Chair

Artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish | British, 1868-1928)

Place of OriginScotland

Date1897

Dimensions53 3/4 × 19 7/8 × 17 7/8 in. (136.5 × 50.5 × 45.4 cm)

MediumOak and horsehair

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1981.47

Not on View

Label TextThirty-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.