A new exhibition opening at the Hunterian Art Gallery tomorrow will offer fresh insight into the architectural work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The exhibition’s opening also marks the culmination of a four-year research project at the University of Glasgow – The ‘Mackintosh Architecture: Context, Making and Meaning’ is the largest study of his architectural work ever undertaken, leading to a revaluation of what has been an under-researched area of Mackintosh’s output.
Of course, the timing could not be more significant given the fire that destroyed part of The Mackintosh Building*, the much-loved and world-renowned Glasgow School of Art, on May 23. The findings from this four-year project are now available to the public through a new website, also launching tomorrow – and this resource will also play a vital role for conservators and the future restoration of Mackintosh’s buildings.
By analysing the construction process behind the 126 architectural works in which he had design input, this landmark project challenges the familiar view of Mackintosh as the isolated genius. Not only has it defined his role in the buildings produced by the firm John Honeyman & Keppie /Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh, it closely charts the evolution of his iconic style, identifies previously unrecorded works, and confirms previously uncertain attributions.
Many project findings will be displayed in the ‘Mackintosh Architecture’ exhibition, opening at the Hunterian Art Gallery, which is the first major exhibition to be devoted to Mackintosh’s architectural work and features over 80 architectural drawings from The Hunterian and collections across the UK. Many have never been exhibited before and are on display alongside specially commissioned film, models and rarely seen archival material.
Professor Pamela Robertson, Professor of Mackintosh Studies at the University of Glasgow and Principal Investigator of the project, said: “Today Charles Rennie Mackintosh enjoys a world-wide reputation. He occupied a pivotal point between the Victorian age and the Modern Movement, yet despite this his architecture is remarkably under-researched.
“This project is the most comprehensive survey of Mackintosh’s architectural work to date. The resource we have created will provide both academics and amateurs with a much broader understanding of his achievements as pragmatic professional as well as exceptional artist-designer.
“The project has allowed us to understand more about the context within which Mackintosh worked, and his wide network of clients, contractors and suppliers, which challenges the familiar description of Mackintosh as an isolated genius.”
Highlights from the project website include:
- An authoritative catalogue of 126 architectural projects involving Mackintosh and over 230 projects by the practice of John Honeyman & Keppie / Honeyman, Keppie & Mackintosh.
- A catalogue of more than 1,200 architectural drawings, collected together and made publicly accessible for the first time.
- An interactive map detailing locations of all the buildings that Mackintosh worked on.
- Biographies for more than 400 clients, contractors and suppliers, many not previously recorded or researched.
- Contextual and analytical essays presenting the outcomes of the research.
- And more than 870,000 words and 3,200 images.
In creating this resource, the team conducted an exhaustive investigation of archival material from around the world and visited all of the accessible buildings that Mackintosh and the office worked on. Led by a team of architectural historians at the University of Glasgow, the project took more than four years to complete.
The project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council with additional support from the Pilgrim Trust and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland provided collaborative input.
The Mackintosh Architecture exhibition at the Hunterian will run until January 4, 2015. It will be shown at the RIBA’s London gallery from February 18 to May 23, 2015. You can find the project website – a holding site only – here
*Glasgow School of Art confirmed firefighters had managed to save 90% of the building and 70% of its contents. The cost of restoring the building has been estimated at £20m-£35m and it’s thought this work could take four years.
Main picture – The Mackintosh Church at Queen’s Cross and below, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Daily Record building, Glasgow, perspective from the south-east, 1901 © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow 2014.; The Glasgow School of Art: west elevation © Mackintosh Architecture, University of Glasgow, 2014; The Hill House, Helensburgh: west elevation © Mackintosh Architecture, University of Glasgow, 2014.
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