The Courtyard, Venice

This painting is dated 1915 but it is unlikely that Cameron was in Italy that year since it was wartime. He is known to have visited Venice on at least two separate visits previous to the outbreak of war and this painting may have been worked up from watercolour sketches made on these visits. The bright colours of this Venetian scene were a new departure for Cameron. Up until this time he had tended to work with rather muted , cool colours. From 1915 onwards, his palette took on some richer tones. In 1917 Cameron travelled to France as a war artist commissioned with recording the activities of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.