The designer of this chair, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, had very forward looking design sense and very little respect for the desires and budgets of his clients. He often ran into arguments and disagreements with his clients and hid different signs into his designs that showed his opinion of the client ordering the design work. The frowning mouth on the back rest of the Argyle chair is what Charles Rennie Mackintosh thought of this particular client, Miss Cranston.
I found this chair from New York photographer’s studio in 2007. It had been acquired from an antique store and then used as a prop for a high glass photo shoot. After that it got forgotten in a corner with all other props. It is most likely crafted in Italy in the 70′s of black lacquered ashwood with top grade black leather cushion. It is in excellent condition.
Chair’s Story
The Argyle Chair was designed for Miss Cranston’s Tea Rooms in Argyle Street, Glasgow. The high back Argyle chairs were placed around the tables in the center of the room in order to create an intimate island. Although Mackintosh is unanimously considered one of the outstanding figures of Art Nouveau, in many aspects his work anticipates some themes of Modernism. It is no coincidence that Nicolas Pevsner includes him in his “Pioneers of Modern Design” (1936). Wylie Sypher, in his “From Rococo to Cubism” (1960), specifies how both rococo and art nouveau were movements within the decorative arts that were integrated into architecture as well. In Mackintosh’s interior designs, stylized lines and geometric forms reinforce an architectural dialog which from Art Nouveau onwards, with the progressive marginalization of 19th century decorative syntax, mirrored the unification of interior design and architecture characterizing the modern movement.
| SPECIFICATIONS: | One chair in excellent condition |
| MATERIALS: | Black lacquered ashwood. The seat cushion is black leather |
| WIDTH FRONT: | 48 cm / 18.9 in |
| WIDTH BACK: | 43 cm / 16.9 in |
| DEPTH: | 46 cm / 18.1 in |
| HEIGHT: | 138 cm / 54.3 in |
| SEAT HEIGHT: | 45 cm / 17.7 in |
