Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art of the Four

A showcase of the artistic output of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair, Margaret and Frances Macdonald, known simply as The Four.

Delve into the world of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his Glasgow School of Art-trained contemporaries who forged a unique and distinct vision in both art and architecture at the end of the Victorian era.

The Glasgow Style is the name given to the work of a group of young designers and architects working in Glasgow from 1890-1914. At its centre were four young friends who had trained at Glasgow School of Art; two architects and two artists - Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair, Margaret Macdonald and Frances Macdonald - who were simply known by their friends and contemporaries as ‘The Four'. Their work was a personal vision in the new international style of the 1890s, Art Nouveau, and is perhaps best known for Mackintosh's architecture and furniture. But at the root of this new style was a graphic language which all four shared.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art of The Four presents the most coherent story to date of this important group, concentrating on the entirety of their artistic imagery and output, far beyond the best known work of the 1890s, and charting the constantly changing relationships between the artists and their work.

About the Author

Roger Billcliffe was formerly a lecturer at Glasgow University, Assistant Keeper of the University Art Collection, and subsequently Keeper of Fine Art at Glasgow Art Gallery, and then Director of The Fine Art Society.

He now owns and runs the Roger Bilcliffe Gallery in Glasgow. He is the author of The Glasgow Boys, Visiting Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the definitive Charles Rennie Mackintosh: The Complete Furniture, Furniture Drawings and Interior Designs.