May 09, 2018
Signare Helps Glasgow Celebrate 150 Years of Charles Rene Mackintosh!
In June, it will be 150 years since the birth of Scottish architect, designer, artist and cultural icon, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
To mark the anniversary, a year-long programme of events is being held throughout 2018 under the banner ‘Mackintosh 150’. One of the highlights is a major exhibition, ‘Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Making the Glasgow Style’, which is being held at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum 30th March – 14th August 2018.
Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery
We’re delighted that Kelvingrove has chosen to stock a range of products from Signare’s Mackintosh collection in its gift shop, so that visitors can take home their own piece of Glasgow Style as a memento!
Charles Rennie Mackintosh facts
Charles Rene Mackintosh (Rennie was his mother’s maiden name) was born in Townhead, Glasgow on the 7th June 1868. After training as an architect, he was involved in the design of many buildings in central Glasgow, including the Glasgow Herald building, and the extension to the Glasgow School of Art, now called the Mackintosh Building.
With fellow architect Harold McNair, Mackintosh attended evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art, and in 1892, both men were introduced to artist sisters Margaret and Frances Macdonald by their tutor and mentor Francis Newberry who felt they had similar tastes. Harold and Frances married in 1899, and Charles and Margaret a year later in 1900.
Together, the four established the ‘Glasgow style’, an amalgamation of the naturalness of the Arts & Crafts movement which Newberry had brought up from London, combined with traditional Celtic ornamentation.
Signare tapestry in Kelvingrove Museum gift shop
Mackintosh enjoyed working with furniture, textile design and metalwork in his spare time – interests that meant often, he wasn’t content with just designing the building itself, but also became closely involved with the interior design. He worked well with his wife Margaret, and frequently it was she who provided the detailed drawings for interior designs.
His influences came from more than just his time at the Glasgow School of Art and his Celtic heritage. Around this time Japan was opening up to Europe, and ships from the Orient frequently docked in Glasgow, bringing with them examples of Japanese woodblock prints. The rectilinear designs of the prints resonated strongly with Mackintosh, influencing his approach to architecture and art, resulting in a style that blended strong right angles and floral motifs with subtle curves.
His architectural career was short, though it had great impact not only in his native Scotland, but also throughout Europe where Modernism and Art Nouveau were beginning to have an impact. Keen for his prodigies to have a wider experience of art as possible, Newberry encouraged them to travel to Europe, where Mackintosh’s works were well received.
In later life, Mackintosh became disillusioned with architecture, focusing more on watercolours. The influence of his wife grew stronger, as did his use of floral images, and he sold many of his designs to fabric manufacturers.
Visitors to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum gift shop can buy products from Signare’s Mackintosh collection including handbags, purses, glasses cases and cushions featuring two of his most famous designs – ‘The Rose’ and ‘The Rose and Teardrop’.
Signare tapestry in Kelvingrove Museum gift shop
