D. Y. CAMERON CARNEGIE INSTITUTE MDCCCCXIX v J^o. 88 Old Saint Etienne EXHIBITION OF ETCHINGS BY D. Y. CAMERON FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR. E. M. HERR Held at Carnegie Institute * Pittsburgh December 5 — January 31 PITTSBURGH Carnegie Institute 1919-1920 Acknowledgment The Department of Fine Arts ma\es grateful acknowledgment to Mr. E. M. Herr, who has generously lent these etchings for exhibition. D. T. CAMERON I N the history of Graphic Art nearly every great etcher has been a notable painter as well. Many of the greatest masters, of whom Diirer and Rembrandt are remarkable in their respective domains, have devoted as much, if not more, of their energies to engraving or etch' ing as to painting. They have not regarded engraving and etching merely as an easy or profitable means of disseminating their drawings or designs through a larger public, but have turned to these arts as possessing qualities of depth and expressiveness of line which no direct work with the pen or pencil can exhibit. If their paintings have been engraved or etched, this has more often been left to another hand. The true painter^etchers and painter'engravers recognise that difference of process requires en' tirely different treatments of similar themes, and they have for the most part kept their painted and engraved work rigidly distinct. It is to Cameron s work as an etcher this exhibition invites your attention. \ The third son of Robert Cameron, a learned minister of the Scottish Church, David Young Cameron was born in the year 1865 in Glasgow. During his early life circumstances were hardly favorable to the development of his artistic C7] D. Y. CAMERON tastes, and with great reluctance he entered upon a business career; nevertheless at this period much of his leisure time was spent in the Glasgow School of Art learning to draw, and before long further efforts toward commercial success were frankly abandoned. In 1885 Cameron entered the Edinburgh School of Art, and the same year, as a member of the old Scottish Atelier Society, he enjoyed the advice and received the encouragement of the late Arthur Melville, one of the artistwisitors of the Society. About this time he became a frequent visitor at the house of Mr. George Stevenson, a Fellow of the Painter'Etchers and and a close friend of Sir Seymour Haden. Here Cameron first had an opportunity to study fine prints, and it was at Mr. Stevenson’s suggestion and under his instruction alone, that Cameron learned the art of etching. Mr. Frank Rinder, in the introduction to his Catalogue of the Etched Work of D. Y. Cameron, to which much of this foreword is indebted, tells that Mr. Stevenson not only gave the artist instruction and guidance, but that he actually worked upon many of the earlier plates, including some of the “Clyde Set” — Camerons first published series of etchings, devoted to Scottish scenery on or near the River Clyde. [ 8 } D. Y. CAMERON Thereafter the artist made rapid progress. In 1892 he published a group of etchings done in the north of Holland. Then appeared the Ital- ian set; the London set; some of the older part of Paris in 1904; and later, souvenirs of his travels in Belgium and Egypt, not to mention the many characteristic performances, which have been published from time to time. It will be of interest to the student of etch' ing to remark the names of the men whose work in this medium has influenced Cameron, and to whom the etcher would be first to acknowledge his debt — Lalanne, Seymour Haden, Meryon, Whistler, Rembrandt — certainly a noble com' pany, and perhaps to a weaker man conducive to mediocrity, if not servile imitation. But Cameron has the born etchers sincerity and sense of proportion, added to a remarkable abib ity to understand and assimilate the best that tradition affords. A style which shows the achievement of great power and individuality is the result. Mr. Rinder’s catalogue, which was compiled in 1912, describes four hundred and forty-three plates. To this list must be added the twenty -five or thirty subjects etched since the definitive cata' logue was issued. Two points are especially noticeable in this mass of work. “Cameron has [9] D. Y. CAMERON been from the beginning a connoisseur of the picturesque, whether wandering over Europe for his material, or looking for it at his door. He has found it alike in the romantic regions of the Continent, and amid British scenes which have not always seemed to promise the glamour of romance. His success has been in a large measure due to the second most obvious element in his artistic character — his predilection for architectural effects. He extracts beauty from these when the building in question is austere to the point of grimness, as in old ‘Beauvais,’ or he captures the charm lying on the surface of his subject, as in the ‘ Windmills, Zaandam.’ Light and shade are his best auxiliaries, whether he is studying the bleak mediaeval masses of Stirling Castle, or is sketching a Rembrandt' esque landscape like his ‘Border Tower.’ ” How much there is of his architectural interpretation, says Wedmore, that is purely romantic and much, too, that has the austerity of the Middle Ages and of the bitter North. [10] D. Y. CAMERON etchings The initial R refers to Mr. Frank Rinder's “D. Y. Cameron — an Illustrated and De- scriptive Catalogue of his Etched Work.” i Paisley Abbey. South View Etching Only State R. T^o. 3 2 Smailholm Tower Etching Two impressions only R. 7 <[o. 10 3 Saint Mary’s Loch Etching Only State R. 7 S [o. 13 “Lone Saint Mary’s silent lake, from which the Yarrow takes its source” is described in “Mar- mion” and alluded to by Wordsworth. 4 Bothwell Etching Only State R. J' ' /. '"- r \ i.-y ;! ;= Fourth Stdte One of the Paris Set 63 Rue Saint Julien le Pauvre Etching touched with Dry-point First State 64 The Workshop Etching and Dry-point Third State 65 Old Saumur Etching and Dry-point Fourth State 66 The Sycamore Etching and Dry-point Third State A Gargunnock subject 67 The Tweed at Coldstream Etching touched with Dry-point Second State f 62 7 R. M.O. 365 R. Flo. 366 R. Flo. 369 R. 7 s lo. 371 R. Flo, 372 R. Flo. 374 Cm] ETCHINGS At Coldstream, the first ford above Berwick, crossed by Edward I. when he entered Scotland in 1296, General Monk in 1660 raised the regi- ment, afterwards known as the Coldstream Guards, with the aid of which Charles II. was restored to the throne. 68 Robert Lee’s Workshop Etching and Dry-point Third State R. ?{o. 375 69 The Canongate, Tolbooth Etching touched with Dry-point Third State R. 7 \[o. 378 The Old Tolbooth gaol, Edinburgh, at the north- west corner of Saint Giles’, was ‘the Heart of Midlothian, a place old in story and namefather to a noble book’. 70 Saint Merri Etching and Dry-point Third State R. T^o. 379 The church of Saint Merri, formerly Saint Mederic, is in the Rue Saint Martin, Paris, to the northeast of the Tour Saint Jacques. [25] D. Y. CAMERON 7 1 Ber wick'on'T weed Etching touched with Dry-point Fourth State R. 7 s(o. 382 Berwick Bridge, 1 609^34, is considered a master' piece of seventeenth century bridge building. 72 Evening on the Garry Etching and Dry'point Third State R. Flo. 383 73 Robin Hood’s Bay Etching and Dry-point First State R. Flo. 384 74 Robin s Court Etching touched with Dry'point Fourth State R. 7 s {o. 385 75 Mar s Work, Stirling. No. 2 Etching and Dry-point Second State R. Flo. 386 This gateway is the remains of a house built by Earl Mar, Regent of Scotland. [26] ETCHINGS 76 The Gateway of Bruges Etching touched with Dry-point Third State First of the Belgian Set 77 La Roche Etching and Dry-point First State Second of the Belgian Set 78 La Maison Noire, Bruges Etching touched with Dry-point First State Third of the Belgian Set 79 The Meuse Etching and Dry-point Only State Fourth of the Belgian Set 80 Damme Etching and Dry-point First State Fifth of the Belgian Set R. No. 387 R. No. 388 R. No. 389 R. No. 390 R. No. 39 1 D. Y. CAMERON 8 1 The Belfrey of Bruges Etching touched with Dry-point First State R. J\[o. 392 Sixth of the Belgian Set 82 Old La Roche Etching touched with Dry-point Third State R. 7 v[o. 393 Seventh of the Belgian Set 83 Notre Dame, Dinant Etching touched with Dry-point First State R. F(o. 394 Eighth of the Belgian Set 84 Dinant Etching and Dry-point Second State R. 7 \[o. 395 Ninth of the Belgian Set 85 A Valley of the Ardennes Etching and Dry-point Second State R. F{o. 396 Tenth and last subject of the Belgian Set [a8] ETCHINGS 8fr The Five Sisters, York Minister Etching touched with Dry-point Third State R. Flo. 397 This, perhaps the loveliest of great English win- dows, is also more than any other a subject for the etcher, as its beauty is less that of jewel- colour than of light-interpenetrated design. 87 On the Ourthe Etching and Dry-point Second State R. F [0. 398 88 Old Saint Etienne Etching and Dry-point Fourth State R. Flo. 400 Old Saint Etienne, Caen, now used as a ware- house, should not be confused with Saint Etienne, the church of the Abbaye-aux- Hommes, founded by William the Conquerer in 1062. 89 Old Bridge, Whitby Dry-point Third State This bridge no longer exists. R. Flo. 403 D. Y. CAMERON 90 Sketch on the Tay Etching and Dry-point Fifth State R. F {o. 404 91 The Turkish Fort Etching touched with Dry-point Third State R. Tsj [0. 409 This fort is on the Mokattam Hills, near Cairo 92 The Desert Etching touched with Dry-point Fourth State R. Flo. 410 The fragment of Pyramid seen in the etching forms part of the great Gizeh group. 93 The Fisher’s Hut Etching and Dry-point Fifth State R. FI [0. 41 1 This is a study on the Findhorn. 94 Beauvais Etching and Dry-point Eighth State R. Flo. 412 [30] ETCHINGS 95 The Mosque Doorway Etching touched with Dry-point Fourth State R. 7 s [o. 413 A Cairo subject 96 Street in Cairo Etching and Dry-point Fifth State R. 7 s [0. 414 97 The Chimera of Amiens Etching touched with Dry-point Second State R. 7 s[o. 415 98 The Wingless Chimera Etching touched with Dry-point Eighth State R. T^o. 416 99 Ben Ledi Etching and Dry-point Second State R. 7 s [o. 424 The Gaelic name Ben Ledi, — ‘the Hill of God’ — is said to have originated in the Beltane mys- teries celebrated on its summit. [31] D. Y. CAMERON IOO Vvon Etching touched with Dry-point First State A Chartres subject R. Flo. 425 IOI The Boddin Dry' point Third State The Boddin is in Lunan Bay R. Flo. 428 102 Ralia Dry'point Third State R. A[o. 433 103 Appian Rocks Undescribed IO4 Loch en Dorb Undescribed 105 On the Esk Undescribed I 06 Nithsdale Undescribed [ 3 2 } ETCHINGS 107 Kincardine Undescribed 108 Inverlochy Castle, Argyllshire Undescribed 109 Cairngorms Undescribed no Amsterdam Undescribed in Saint Aignan, Chartres Undescribed 1 1 2 The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh Undescribed 1 13 Tewksbury Abbey Undescribed 1 14 Peaks of Arran Undescribed 1 1 5 Lochan Undescribed D. Y. CAMERON 116 Old Museum, Beauvais 1 17 Kerrara 1 18 The Frews 1 19 Carselands t2o Kerrara. No. 2 Undescribed Undescribed Undescribed Undescribed Undescribed [34] GETTY RESEARCH 3 3125 01498 8303