White Horse Close 1891

David Young Cameron created this etching, titled 'White Horse Close'. The scene is set in Edinburgh, likely during the late 19th or early 20th century, when urban environments were undergoing rapid change. Cameron, situated within the Scottish Etching Revival, captures a seemingly quiet, vernacular scene. However, this work evokes a sense of the uncanny. The perspective almost collapses, the women are rendered as spectral figures, and the stone buildings loom with a gothic sensibility. Cameron often focused on architectural subjects with an emotional and somewhat nostalgic rendering. Here, a sense of the past is palpable, as we look into a representation of a world where gender and class are visibly etched into the urban landscape, influencing the lived experiences of its inhabitants. This representation asks us to consider the intersections of history, memory, and social identity.