Thursday 10 March 2011

Chair from the Willow Tea Room

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was the most important architect-designer to emerge in Britain during the early twentieth century. although all his major work was created in Glasgow, his reputation was international and he is now regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century modernism. Several examples of his more famous furniture designs are available as reproductions. like many architects of his day-Frank Lloyd Wright being the most notable-Mackintosh designed, there possible, not only the building but also the fittings and furnishings for them to create a total unified decorative and architectural scheme.


Mackintosh designed the chair as part of his interiors for the Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow, which opened in 1903. The chair shows his skill in adapting a traditional rush-seated ladder-back chair design and creating something quite original. Machintosh extended the ladder back of the chair to the floor, connecting the rear legs and creating a unified design element. when grouped around a table, the high backs of the chairs also create an enclosing intimate space.