DOI Heft:
No. 229 (May 1912)
DOI Artikel:Stodart-Walker, Archibald: The paintings of D. Y. Cameron, A. R. A., A. R. S. A.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21156#0279
1). Y. Cameron s Paintings
Mr. Cameron, though a powerful influence, was
more than any other member of “ The School ”
personally eclectic. True he painted under the
influence of Whistler, which had so marked an
effect on Guthrie and one or two of his colleagues.
Yet it is clear, not only from a study of bio-
graphical material, but also from a consideration
of the painter’s art itself, that Mr. Cameron is
probably the most self-developed worker of the
group. If we look for influences which have
affected his essays in colour, we shall find them in
those masters whose ideals are reflected in his etch-
ings, Rembrandt, Meryon, Whistler, and Seymour
Haden. The influence of Matthew Maris can be
traced in some of his earlier drawings, but so far as
his later work is concerned, it seems to be the
logical outcome of his experience as an etcher and
his earlier training as an architect His striving
after simplicity and distinction in design and for
pictorial unity, the definite recognition of the
limitations of his material, his passion for style, all
these he carries from the man as etcher to the man
as painter. Some, indeed, find herein the limita-
tions of his canvases. Alfred Stevens said that
pictorial processes must be different from literary
ones, and as a corollary to that statement there are
some who hold that each form of artistic usage
should only “ think ” in its own atmosphere. But
such an ideal, not being a gospel, is not accepted
by Mr. Cameron. Like all sincere craftsmen he
must express himself in the medium that his vision
and his capacity allow. The old fallacy that such
and such a subject is only fit for water-colour, or
for oil, or for pastel, or for stipple, or for etching,
finds no undisputed admission from him, though
being gifted in most of the mediums he is not
careless in his selection.
Mr. Cameron, as has been said, is markedly
individual. Unless a painter can give his land-
scape a very distinctive personal note, he would
‘■DARK BADENOCH” BY D. Y. CAMERON, A.R.A., A.R.S.A.
(In the possession oj Stephen Mitcheh, Esq.)
256
Mr. Cameron, though a powerful influence, was
more than any other member of “ The School ”
personally eclectic. True he painted under the
influence of Whistler, which had so marked an
effect on Guthrie and one or two of his colleagues.
Yet it is clear, not only from a study of bio-
graphical material, but also from a consideration
of the painter’s art itself, that Mr. Cameron is
probably the most self-developed worker of the
group. If we look for influences which have
affected his essays in colour, we shall find them in
those masters whose ideals are reflected in his etch-
ings, Rembrandt, Meryon, Whistler, and Seymour
Haden. The influence of Matthew Maris can be
traced in some of his earlier drawings, but so far as
his later work is concerned, it seems to be the
logical outcome of his experience as an etcher and
his earlier training as an architect His striving
after simplicity and distinction in design and for
pictorial unity, the definite recognition of the
limitations of his material, his passion for style, all
these he carries from the man as etcher to the man
as painter. Some, indeed, find herein the limita-
tions of his canvases. Alfred Stevens said that
pictorial processes must be different from literary
ones, and as a corollary to that statement there are
some who hold that each form of artistic usage
should only “ think ” in its own atmosphere. But
such an ideal, not being a gospel, is not accepted
by Mr. Cameron. Like all sincere craftsmen he
must express himself in the medium that his vision
and his capacity allow. The old fallacy that such
and such a subject is only fit for water-colour, or
for oil, or for pastel, or for stipple, or for etching,
finds no undisputed admission from him, though
being gifted in most of the mediums he is not
careless in his selection.
Mr. Cameron, as has been said, is markedly
individual. Unless a painter can give his land-
scape a very distinctive personal note, he would
‘■DARK BADENOCH” BY D. Y. CAMERON, A.R.A., A.R.S.A.
(In the possession oj Stephen Mitcheh, Esq.)
256