Golden Hour over the Central Spanish plains. The hazy, early evening heat is palpable; the descending sunlight paints the evergreen trees gold whilst a monastery glows with the warmth from the day. Its painter seems to have a deep understanding of this landscape & climate, yet Mary Cameron grew up 2,000km north of here, in Portobello, Scotland.
After Art School in Edinburgh, Cameron left her comfortable family home & travelled, first living in Paris & then Spain. Establishing studios in Madrid & Seville, she painted what she saw; Spanish card players under a darkening sky, dancers & street sellers of Seville, cattle herders of Adalucia. This career journey for a woman in the early 1900s was bold in itself, but it was her fascination with bullfights which really illuminates her radical spirit. As a bourgeois female foreigner, the expectation may well have been for her to avert her eyes from the horror & gore of the bullfight. Instead, Cameron could be found in the anterooms, before & after tournaments, capturing the preparations & graphic aftermath of the fights. At times she could even be found in the ring. Although the subject matter may be uncomfortable viewing, her handling shows an understanding & respect for this "exotic" culture - a far cry from her Edinburgh Ladies Art Club! This same, perceptive hand can be seen in 'Monastry of Santa Maria' expressing the nuances of this landscape through colour & light.
Highly accomplished & adventurous in life, Cameron was largely forgotten from art history in death. Why? Likely because she was a woman and her paintings of "masculine" subject matters - card gamblers, matadors - were not seen as befitting her role as a "lady". It's through exhibitions such as that held at Edinburgh City Art Centre earlier this year, pre-lockdown (Mary Cameron: Life in Paint) that the achievements of women artist in history are brought to the fore.
Art Pairing
Have you been following our art & style pairings? Exploring an artwork we then match it with a bag from the collection. For Mary Cameron's Spanish landscape 'Monastery of Saint Maria' we've chosen our Bonnie Raven Black & London Tan. This minimal design works well with summer linens & cottons. Perfect for exploring the Catalian countryside (maybe once restrictions are lifted!) & the current warm climes of the British Isles.
The Art of Style
For summer staycations & vacations walking cobbled streets & exploring ancient landmarks, we'd team our Bonnie belt / shoulder bag with the recently discovered capsule wardrobe from Pouli. Warm, natural fabrics cut in timeless, minimal designs; perfect for days spent in that hazy August heat. Much of Pouli's collection is made in Britain, just like us!
