The Valley (known also as Glencrutten) 1914

David Young Cameron etched "The Valley (known also as Glencrutten)" sometime between 1880 and 1945, and it looks like he was really thinking about the push and pull between detail and suggestion. It's like he's saying, "Here's a landscape, but also, here's the bare minimum of marks to evoke a landscape." The etched lines are so delicate, almost like whispers on the paper, and the way he suggests light and shadow with such economy makes the whole scene feel both vast and intimate. Notice the horizontal strokes in the foreground which suggest flatness and distance. It's so minimal. This reminds me of Whistler, who was into a similar kind of tonal game, thinking about how little you can do to make a world appear on the page. It’s a real reminder that art isn't about showing everything, but about hinting at what's there and letting the viewer fill in the blanks.