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Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow in 1868, the second son of eleven children In 1884, when he was sixteen he was articled as an apprentice in the architectural office of the Glasgow architect John Hutchison. In 1885 he began attending evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. Here he came into contact with J. Herbert MacNair and the MacDonald sisters, Frances and her sister Margaret (whom he later married), with whom he was to form the group which became known as 'The Glasgow Four or the Spook School'. From 1885 to 1889 MacKintosh and the others developed a style, characterized by curvilinear, flowing forms derived from Celtic art. They produced posters, furniture, and metalwork and garnered considerable critical attention. His apprenticeship lasted for 5 years until in 1889 he joined the architectural firm of Honeyman and Keppie, where he was to become very successful. He developed an interest Scottish archetectural precedents, and by the early 1890's his facination with arts and crafts achitecture and design was seen to be greatly inspiring aspects of his work. In 1897 he won the competition for the new Glasgow school of art, which was being built at that time. He designed furniture, fittings and fitments as well as architectural details that were to become the hallmark of his style. The Glasgow School of Art, is acclaimed today as one of the most significant architectural statements of the past century. In the same year he was commissioned to design the interior and furniture for a tearoom for Mrs Cranston in Glasgow (on Argyle Street). In 1904 he was made a partner in the firm. This advancement was to further expand his creative autonomy within the firm, allowing him to express his unique and individual style in a manner that would have been very unusual even for a partner in an architectural practice. In later life, he largely left architecture, dedicating much of his time to painting and design. Mackintosh is acknowledged as one of the great masters of the Modern Movement, with an influence in no way diminished by time. Architect, designer and artist he is celebrated around the world today as one of the most significant talents to emerge from this period (mid 1890s to the late 1920s). |
Modern Furniture Designers
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