The Cairngorms 1914

David Young Cameron created this etching of 'The Cairngorms'. It is a landscape of the Scottish Highlands and offers a glimpse into the cultural valorization of nature that occurred at the end of the 19th Century. Cameron, as a Scottish artist, was part of a movement which helped construct a national identity intertwined with its land. The Scottish Highlands, often romanticized in art and literature, became a symbol of cultural purity and resilience. But this romanticization often obscures the complex history of the region, including the Highland Clearances. Here the land is depicted as untouched, pristine, and sublime. The emotional experience of viewing such a landscape evokes a sense of longing and belonging, but it also risks erasing the human stories and struggles that have shaped it.