Chinese tearoom features in new exhibition about work of Scottish style icon

A Chinese tearoom, created over a century ago in Glasgow by a famous British architect, will be shown for the first time ever outside of Scotland, National Museums Liverpool (NML) announced on Saturday.

NML will hold a major exhibition on the work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, exploring the story of the making of the so-called Glasgow Style.

The exhibition, which will run from March 15 to August 26, takes place during Mackintosh’s 150th birthday and features more than 250 objects, ranging from ceramics and embroidery to stained glass, metalwork and architectural drawings.

From the age of 28, Mackintosh began to undertake the interior decoration for artistic tearooms run by Glasgow businesswoman Catherine Cranston, which gave him an important outlet to develop his visual language.

The Liverpool exhibition will showcase paneling, furniture and light fittings from many of these tearooms, as well as a section from the famous Chinese Room of the Ingram Street Tearooms, which has not previously been displayed outside of Scotland.

“We are delighted to loan this magnificent exhibition to NML to continue the celebration of Glasgow’s great cultural icon, Charles Rennie Mackintosh,” said David McDonald, depute leader of the Glasgow City Council.

“The exhibition gives fans of Mackintosh the space and time to enjoy a wealth of stunning artworks and objects, many of which have never before been shown outside of Glasgow,” he said.

“The work of Charles Rennie Macintosh spans many disciplines, from interior design to architecture, and so we’re looking forward to showing visitors the impressive breadth of his work, as well as its enduring influence,” said NML senior curator Alyson Pollard.

“As a city, Liverpool shares many similarities with Glasgow, from its industrial heritage as a port city, to its cultural heart and history of producing talented creatives,” Pollard added.

The Glasgow Style, a distinctive variant of Art Nouveau, was created by a group of young designers from the Glasgow School of Art and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Between 1897 and 1909 Mackintosh designed the new Glasgow School of Art, but the building was destroyed in two catastrophic fires in 2014 and 2018.