This afternoon, I went off to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's House for Art Lover at Bellahouston Park with principal objective of obtaining images of emerging seasonal plants and flowers in the well kept garden which adjoins the House For Art Lover. Unfortunately, the recent very severe winter seems to have taken its toll. However, by way of consolation, I was pleased to see a good display of snowdrops emerging from the ravages of the frost and ice.


This building, although designed at turn of the 20th century, was not completed until 1996, the design having languished for some 90 years. Rooms include the Main Room, Oval Room, Music Room and Margaret MacDonald Room. The Glasgow School of Art (principal building also designed by Mackintosh) has space and facilities at House for Art Lover. The public can tour the building for a modest fee; a worthwhile experience. Here is a video clip from last year.

In the grounds of the House I found this sculpture of a foot.

Here are the snowdrops


Elsewhere today, I have been working on various tour enquiries for upcoming season. Next task is to post another tranche of WW1 casualties as recorded at the Barrhead War Memorial to my GlasgowAncestry blog. The loss of life from this town was horrendous.

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 10:21 AM  0 comments

This morning, I visited the Glasgow of School of Art ("GSA"). In architectural terms, this is an iconic building and considered to be one of the most influential and significant structures of the 20th century.

The GSA was founded in 1845. In 1896 the present Mackintosh Building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh who worked for the Glasgow architect firm of Honeyman and Keppie. Half of the building was completed in 1899 with the western end finished a decade later in 1909. This staggered completion was due to financial constraints at the time. Mackintosh was 41 years of age at completion.

This building, which still houses the working Art School, has been described as "The only art school in the world where the building is worthy of the subject".

Mackintosh was a graduate of the GSA. Not surprisingly, the School houses extensive Mackintosh and other collections which, together with other archive material, document the history of the GSA and art, design and architecture education since the School was founded in 1845.

The north facade of the building reflects the internal plan and results in a masterpiece of balanced asymmetry. The entrance is at the centre of the building. See this video for a better appreciation.

Entrace to Glasgow School of Art

Side elevation

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 2:07 PM  0 comments

This afternoon, I am posting information on Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Glasgow born architect who left a considerable legacy of work in the city of his birth.

Very briefly, Mackintosh (1868-1928) was a designer, architect and artist whose work covered a very broad compass, from jewellery to graphics, from wall decoration to exhibited paintings, from pottery vases to wood engraving. Often working in conjunction with his wife, Margaret McDonald, Mackintosh designed a wide array of objects for domestic use including tables, chairs, cutlery and napkins, carpets, mirrors, curtain fabric and light fittings, beds, hat stands, wardrobes and clocks. He also designed buildings in their entirety, including foundations, structural steel, ventilation systems and plumbing. He also painted landscapes and flowers.

However, Mackintosh is perhaps best known for his underlying theme of designing places to be inhabited taking account of the rooms, sequences of rooms, their form, light and material. Perhaps the best known example of his domestic design work is the famous 'House for an Art Lover' which is located in the same vicinity as the Burrell Collection, one of Glasgow's top visitor attractions. Other famous examples of Mackintosh's work include the Hill House (Helensburgh), Mackintosh Church, Willow Tea Rooms and Scotland Street School Museum.

It should be remembered that Mackintosh did not work in isolation. He was one member of the 'Glasgow Four' comprising Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair and the sisters Margaret and Frances McDonald. This group worked within the Glasgow School of Art (itself designed by Mackintosh) around 1890-1910 and produced decorative works of furniture, architecture, panels, embroideries and graphic material.

Via my tour guiding company, catswhiskerstours.co.uk I provide private tours of the Mackintosh sites.

Today I am focusing on just one aspect of Mackintosh's work, namely the Daily Record Building in Renfield Lane, Glasgow G2. This is tucked away and is best accessed on foot. In designing this building Mackintosh made striking use of colour on the facade and skilfully combined sculptured sandstone with white glazed bricks to maximise light.

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 4:46 AM  0 comments

Today, we continued the Charles Rennie Mackintosh theme by visiting the Willow Tea Rooms, located at 217 Sauchiehall St. in Glasgow, "Sauchiehall" means 'alley of the willows' and throughout the rooms Mackintosh used the willow motif.




These Tea Rooms are well a worth a visit when in Glasgow, just a short walk from the City centre.

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 1:17 PM  0 comments

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 1:24 PM  0 comments

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posted by Nigel Cole @ 2:38 PM  0 comments