Welcome to our newest blog series – Collection Spotlight! Every month we’ll take a look at a different collection being used in research on historical Scottish women in the arts. We hope to showcase the variety of research being undertaken across institutions, especially with collections which have been previously under-researched.
Our first edition in this series is written by Jenny MacLeod, a first year AHRC PhD Researcher at the University of Glasgow, who will be talking us through her research on Scottish women printmakers during the Etching Revival (c.1880-1940).
In October 2020 I began my dream PhD researching Scottish women printmakers of the Etching Revival. Women artists formed a major part of my research during my Master’s degree where I investigated the wearing of Artistic Dress by women in Dundee and Edinburgh between 1880 and 1910. However, it wasn’t until after I graduated that I became interested in printmaking, specifically etching, when I began running the Pictures Department at McTear’s Auctioneers. Through cataloguing prints by artists such as Katherine Cameron (1874-1965) and Susan Fletcher Crawford (1863-1918), I came to realise there was a significant gap in the existing literature on Scottish printmaking, particularly in regard to women. My PhD is looking at Scottish women etchers between 1880 and 1940, particularly the training and exhibiting opportunities available to them compared to their male counterparts.
A collection that has been really useful for my research is the artist papers of Katherine Cameron and her brother David Young Cameron (1865-1945) at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh (Acc. 8950). Although known as a painter of flowers, Cameron also produced a body etched work between 1898 and 1938, examples of which are held in a number of public collections such as the Hunterian Art Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, Liverpool Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Washington Library of Congress.
Katherine Cameron, Goat's Beard, 1915, etching on paper, 48.2cm x 17.9cm. Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow. [GLAHA:18603].
This link to the inventory will show how varied the resource is, ranging from personal letters, sketchbooks, sales records, diaries, and various ephemeral which includes exhibition reviews, catalogues, press cuttings and interview transcripts. One of my favourite sources is a medium sized leather-bound journal with ‘Etchings’ and the initials 'K.C.' embossed on the spine (Acc. 8950/12). A handwritten note on the first page reveals it was gifted to Cameron in 1913 for Christmas by art collector Arthur Kay (1868-1939), who she would go on to marry in 1928. By this point Cameron had been etching professionally for three years, so this would have been a most touching gift, especially coming from such an admirer of her art.
Journal of Katherine Cameron, 1913-1938. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh [Acc 8950/12].
The first time I was presented with this book I was giddy with excitement (well, as giddy as you can be in a Reading Room!). Contained within the journal is Cameron’s handwritten inventory of all her etchings beginning with her first experiments with the medium in 1898 up to her last piece in 1938. Each etching is dedicated a single page, where Cameron recorded the number of impressions printed, prices, dates, sales and buyers, as well as any exhibition details. As part of my research I’m hoping to examine how women’s prints were collected and marketed compared to their male counterparts so this information will be extremely useful in the later stages of my research.
In 1911 Cameron held her first solo exhibition T & R Annans. In her journal she noted the commission came in 1910, in which she was asked to produce a set of eight etchings which would then be displayed in Glasgow. In her journal she revealed she
“Sold them the entire edition of 30 sets. Each set containing 8 etchings. 240 prints in all. I printed the editions at Annans with the help of Mr MacCulloch. Finished on June 16th, 1911.”
In some instances, Cameron also recorded where and when the print was etched, bitten and printed, as well as the types of materials she used. This was the information I was most excited about as it provided a fascinating insight into Cameron’s artistic practice. She varied her use of paper utilising ‘old antique paper’ as well as Japanese paper, allowing her to cleverly alter the mood and create differences in impressions.
Katherine Cameron, Entrance to Glencoe, 1926, etching on paper, 10.1cm x 22.9cm. Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow [GLAHA:20795].
In another entry dated March 1914, Cameron reveals she etched her first landscapes during a short trip to North Connell; Ben Lora and Loch Nell. This information also gives us an important insight into her practice, as it indicates she was likely in the possession of a portable etching press. Given the proximity of both places to North Connell this indicates Cameron likely etched these pieces from nature. Later entries reveal she etched other pieces from sketches at her studio in Edinburgh, such as Kilchurn Castle (1932), Dunstaffnage (1933), Achnacree Moss (1933).
Although this journal is an invaluable source of information, Cameron’s record keeping certainly can’t be described as fastidious. Only sometimes does she note where the plate was printed and for the first few entries she likely had to rely on memory having only being gifted the journal itself in 1913, by which point she had been etching professionally for three years. In addition to this, the entire journal is handwritten which makes deciphering names and addresses of buyers extremely difficult and sometimes impossible! Despite this, it has been a joy to peruse through. Unfortunately, GDPR prevents me from illustrating any of the pages within, so you’ll just have to get down the Special Collections Reading Room and see for yourself!
For the entirely of Cameron’s career, she never escaped comparisons from her older brother D Y Cameron, one of the leading figures of the Etching Revival. However these sources demonstrate that she was a true artist in her own right and made a valuable contribution to the Etching Revival in Scotland.