Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, room WS , Case R, Shelf 5, Box L

Drawing

1904 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A design for a wardrobe for the Blue Bedroom. In the top right hand corner the front elevation and a fragment of the side elevation are depicted [part torn away], scale 1 inch to 1 foot. Below this there is a truncated elevation of decorative panels at the corners of the cabinet, with cross sections of details at intervals, and roughly rendered details of construction of the carcase, showing joints in section, full scale.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pencil and watercolour
Brief description
Drawing by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, design for a wardrobe for the Blue Bedroom, pencil and watercolour, Great Britain, 1904
Physical description
A design for a wardrobe for the Blue Bedroom. In the top right hand corner the front elevation and a fragment of the side elevation are depicted [part torn away], scale 1 inch to 1 foot. Below this there is a truncated elevation of decorative panels at the corners of the cabinet, with cross sections of details at intervals, and roughly rendered details of construction of the carcase, showing joints in section, full scale.
Dimensions
  • Height: 88.5cm
  • Width: 33.2cm
Dimensions taken from Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1994
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed in pencil 'Ebony inlay [deleted] omit' and with notes and a scale.
Gallery label
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) Design for a wardrobe, 1904 Pencil and watercolour Mackintosh designed this wardrobe for the Blue Bedroom at Hous'hill, Nitshill, Glasgow, the home of Mrs. Catherine Cranston, teashop owner and Mackintosh patron. Miss Cranston gave Mackintosh an almost free hand with the decoration of the house which included far more furniture than the better-known Hill House. The simple geometric shapes and dark colouring of the Blue Bedroom furniture established the prototypes for Mackintosh's later pieces. Although Hous'hill was demolished in the 1930s, this wardrobe, which was made by Francis Smith, was sold at auction at Sotheby's. The drawing shows the front of the wardrobe and a fragment of the side elevation at the top right corner. An enlarged detail of the decoration of the left hand edge appears below which incorporates glass inlays and wood panels. According to an inscription, Mackintosh once considered ebony for these inlaid panels. The drawing is in fact a rare example of a Mackintosh furniture design representing both the whole object and details of the decoration. It is fully annotated by Mackintosh with notes on construction. Indeed, the built wardrobe corresponds very closely to the drawing, the joinery and dimensions varying slightly from the design.
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support
Subjects depicted
Association
Bibliographic references
  • Billcliffe, Roger. Charles Rennie Mackintosh : the complete furniture, furniture drawings & interior designs. London: J. Murray, 1986. 272pp, ill. ISBN 0719543185.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1994
Collection
Accession number
E.109-1994

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Record createdApril 1, 2009
Record URL
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