The great designers
In the first of a new series looking at the influence of design icons over the centuries, Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum questions why the work of this great Scottish architect and designer went largely unnoticed in Britain during his lifetime
Marc Allum dives into the fascinatingly rich history of one of Scotland’s design icons, Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Regrettably, I have to commence this article in the knowledge that one of the finest architectural gems created by the great Scottish architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was recently all but destroyed. The Glasgow School of Art (1897-1909) was tragically gutted by fire in June this year. The flames not only ravaged the nearly completed, restored sections from a previous devastating blaze that occurred in May 2014, but also many surrounding buildings, too. In anticipation of tens of millions of pounds being expended to restore this masterpiece, yet again, it is worth exploring why Mackintosh is such an important figure in design terms, and so why it is crucial to bring this building back from the ashes.
Undiscovered in his lifetime
Born in Glasgow in 1868, Mackintosh was fourth of 11 children of William Mcintosh, the chief clerk of the City of Glasgow Police, and his wife Margaret Rennie. Charles’ health as a child was not particularly good, so he was encouraged to improve it by taking exercise. It was while out exercising that his father inspired his strong interest in the natural world – a trait that was to become eminently obvious in the observation, intricacy and design of Mackintosh’s art and work.
At the age of 15, he was apprenticed to the architectural practice of John Hutchison and enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art, where he attended as a part-time student for 10 years. In 1889 he finished his apprenticeship with Hutchison and joined the newly established architectural firm of Honeyman and Keppie,
where his obvious skills as a draughtsman and artist were quickly recognised. It was while working here, in 1900, that Mackintosh married Margaret Macdonald. He had met Margaret and her sister Frances at the Glasgow School of Art, and along with his fellow student at Honeyman and Keppie, James Mcnair, ‘The Four’ became important and established figures in the burgeoning ‘Glasgow Style’ of decorative design. Margaret, although historically marginalised by her husband’s reputation, was a skilled artist working in all mediums. She collaborated closely with Mackintosh throughout their careers, and he in turn gave her great credit for her work.
Yet, despite this youthful impetus and personal motivation, Mackintosh cuts a remarkably tragic figure in both his personal life and design history and by the time of his death, in 1928, was a relatively obscure figure. There are several reasons for this.
Essentially, he was born into an era of great change and transition. The 19th century is remarkably difficult to define in design terms and is littered with the successful and not so successful exponents of progress who endeavoured – idealistically - to bridge the gap between the staid Victorian language of design and the impending innovation of the
20th century. His contemporaries – both in Britain and abroad – and those who, like Mackintosh, were intent on changing the normal rhetoric, were individuals such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Josef Hoffman and Edwin Lutyens. These were all people to whom Mackintosh would have been well regarded, yet his output was relatively isolated and geographically closely related to just Glasgow and its environs. In addition, his main body of work was limited to a fairly short space of time and his architectural commissions mainly took place between the years 1896 and 1909, with almost everything thereafter limited to artworks. In this short period he burned brightly and fiercely; yet his reputation for innovation was appreciated more on the continent, where his proximity to the continental style of Art Nouveau put him on a par with many great European designers.
A distinctive style
Mackintosh’s outstanding ability to cohesively design ‘the whole’ – creating every aspect of a
project from the curtains to the cutlery – is symptomatic of many similarly talented people. It therefore seems wholly unjust that he had to be effectively ‘rediscovered’ for us to appreciate his monumental achievements. This rediscovery has also meant that his legacy has almost been hijacked by those who would seek to profit from his ideas and innovation by reinventing almost every aspect of his vision for the high street. Yet no one can ever entirely capture the clever originality and juxtaposition of influences of the Scottish vernacular, Japonisme and fluid, organic abstraction of the natural world, which make Mackintosh’s work so distinctive.
His designs for Miss Cranston’s temperance
‘art tearooms’, notably the Willow Tearooms in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, which opened in 1903, are famous, and now lovingly restored to coincide with this year’s 150th anniversary of his birth. The trademark high-back chairs, box-form lighting, clever partitioning and spatial playfulness make his interiors constantly captivating. His use of transparent, semi-opaque and opaque materials creates clever vistas, and his domestic architecture and interiors masterfully break-up sight lines.
The Hill House, in Helensburgh, built for Walter Blackie between 1902-04, is a triumph. A desk, one of the many items originally made for the house to Mackintosh’s designs, sold in 1979 for just under £140,000. At that time, it was the most expensive piece of 20th-century furniture ever sold. When it was re-offered in 2002 it made just under £1million, the rise in value testament to the realisation of Mackintosh’s importance.
Mackintosh died in 1928, having been ravaged by throat and tongue cancer. His later years in relative obscurity were not fitting for a man who had pre-empted elements of major design movements, such as Modernism and Art Deco. From a bookplate to a building, he was the most capable of designers, and despite his relative years in the wilderness, it is safe to say that Charles Rennie Mackintosh is now regarded as one of Britain’s most talented artists and architects.
Emulating Mackintosh
In developing such a distinctive style, it is difficult to compare Mackintosh to other designers. Attempting to emulate the style in your own home is therefore hard; it’s all too easy to create a poor pastiche that neither captures nor recreates the purity or economy of style for which he is so famous.
Of course, there are many reproductions of his furniture for sale, and a copy of a classic Argyle chair or a Hill House chair can be readily purchased online for £300-£400. However, the risk of ending up with a watered-down hotel foyer look is obvious and I’ve rarely seen a home-grown Mackintosh interior that works well. So to visualise Mackintosh is to visualise a sense of purity, with stark white interiors, hard geometric grids, tapering perspective and linear symmetry, but often softened with curves and textural inserts.
Other designers who came close to his aesthetic include Archibald Knox, who effortlessly bridged any divides between the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau with his classic designs for Liberty. Items from other design stables might be less rare and relatively affordable but they can still be expensive. A good Knox clock can cost thousands of pounds. On the other hand, the door key which was used in the opening ceremony at The Glasgow School of Art – designed by Mackintosh – was recently sold by Scottish Auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull for £32,000. Creating a viable Mackintosh look with a smaller wallet is therefore dependent on the clever use of items that are close in style and can perhaps emulate the look with paint finishes and added detail. I often encounter Arts and Crafts pieces at auction, such as mirrors, tables and wardrobes. Some are pierced with heart motifs and adorned with copper appliques. Although nameless, their superficial proximity to Mackintosh designs can make them suitable candidates. Pieces from the Vienna Secessionists and designs by Josef Hoffman meld well; continental pieces made by companies like Thonet – including reproductions of Hoffmann Secession chairs – can also help make the look.