The Quest for Charles Rennie Mackintosh

"Art is the flower... Life is the green leaf. Let every artist strive to make his flower a beautiful living thing..."

Dr John Cairney considers the complex man behind the facade that was Charles Rennie Mackintosh, architect and artist. Though recognised even in his own day as a genius, he was by no means a pre-Raphaelite plaster cast saint of high morals and mystic vision. He was a flesh and blood charmer, who attracted women as much as he irritated men, enjoyed a drink to a sometimes excessive degree and was known for his explosive temper and black moods. He was all artist, but all man, with the advantages and disadvantages of both.

This book explores many hitherto unexamined aspects of Toshie’s life.

• How significant was his relationship with his mother who died when he was 18?
• How important was Jessie Keppie, his first girlfriend?
• How much did his wife, Margaret Macdonald, contribute to his work?

These and other insights introduce us to Mackintosh, the man, who fully deserves a much wider recognition.

As the artist, Muirhead Bone said of him, in 1902: "To this great artist, someday surely justice will be done."

New paperback edition of The Quest for Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

'Mr Cairney- who writes best of those he loves and who, I suspect, could not write an 'objective' biography if he tried - agrees.' THE DAILY MAIL

'it makes for grand reading and for a stronger sense of the man than can be found in most of the more scholarly tomes. Which, of course, is what Cairney set out to do.' SUNDAY HERALD

'Unlike anything previously published on Charles Rennie Mackintosh, this is the first work to focus on Mackintosh the man behind all that we know of Mackintosh the artist and architectural icon. As something of an enigma, Mackintosh has been an almost impenetrable figure of the history of Scottish art since his death in 1928; but now after 25 years of research John Cairney offers us his findings on the artist. Taking a daring approach, he sheds unexpected light on Mackintosh's private life and upbringing, startling the reader with revelations of the artist;s setbacks such as dyslexia and alcoholism. Cairney gives the reader access to hitherto unexamined aspects of the artist's life.' THE SCOTS MAGAZINE