A NEW exhibition showing the interiors of The Hill House — the Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece in Helensburgh — for the first time outside of the house is being held at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.
The Hill House was designed and built between 1902 and 1904 for the publisher Walter Blackie, with Mackintosh continuing to create new pieces for the house in the years thereafter. The exhibition opens on 4 August, and will run until 23 September.
Objects on display at The Hill House at The Lighthouse include suites of furniture from the stunning White Bedroom and Drawing Room, as well as individual pieces that stand out as design icons.
Visitors will see the instantly recognisable ladder back chairs, jewel-like mosaic glass and geometric shapes worked in a multitude of forms.
More than 30 objects from The Hill House are presented in the exhibition at the Mitchell Lane venue, between them charting the progression of Mackintosh’s design ideas as he worked with different outlines, materials and motifs.
This unique opportunity to see these objects in Glasgow has arisen as the charity which owns The Hill House — the National Trust for Scotland — is undertaking an extraordinary conservation project which will place a mesh ‘box’ over and around the building to allow it to dry out in order to tackle long-term water ingress, with some key items of the collection removed during the construction phase.
Councillor David MacDonald, depute leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “This fascinating exhibition offers visitors to the Lighthouse a first: the chance to see the interiors of his Helensburgh masterpiece, The Hill House, in a new setting. All of the key rooms and features of The Hill House will be represented, showing the evolution of some of his finest design work.”
Emma Inglis, curator (Glasgow and West), the National Trust for Scotland, said: “The Hill House is the most complete surviving example of Mackintosh’s whole-house approach to design. He designed the architecture of the building, interior decoration, and household furnishings to work in unison, creating rooms rich in interest and colour. Fundraising is still ongoing to save the Hill House and this exhibition is an opportunity to display objects which represent the heart and style of the Hill House.
“Visitors can quite literally view them in a different light. We feel very fortunate to have been able to bring the collection to the Lighthouse where it is in the heart of the city and so accessible to the people of Glasgow. It is important that the house and collection there are preserved as a record of Mackintosh and his work.”
| More about the campaign to save The Hill House
