Sir David Young Cameron

Original D.Y. Cameron etching with drypoint.

One of the towering figures of the Etching Revival, the famous Scottish printmaker, Sir David Young Cameron developed his own totally unique approach to etching and drypoint, characterised by an extraordinary economy of line and brilliant simplicity of composition. In particular, it was in the bleak, open mountainous scenes of his native Scottish landscape, such as Ben Lomond, that D.Y. Cameron’s genius was fully realised. Here the artist has portrayed the essential character of these brooding hills with a reverence which conveys a sombre yet noble majesty to this imposing landscape. An absolute master of his medium, the artist has contrasted the rich blacks of etching and drypoint with the still clarity of foreground water and vast open sky, suggested only by delicate tone.

Sir David Young Cameron’s magnificent etching and drypoint of Ben Lomond is considered to be one of the artist’s greatest Scottish landscape works. Indeed, F. Rinder, the leading authority on the artist’s printed works, considered Ben Lomond to be “Cameron’s supreme landscape achievement as etcher” (D.Y. Cameron, An Illustrated Catalogue of his Etchings and Dry-Points, 1887-1932, Glasgow, 1932, p.xx).

Printed to emphasise the deep black silhouettes of the Scottish mountains and the subtle shadows of their wooded slopes, this is unquestionably one of D.Y. Cameron’s most impressive and romantic plates. There is a splendid atmospheric luminosity to the scene, giving the impression of mist illuminated by sunlight, which has been achieved to remarkable effect through the use of skilfully wiped plate tone. A powerful work and one of the great landmarks in British printmaking.

On very fine Japanese tissue with full margins and deckle edge. Small disturbance, at one point in left platemark towards upper left corner of sheet, otherwise generally very fine condition.