'Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.'-  Groucho Marx

Never a truer word was spoken when it comes to the life and times of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. I have recently spent a bit of time reading about this incredible Victorian Scottish designer, artist and colourist.
Mackintosh was one of the 'Glasgow Four' also known as 'The Spooks' due to their elongated ghost like figure paintings.  He was a contemporary of the Colourists and his name became an integral force in the Glasgow Art movement and Art Nouveau.

Wiki Commons
Margaret macDonald

He started life as an architect and artist studying Japanese and continental art but the real work began after he met his bride to be Margaret MacDonald. Margaret was with Mackintosh at the Glasgow School of Art, and was introduced to Mackintosh as their work was complimentary, she too became one of the 'Glasgow Four' and 'The Spooks'. 

Source Wiki Commons
Mary MacDonald 

Her style was Celtic, romantic and very stylised, elongated female forms rendered to simple flowing romantic lines, his work was stylised, romantic but architectural. Once introduced they became a formidable team, introducing contemporary clean lines and fluid life style ideas into existing billowing, flouncy Victorian interior decor.

Their ideas were not popular with everyone, especially in Britain, the stuff shirts were not ready for the simplicity of the Mackintosh-MacDonald innovations. The continent however was a different story, here their ideas were embraced and their exhibitions were pretty successful.

Source Wiki Commons
Margaret Macdonald

Margaret was lauded by Mackintosh, he was generous with his praise of her work and the influences on him, indeed saying it was her talents that were the greater than his own and yet her name hardly features today. The name Mackintosh and style have become synonymous and iconic even a modern day 'brand', still enduring in the 21st century, whereas her name is little known.

Such is the lot of most women in the history of art.

Source Wiki Commons
Mary MacDonald

MacDonald's influence on Mackintosh, although huge was not enough to prevent them from dying penniless. Today their inheritors are enjoying is a different story, original pieces exchange hands for many hundreds of thousands of dollars, and every minimalist home can trace its design history back to this couple.

It is even reported that the influence on the artworks of Gustav Klimpt (another man) can be attributed MacDonald after he attended an exhibition in Vienna where he admired her work.

Where would many these great historical figures of men be without women? Consigned to the annals of history maybe?


http://janeyhood.hubpages.com/hub/Charles-Rennie-Macintosh