The Underappreciated Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Portrait                                  Bedroom, Hill House                                         Hill House                                      

A condensed entry about Charles Rennie Mackintosh leaves out so much. Glasgow is filled with impressive older structures, but the works of Mackintosh lay claim to its heart. Born in Glasgow in 1868, he worked here almost exclusively for over 20 years. Mackintosh trained as an architect in a local practice and studied art and design at evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. There Mackintosh and his friend Herbert MacNair met fellow art students (and sisters) Margaret and Frances Macdonald. The inseparable foursome collaborated on illustrations and designs for buildings, furniture, and metalwork, developing a highly distinctive style with abstracted female figures and metamorphic lines. These works came to be known as the Glasgow Style and were much admired in Europe (including by figures such as Gustav Klimt, who interpreted the style and gained much more fame).

House for an Art Lover                       Graphic Design                                   Furniture                                Watercolor       

Throughout his career, Charles relied on a handful of clients and patrons, given his preferences for total design. Despite local successes, like his masterpiece the Glasgow School of Art and Willow Tea Rooms, Mackintosh's work met with eventual indifference at home and his career in Glasgow declined. By 1914 he despaired of ever receiving true recognition in Glasgow and he and Margaret (now his wife) moved, temporarily, to the Suffolk Coastline, where he painted delicate flower studies in watercolor. In 1915 they settled in London and for the next few years Mackintosh attempted to resume practice as an architect and designer. In 1923 the Mackintoshes left London for the South of France where he gave up all thoughts of architecture and design and devoted himself entirely to painting landscapes. He died in London, in December 1928. In recent decades Glasgow and the rest of the world finally recognized his and Margaret’s genius and their works command millions at auction today. 

                            Willow Tea Room, Sauchiehall Street                                          House for an Art Lover