The Towers of Charterhouse by David Young Cameron (1865-1945) is part of a series of prints depicting the Charterhouse school of Godalming and is a black and white etching looking through a woodsy scene with the towers of the school in the distance. Cameron's mastery of etching is apparent in this piece through the layering of different directions and thickness of linework. In the foreground, Cameron uses varying directions and small open spaces to create the shadows of dense shrubbery. Trees are formed with thick linework as the trunks and then overlaying multidirectional lines lightly to create depth amongst the trees foliage. Centrally on the page, in the background but slightly lighter than the shrubbery, is the silhouette of the school and its towers. The linework is sharp and congested, with no empty spaces to let the colour of the paper through, thus creating the solidified shape of the building and establishing Cameron's skillset in light and dark. 

Cameron rose to prominence through his etching skills, with this series of work representing his strong skills in printmaking through the use of light and dark contrast. Through the 'Etching Revival' spanning 1880-1930, Cameron produced and sold many of his prints through the support of art dealers in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Charterhouse School was a subject of many of Cameron's prints throughout 1894-1895, reflective of his time spent during this period capturing the architecture of many schools and chapels in his prints.

Sir David Young Cameron RA RSA RWS RSW, 1865-1945

Cameron was a man of considerable importance and influence in British art circles in the 1920s and 1930s. His paintings attracted great critical acclaim and were acquired by many public art galleries in Britain and abroad. Sadly, the majority are today hidden in storerooms. Cameron's commitment to art extended well beyond the boundaries of the studio. During the second half of the First World War Cameron served as a war artist for the Canadian Government; he supervised the decoration of St. Stephen's Hall in the Houses of Parliament and of the rebuilt bank of England; he was associated with the British School in Rome for over twenty-five years; he was Trustee of the Tate Gallery and of the National Galleries of Scotland; and in 1933 he was appointed King's Painter and Limner in Scotland, an office previously held by Raeburn and Wilkie. Cameron was a son of the manse who’s deeply held religious faith was an important element throughout his life and imbued much of his work, particularly his landscapes. He devoted considerable time and energy to the Church of Scotland, advising many congregations on the redecoration of the churches.
Born in Glasgow, Cameron probably inherited his artistic ability from his mother, a talented amateur watercolourist, as did his sister, the watercolourist and etcher Katharine Cameron. While working in a Glasgow office he attended classes at Glasgow School of Art, and in 1884 he gave up office work -which he hated - in favour of painting, enrolling at Edinburgh School of Art, where fellow artists included W.M. Frazer and James Pryde.
However, it was as an etcher that Cameron first came to prominence. Like Rembrandt, who was a profound influence, Cameron was a master of light and shade, whether in a landscape, a street scene or one of his atmospheric church interiors. Over a period of some forty-five years he produced about 520 etchings and drypoints, becoming, with fellow Scots Muirhead Bone and James McBey, one of the foremost British etchers of the Etching Revival of 1880-1930.
Today Cameron is remembered as a painter of the Scottish landscape. However, his oevre included figure subjects and portraits, townscapes and architectural subjects as well as landscapes. He travelled widely throughout a long working life. His oils and watercolours show a remarkable ability to convey the character and spirit of a place.