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Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art of 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.
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.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 26, 2017
About the author
Roger Billcliffe
36 books2 followersRoger Billcliffe is an art historian and trustee of the J.D. Fergusson Art Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 9, 2025
Picked this up at Hill House aas it looked such a beautiful book. Just got around to reading it and enjoyed it very much. The detailed writing has made me appreciate the artists, and their art, even more than before. Would like to go back to Glasgow soon!
February 10, 2019
I wanted to read the book on Frances and Margaret edited by Pamela Robertson but it wasn’t at the library so this had to do. It’s a beautiful book but it’s funny how upset the writer is that feminist art critics exist.
October 11, 2025
On my first visit to Glasgow, Scotland, in 2019, I don't know whether I'd ever heard of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928) before. I was in the city long enough to realize that Mackintosh, a native son, is quite well-known locally and likely would have been more widely famous had he not lived and died in the period between the two world wars. I saw what I could of his work on that visit, and more recently I returned to Glasgow and saw more. I bought this large, beautifully printed book soon after the 2022 edition was published. The images are wonderful, and it's very comprehensive.
More important, and the reason I chose exactly this book, is that it makes every effort to fully document all the work of the whole group called The Four, which consisted of Mackintosh; his wife, Margaret Macdonald; her sister, Frances Macdonald; and Mackintosh's friend and fellow architect, Herbert MacNair, who married Frances. They were students at the Glasgow School of Art in the same years, although it remains unclear whether the men were ever in classes with the women, as the women were enrolled full-time and the men attended night classes.
"The Four, while ... being part of an international movement that falls under the umbrella of Art Nouveau or Arts and Crafts, were at the forefront of this new style, driving it along, first of all within their own compass in Glasgow and Britain and then, from the later 1890s, in a European context" (page 293). Early on, they were influenced by Jan Toorop (1858–1928), and later their work influenced Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), among others in Europe.
Mackintosh in many ways appears as a more dominant figure, with more prominent works than the other three, but in reading this mostly chronological study, I learned that the influences and collaborations among The Four are difficult to unravel. It was always obvious that there were collaborations among the two sisters, and among the two couples, but author Roger Billcliffe shows that it's often unclear who was guiding or inspiring whom. The curving slender elongated figures may have belonged mostly to Margaret and Frances, but MacNair painted them too in clearly solo works, and Mackintosh incorporated them in his interior designs for the Willow Tearooms. Mackintosh made numerous watercolors and pencil drawings of flowers, their vertical stems and leaves the very essence of Art Nouveau design, and these were entirely separate from the work of the others.
In the last years of their lives, between the world wars, the Mackintoshes lived mostly in France, and Charles painted a whole series of village landscapes that, had he lived, might have redefined his legacy. They are reproduced beautifully in this book. Frances had died in 1921, and Margaret apparently produced no art (or almost none) after that. MacNair had fallen on hard times artistically and personally even before Frances's death.
I adore the many color plates in this book, and I especially love the works attributed (mainly) to the Macdonald sisters. Having seen some of them in person in Glasgow, I'm now eager to view others held elsewhere around the world. I appreciated learning about the showings of work by The Four at the Vienna Secession Exhibition in 1900, and I very much want to see The Seven Princesses, by Margaret Macdonald, which is at the MAK in Vienna.
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More important, and the reason I chose exactly this book, is that it makes every effort to fully document all the work of the whole group called The Four, which consisted of Mackintosh; his wife, Margaret Macdonald; her sister, Frances Macdonald; and Mackintosh's friend and fellow architect, Herbert MacNair, who married Frances. They were students at the Glasgow School of Art in the same years, although it remains unclear whether the men were ever in classes with the women, as the women were enrolled full-time and the men attended night classes.
"The Four, while ... being part of an international movement that falls under the umbrella of Art Nouveau or Arts and Crafts, were at the forefront of this new style, driving it along, first of all within their own compass in Glasgow and Britain and then, from the later 1890s, in a European context" (page 293). Early on, they were influenced by Jan Toorop (1858–1928), and later their work influenced Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), among others in Europe.
Mackintosh in many ways appears as a more dominant figure, with more prominent works than the other three, but in reading this mostly chronological study, I learned that the influences and collaborations among The Four are difficult to unravel. It was always obvious that there were collaborations among the two sisters, and among the two couples, but author Roger Billcliffe shows that it's often unclear who was guiding or inspiring whom. The curving slender elongated figures may have belonged mostly to Margaret and Frances, but MacNair painted them too in clearly solo works, and Mackintosh incorporated them in his interior designs for the Willow Tearooms. Mackintosh made numerous watercolors and pencil drawings of flowers, their vertical stems and leaves the very essence of Art Nouveau design, and these were entirely separate from the work of the others.
In the last years of their lives, between the world wars, the Mackintoshes lived mostly in France, and Charles painted a whole series of village landscapes that, had he lived, might have redefined his legacy. They are reproduced beautifully in this book. Frances had died in 1921, and Margaret apparently produced no art (or almost none) after that. MacNair had fallen on hard times artistically and personally even before Frances's death.
I adore the many color plates in this book, and I especially love the works attributed (mainly) to the Macdonald sisters. Having seen some of them in person in Glasgow, I'm now eager to view others held elsewhere around the world. I appreciated learning about the showings of work by The Four at the Vienna Secession Exhibition in 1900, and I very much want to see The Seven Princesses, by Margaret Macdonald, which is at the MAK in Vienna.
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October 17, 2024
I picked up this book to learn more about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his friends before visiting Glasgow. I knew nothing about Mackintosh and the other members of the Four (Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, Frances MacDonald MacNair, and Herbert MacNair) before reading this book. My life is richer for having read it.
The Four were artists (and in Mackintosh's case, an architect) in Glasgow during the 1890s and early 1900s. During their most creative periods, they developed an artistic vocabulary that was all their own. Certain motifs recur throughout their work at various points, especially Glasgow roses.
There are two particular strengths in Billcliffe's work. First, the book has beautiful illustrations of the Four's artworks. It is a visual feast. There is necessarily something lost compared to viewing the originals, particularly in the illustrations of Margaret MacDonald's gesso panels, because of her use of semi-precious stones and tracery in her work. However, it is wonderful to see so many different works from different museums in one place.
Second, Billcliffe has studied the Four for decades. As a result, he spoke to their surviving friends (and their friends' children) in the 1970s. This gives him information about the Four that otherwise wouldn't have been available - the sort of things that people mention to each other, but are not public knowledge.
In short, if you have even a passing interest in the Arts and Crafts movement or Art Nouveau (or even art in general), I highly recommend this book.
The Four were artists (and in Mackintosh's case, an architect) in Glasgow during the 1890s and early 1900s. During their most creative periods, they developed an artistic vocabulary that was all their own. Certain motifs recur throughout their work at various points, especially Glasgow roses.
There are two particular strengths in Billcliffe's work. First, the book has beautiful illustrations of the Four's artworks. It is a visual feast. There is necessarily something lost compared to viewing the originals, particularly in the illustrations of Margaret MacDonald's gesso panels, because of her use of semi-precious stones and tracery in her work. However, it is wonderful to see so many different works from different museums in one place.
Second, Billcliffe has studied the Four for decades. As a result, he spoke to their surviving friends (and their friends' children) in the 1970s. This gives him information about the Four that otherwise wouldn't have been available - the sort of things that people mention to each other, but are not public knowledge.
In short, if you have even a passing interest in the Arts and Crafts movement or Art Nouveau (or even art in general), I highly recommend this book.
February 8, 2018
This is a fabulous book for anyone who is interested in the art being produced at the turn of the century and the period before the First World War. The book's illustrations are large, clear and numerous, including photographs of period as well as reproductions of the artwork. I found the author's writing clear and understandable to the layperson (that would be me). It was enjoyable to read the history behind the some of the iconic images shown in every work on Scottish Art. In full disclosure, I received this book in a goodreads book giveaway.
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December 15, 2017A beautiful chronicle of The Art of Four. This book takes you behind the scenes of the Glasgow Museum and Library.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews