CELEBRATIONS marking 150 years since the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh are set to begin in earnest today with the opening of a major exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.
The showcase spans the iconic the architect and designer’s lifetime from from his birth in Glasgow on June 7, 1868, until his death in 1928 and presents his work in the context of his home city, his key predecessors, influences and contemporaries.
It features more than 250 objects including stained glass, ceramics, mosaic, furniture, textiles, interior and tearoom design and architectural drawings, most of which have not been shown in Glasgow for more than 30 years.
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Making the Glasgow Style exhibition is one of the highlights in a year-long Mackintosh 150 programme. Curator Alison Brown said: “Mackintosh is one of Glasgow’s most famous sons – architect, designer artist, pioneer of modernism. He is at the centre of the only form of art nouveau to come out of Britain, termed the Glasgow style.
“This exhibition is a celebration of his life, his work and the immense creativity going on around him in Glasgow. This year has been an amazing opportunity to get so much of our civic collections out on display that people haven’t seen before and that allows us to tell the story of Charles Rennie Macktinosh from his birth here in Glasgow in 1868 to his death in London in 1928.”
The exhibition examines Mackintosh’s architecture and design before finishing with a look at his career away from Glasgow, the evolution of the Glasgow Style into Art Deco and his move into intricate watercolour painting towards the end of his life.
Among the objects on show is a section of wall with a stencilled design of his rose motif from 1900, created for Miss Cranston’s Ingram Street Tearooms. It was salvaged just before the building was turned into a hotel in 1971 and has not been seen in public since.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here