Description
Signed, oil on canvas
Dimensions
30.5cm x 63.5cm (12in x 25in)
Footnote
Note: Sir David Young Cameron or D.Y., as he preferred to be known, is recognised as a talented painter and etcher, specifically of Scottish landscapes and architectural subjects. In fact, he remains the only person to have achieved the distinction of being elected associate of the Royal Academy for both engraving and painting. Throughout his career, D.Y. dedicated himself to what he perceived as his two main roles in life: creating beauty through his own art and promoting beauty through institutions, both artistic and religious.
D.Y. turned specifically to pure Scottish landscapes, devoid of figures, around 1907. He found the Scottish landscape powerfully inspiring, but it has also been suggested that his commitment may partly have arisen due to his understanding of his responsibility as a pillar of the Scottish art establishment, following his election as an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1904.
He developed a style that followed in the footsteps of a tradition of Scottish landscape painting, from artists such as Alexander Nasmyth and Horatio McCulloch, as opposed to contemporary developments inspired by French painting, and impressionistic techniques. He respected Scottish landscape tradition but managed to develop a style uniquely his own; of order and balance, clarity and structure with strong lines that create an almost austere beauty. He always sought to convey to the spirit and feel of a specific place, and he summarised his romantic vision of Scotland: 'Romance in history as in the arts was that spell of mystic beauty . . . It did not imply lack of strength but associated itself with very noble, exalted and even austere shapes, veiled perhaps by distance or muted by the faded light and gathering darkness.'