The artists and designers Margaret and Frances Macdonald were leading figures of the group now known as the Glasgow Girls. With Charles Rennie Mackintosh and James Herbert McNair they formed the creative alliance, the Group of Four. This piece is the only known collaborative candlestick by the two sisters. Collaboration was a central part of their philosophy, an approach closely allied to the tenets of the English Arts and Crafts Movement, the teaching of the Glasgow School of Art, and the practice of many of the Glasgow Girls. Not only did the sisters design their metalwork they also made the individual pieces. There does not appear to have been a clear division of responsibilities in the production of their work; both were skilled at design and making. The Hunterian has the major holding of the MacdonaldsÂ’ work as part of its unrivalled Mackintosh Collection.
More information
Title of artwork, date
Candlestick, mid 1890s
Date supported
2011
Medium and material
Copper & enamel
Dimensions
Height: 45.8 cm
Grant
65000
Total cost
100000

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