Lake of Menteith, No. I 1925

David Young Cameron made this etching of the Lake of Menteith, probably in the early 20th century. You can see right away how the process of etching has been used to create a kind of hazy, almost dreamlike effect. The texture here is pretty smooth, but there's a real range of marks, from the solid black of the treeline to the delicate, almost invisible lines that suggest the mountains in the distance. Look closely at those mountains. See how they're not really "there" but more like ghosts? Cameron’s use of line is brilliant here, it’s all about suggestion, making you feel the space rather than just see it. I find this piece really interesting in relation to the work of Whistler, who was interested in similar kinds of atmospheric effects. It's like Cameron is saying something about memory, about how landscapes live in our minds. It feels like a conversation across time, a meditation on seeing.