7th June 1868

Designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh is born

The name of architect, artist and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh is synonymous with Art Nouveau and its British variant, variously known as Glasgow Style or Modern Style.

Born in Glasgow (as McIntosh), he was first employed in an architectural practice where he worked on several notable buildings within the city including, most importantly, the Glasgow School of Art.

Mackintosh Building

The school’s Mackintosh Building was built in stages between 1899 and 1909 and became a city landmark until it was damaged by two fires. The first, in 2014, was quickly brought under control, and caused relatively minor damage. However, the second, four years later, when it was still being renovated in the aftermath of the first, was devastating, and significant parts of the building had to be taken down to prevent a dangerous collapse.

Upon his death in 1928, The Scotsman wrote, on 11 December, that the school “was designed at the end of the last century, and the principle which he there embodied of making decorative features of structural forms became extensively adopted on the Continent.” It explained that, at the time of his death, he had “been in indifferent health for some time”.

Architecture and design

While working as an architect, he also designed or assisted in the design of the offices of both the Daily Herald and Glasgow Herald, The Willow Tearooms and Queen’s Cross Church. The church is now home of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

However, while his architectural legacy is significant, the bulk of Mackintosh’s work concerns itself with interior design and furnishings, in which he collaborated with his wife, Margaret MacDonald. This work, and his painting, took the pair on a journey southwards from Glasgow, initially to East Anglia, then to France, where they settled in the Mediterranean town of Port Vendres, close to the border with Spain, where Mackintosh fell ill. This was diagnosed as cancer, which was the cause of his death, aged just 60. Following his cremation, his ashes were brought back to Port Vendres to be scattered.