David Young Cameron

Sir David Young Cameron (28 June 1865 – 16 September 1945) was a Scottish painter and, with greater success, etcher, mostly of townscapes and landscapes in both cases. He was a leading figure in the final decades of the Etching Revival.

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, 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. From around 1881 he studied at the Glasgow School of Art and in 1885 enrolled at the Edinburgh School of Art. 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. 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 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 and watercolour sketches of landscapes and architectural subjects. His earliest known oil painting dates to 1883. His work was influenced by the Glasgow Boys and the Hague School. 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.

In 1899 Cameron and his wife moved to Kippen in the Scottish Highlands. This was near to Stirling with views of Ben Lomond and across to Stirling Castle. 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.

Cameron died in Perth, Scotland on 16 September 1945.