Mary Cameron

Mary Margaret Cameron (9 March 1865 – 15 February 1921) was a Scottish artist, known for her depictions of everyday Spanish life. She exhibited 54 works at the Royal Scottish Academy between 1886 and 1919.

Early life and education

Mary Margaret Cameron was born on 9 March 1865 in Portobello in Edinburgh, the third of six children of Mary Brown Small and Duncan Cameron. Her father was associated with the Edinburgh printing and stationery firm of Macniven and Cameron and the inventor of the "Waverley" pen-nib. She took classes at the Edinburgh Veterinary College to perfect her understanding of animal anatomy, She fell in love with the country, its people and culture. She painted many Spanish scenes, violent and masculine topics such as battlefields, horse racing and particularly bullfights,

Career

Cameron was a founding member of the Edinburgh Ladies Art Club and the first exhibition of the Society of Scottish Artists, she was later involved with the Royal Scottish Academy, Her painting, Portrait de Mme. Blair et ses borzois received a "Mention Honorable" at the Paris Salon in 1904. The winning portrait depicted her sister Flora with her two Russian Borzoi dogs at either side.

Cameron held four solo exhibitions between 1908 and 1913 in Edinburgh, London and Paris, Mary Cameron died at Turnhouse, a hamlet to the west of the Edinburgh, on 15 February 1921, and is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The grave lies in the obscured southern terrace, towards the east end.

Legacy Cameron has a small number of paintings in the British national collections. A portrait of Cameron at work in her studio, by John Brown Abercromby, is held by the National Gallery of Scotland. She has been described as a 'trailblazer" for women artists and gender equality.