Chair
Artist: Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish | British, 1868-1928)
Date: 1897
Dimensions:
H: 53 11/16 in. (136.4 cm)
Medium: Oak and horsehair
Classification: Furniture
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott
Object number: 1981.47
Label Text:Thirty-four of these chairs were designed for the Luncheon Room of Glasgow’s Argyle Street Tea Rooms (only 17 are known to survive today). This was the largest and most important commission for designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh within his native Scotland. The chairs were ordered by his major supporter and the owner of the tea room, Miss Catherine (Kate) Cranston. Mackintosh employed craftsmen trained in shipbuilding to manufacture the chairs, their efficiency and technical skills allowing him to focus on the final appearance of his designs.
Mackintosh became well known for a strain of the elegant and nature-inspired style of Art Nouveau that relied on clean lines, simplicity, and geometric forms. The decorative and architectural sensibilities of the chairs stand alongside their practical role as seating. This high-backed design became a signature of Mackintosh’s work and he later had a set of the chairs produced for his own dining room.
Mackintosh became well known for a strain of the elegant and nature-inspired style of Art Nouveau that relied on clean lines, simplicity, and geometric forms. The decorative and architectural sensibilities of the chairs stand alongside their practical role as seating. This high-backed design became a signature of Mackintosh’s work and he later had a set of the chairs produced for his own dining room.
On view
In Collection(s)