EDINBURGH.- Marking the 150th anniversary of Sir David Young Cameron’s birth, the National Galleries of Scotland announce a new exhibition of prints and watercolours this autumn, celebrating the work of one of Scotland’s most prolific and influential artists.

Although D.Y. Cameron (1865–1945) made many paintings, drawings and watercolours, it is as a remarkably skilled printmaker that he is best remembered. The National Galleries of Scotland holds an extensive collection of his work and the exhibition draws from this along with a small selection from an outstanding private collection on long loan to the Galleries. The exhibition showcases a range of exquisite prints with a few key watercolours.

Born in Glasgow, the son of a minister, Cameron studied evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art in the early 1880s, before enrolling for art classes in Edinburgh in 1885. During his long career he made over 500 prints, for the most part etchings and drypoints. Fastidious about the quality of his work, he produced only small editions of his prints, which were appreciated for their subtle tonal contrasts and bold compositions and eagerly sought after by collectors willing to pay premium prices.

Cameron’s art grew out of the great tradition of landscape painting in Scotland and he was inspired to produce some of the most poetic images seen in British printmaking in the 20th century.

His subjects range from atmospheric interiors to dramatic outlooks of the Scottish Highlands, as well as intimate studies of buildings and figures, all made with a wonderful economy of line. Cameron was fascinated by the changing qualities of light and in many of his watercolours, oils and etchings he explored the effects of sunrise and sunset over the landscape. For many his works represent the archetypical vision of the Highlands.

Many of Cameron’s greatest prints feature in the exhibition, including his stunning depiction of Ben Lomond’s dramatic skyline viewed from across Loch Ard, presenting a view of austere beauty.

Also featuring in the exhibition are some of the artist’s finest watercolours, including The Waning Light. In this large watercolour, Cameron used a restrained palette to create a feeling of solitude and serenity as the evening light fades. It was probably made in 1905, a few years after Cameron moved to a house in Kippen, which offered spectacular views of the Forth Valley and Trossachs with Ben Ledi to the north, and the Gargunnock Hills and Stirling Castle to the east.

Cameron was a great connoisseur of art and a Trustee of the National Galleries for 25 years. He donated a large number of works to the Galleries including a superb collection of over 50 etchings by Rembrandt of which, The Flight into Egypt: A Night Piece (1651) is included in the display.