This collection includes works by a number of artists, designers and architects associated with Charles Rennie Mackintosh, including his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, his sister-in-law Frances Macdonald MacNair and his sister-in-law's husband Herbert MacNair. These works include textiles, designs, and four volumes of a Glasgow School of Art student publication called The Magazine, as well as several individual watercolours now separated from the publication. The collection also includes a number of models for proposed architectural schemes by Mackintosh.
Identification labels removed from the backing boards of various (now lost) exhibition frames including 'Exhibition of British Architects', London, 1914 and 'Mackintosh Memorial Exhibition', McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, 1933.
The wavy pattern in the background is very similar to some of the most abstract designs for textiles for which Mackintosh was producing at this time.' (Roger Billcliffe).
'As in 'The Village' there are no figures in this view of the Dorset countryside. This absolute lack of human activity gives Mackintosh's pictures an air of eerie, even surreal, desertion. They are formal landscapes... the most dominant feature in this work is the tall telegraph pole, a formal and unnatural element in this gentle Dorset landscape.' (Roger Billcliffe).
In July Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald spent a holiday in Dorset re-visiting many of the place he had visited in 1895. 'In 'The Village' and 'The Downs' Mackintosh makes his first conscious moves towards his mature style of the Port Vendres period. He is obviously concerned with the pattern of the landscape, picking out features like the stepped hillside, the stone walls, paths and roofs of village houses. These ordinary motifs are given an eerie emphasis by being painted in an equally detailed manner whether they are in the foreground of the the distance... it was probably at this time... that he decided to concentrate more and more on painting. By 1923 he had decided to forsake architecture and design and devote the rest of his life to producing watercolours.' (Roger Billcliffe).
A rectangular table on plain square legs. This table was commissioned by William Davidson after he moved into 78 Southpark Avenue in 1919. Davidson purchased this house and some of its furniture from Mackintosh when the latter moved to London, however, Mackintosh had taken the dining table with him and so Davidson required a replacement. In later years the table was referred to as a breakfast table. Mackintosh also designed an extension table to accompany this item, see MC/F/109. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010).
A small rectangular table on plain square legs designed as an extension to dining table MC/F/108. This table was commissioned by William Davidson after he moved into 78 Southpark Avenue in 1919. Davidson purchased this house and some of its furniture from Mackintosh when the latter moved to London. In later years the table was referred to as a side table. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010).
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. The canvas relates to smaller watercolours in the Hunterian collection, formerly thought to be textile designs, and to their painted canvas, 'The Little Hills' by Margaret Macdonald. It is likely that they were intended for 'The Dug-Out', though it is not known whether they were ever installed there. Jessie Newbery recalled in 1933, that 'He (Mackintosh) and his wife spent the winter of 1914 painting two large decorations for Miss Cranston'. This would have been in Suffolk, after they had left Glasgow. Although The Dug-Out was not created till 1917-18 it is not unlikely that Miss Cranston was considering the project some years earlier. The canvas was found in the GSA in a single roll in 1981 and was cleaned and mounted on two stretchers.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. The canvas relates to smaller watercolours in the Hunterian collection, formerly thought to be textile designs, and to their painted canvas, 'The Little Hills' by Margaret Macdonald. It is likely that they were intended for 'The Dug-Out', though it is not known whether they were ever installed there. Jessie Newbery recalled in 1933, that 'He (Mackintosh) and his wife spent the winter of 1914 painting two large decorations for Miss Cranston'. This would have been in Suffolk, after they had left Glasgow. Although The Dug-Out was not created till 1917-18 it is not unlikely that Miss Cranston was considering the project some years earlier. The canvas was found in the GSA in a single roll in 1981 and was cleaned and mounted on two stretchers.
This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. One of a set of tea tables for the Dug Out. Such a table can be seen in Mackintosh's design for the Rest Room.
Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh's watercolour designs for the Dug-Out show a very similar settle (painted yellow) in the staircase vestibule and presumably this is where the piece was originally placed. It is a smaller variant of the Derngate hall settle. Whilst the property of the Grosvenor Restaurant, it was probably painted black, but when it was returned from exhibition in Helsinki (early in 1983) damage to the surface revealed yellow paint-work underneath. When the black paint was stripped it was clear that the entire settle had been painted yellow, and on the lower surfaces the original paint-work was intact, allowing accurate colour matching for repainting. In the winter of 1983-84 the settle was repainted and reupholstered to match the original design. This item was assessed for conversation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010), and then again in 2018 following the fire in the Mackintosh Building in June 2018.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Cube and bobbin legs are a traditional motif not used by Mackintosh before this date. Several of the pieces made for the Dug-Out, however, incorporate such traditional features, e.g. the round table with bobbin legs and the stepped ladder-backs of the chairs (Roger Billcliffe). Repaired, and badly scratched top resurfaced in 1985.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. One of a set of tea tables for the Dug Out. Such a table can be seen in Mackintosh's design for the Rest Room.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
Designed for the Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms. Very similar to MC/F87, but in a larger scale with flat instead of turned arms. Re-upholstered in blue horsehair 1985. This item was assessed for conversation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access project (2006-2010), and then again in 2018 following the fire in the Mackintosh Building in June 2018.
Inscribed: This room was opened by Miss Cranston in the year 1917 during the Great European War between the Allied Nations and the Central Powers.The Dug-Out, which Miss Cranston created in the basement of the Willow Tea Rooms was Mackintosh's last work in Glasgow (designed while he was living in London) and develops his new style seen in 78 Derngate. A dramatic interior was created with black ceilings and dark walls highlighted by strong colours in the decorations. The centrepiece was the Memorial Fireplace, decorated with inlaid glass and paintings of the flags of the opposing nations; above the commemorative plaque was a panel of stencilled decoration in chequers, diamonds and triangles, all in the bright colours used in the Derngate frieze. Two interior elevations indicate Mackintosh's schemes for decoration and furniture, some of which survives.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
Design for the staircase and vestibule, West Elevation, The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Miss Cranston and her husband Major Cochrane commissioned Mackintosh to redesign the interiors of their home Hous'hill at Nitshill. Mackintosh designed several suites of furniture in 1904 and more pieces in 1909. Stripes are the dominant motif in the decorations, in the panels over the settle and between the doors where they are carried over the ceiling as in the guest bedroom at 78 Derngate. The lampshades are also similar to those used in this bedroom. (Roger Billcliffe). The lattice work recalls the hall at Derngate, but here it is used as an open screen rather than with solid or glazed panels. The only furniture that has been traced is the chair at the writing desk and the small table.
Design for the Restroom, North Elevation, Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Stripes are the dominant motif in the decorations, in the panels over the settle and between the doors where they are carried over the ceiling as in the guest bedroom at 78 Derngate. The lampshades are also similar to those used in this bedroom. (Roger Billcliffe). The lattice work recalls the hall at Derngate, but here it is used as an open screen rather than with solid or glazed panels. The only furniture that has been traced is the chair at the writing desk and the small table.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for the Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. One of a set of tea tables for the Dug Out. Such a table can be seen in Mackintosh's design for the Rest Room.
This item was lost in the fire in The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art on 23rd May 2014. This item was assessed for conservation in 2010 as part of the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project (2006-2010). Designed for The Dug-Out, Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow. Mackintosh designed similar ladder-back chairs for the guest bedroom for Bassett-Lowke at 78 Derngate in Northampton. All chairs reupholstered 1985. Three repaired 1984-85.
Architectural drawing showing sub-basement floor. With one or two exceptions, a series of Mackintosh drawings appear to be the final 'working drawings' from which a 'finished' hand coloured set were based.
