron himself had a close association with this site. In 1920 he was selected to sit on the Board of Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, an appointment which he retained until his death in 1945.

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/30998/royal-scottish-academy-building-and-national-gallery-scotland

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/30987/castle-urquhart-1929

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Young_Cameron

Dr Mark Stocker    Curator, Historical International Art   December 2017