CAMERON - David Young Cameron (1865-1945)
Last updated | 23/09/2010
The King's official court artist who died in Perth
born Glasgow 1865
died Perth 1945
Sir David Young Cameron was one of Scotland's leading landscape
artists of the 20th century. He was also the King's Limner
(official court artist in Scotland). When he died he left examples
of his work and objects he had collected to both Perth Museum &
Art Gallery and The National Gallery of Scotland. Cameron's family
had links with Perth, his father having been Assistant Minister at
the North Church for a time, and it was here that Sir D Y
Cameron died in 1945.
Perth Museum and Art Gallery has 2 of Cameron's landscape
masterpieces. The Wilds of Assynt was painted about 1936.
It shows the ruins of Ardvreck Castle on Loch Assynt looking
towards the rising peaks of Quinag. Cameron has captured the
essence of Highland scenery with its luminous atmosphere and deep
shadows.
The oil painting was purchased by Perth Town Council for its newly
opened Art Gallery and Museum in 1936. There it
joined Cameron's The Shadows of Glencoe which
had been bequeathed by Robert Brough in 1926.
Perth Museum & Art Gallery now has a very important body of
work by or associated with D Y Cameron.
CHECKLIST OF WORKS BY DAVID YOUNG CAMERON IN THE COLLECTION OF
PERTH MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
(It is not possible to display the entire collection at any one
time. To view any of this material please
contact the Art Section to make an appointment)
OIL PAINTINGS
Shadows of Glencoe, oil on canvas, 1925
The Wilds of Assynt, oil on canvas, 1936
A Castle by the North Sea, oil on canvas, 1924
Douart, oil on board, not dated
Winter near Liberton, Midlothian, oil on board, about 1890
Fort Augustus Dawn, oil on canvas, not dated
WATERCOLOURS AND DRAWINGS
Morning Mist, Arran, watercolour on paper, not dated
Ben Mohr, pen and ink on paper, 1939
Autumn, watercolour on paper, not dated
The Rocks of Skye, pencil and wash on paper, not dated
Interior, Blois Cathedral, watercolour on paper, 1942
The Fair Maid’s House, Perth, pen and ink on paper, about
1887-89
The Fair Maid’s House, Perth, pen and ink on paper, about
1887-89
High Street and St Paul’s Church, Perth, pen and ink on
paper, about 1887-89
Beach Scene with Boats, pen and ink on paper, not dated
Women at the Waterside, pen and ink on paper, not dated
A Man Fishing, pen and ink on paper, not dated
Corrie, Arran, pen and ink on paper, not dated
Fishing Boats, pen and ink on paper, not dated
PRINTS
The Fair Maid’s House, Perth, etching on paper, not
dated
Perth Bridge , etching on paper, 1889
Arran , etching on paper, 1889
Tayside, etching on paper, 1890
Set of 7 illustrations to John Buchan’s The Scholar
Gypsies, etchings on paper, 1896
Holyrood in 1745, etching on paper, 1896
A Sketch on the Tay, etching and drypoint on paper, 1908
Ben Ledi, drypoint on paper, 1911
Souvenir d’Amsterdam, etching and drypoint on paper,
1915
The Royal Scottish Academy, etching on paper, 1916
Strathearn, drypoint on paper, 1917
Lake of Menteith , etching and drypoint on paper, 1930
The Valley of the Tay, drypoint on paper, 1931
RELATED MATERIAL
A number of prints (including works by his sister Katharine
Cameron, Daumier, Legros and Strang and as well as Japanese
woodblock prints) as well as pieces of sculpture (including pieces
by Sir Alfred Gilbert, Eric Gill and J M Swan), Venetian Glass,
Arts & Crafts Silver (including pieces by John Paul Cooper,
Edward Spencer and James Woodford) and
Martinware ceramics from D Y Cameron’s collection which
were gifted or bequeathed to Perth Museum and Art Gallery also form
part of the permanent collection.
INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT D Y CAMERON?
Cameron is represented in many public collections around the
world, and his work has featured in many exhibitions.
2 Catalogues listing his etchings and drypoint prints were
published during his lifetime, collated by Frank Rinder and Arthur
Hind respectively.
The centenary of Cameron’s birth was celebrated by Glasgow
Art Galleries and Museums in a major exhibition in 1965 with an
accompanying catalogue.
Bill Smith’s biography D Y Cameron : Visions of the
Hills, was published by Atelier books in 1992.
Perth Museum and Art Gallery celebrated Cameron’s
achievements as an artist and his activities as a collector in its
2007 Perth Festival of the Arts exhibition, for which a small
illustrated catalogue was published.
Cameron is buried with his wife at Kippen Parish Church yard in
Stirlingshire, close to his home, Dun Eaglais. During his lifetime
Cameron did much to enhance and beautify the interior of Kippen
Parish Church.
