150th anniversary boosts visitor numbers to Mackintosh venues

The fireplace at Hill House

A record 1.1 million people have visited Charles Rennie Mackintosh venues across Glasgow this year.

A series of events to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the acclaimed architect boosted visitor numbers.

Visitor numbers were also helped by the reopening of Mackintosh's Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street.

In June a fire ripped through the Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art.

Mackintosh is being promoted as Scotland's national architect

David McDonald, deputy leader of the city council, said: "The incredible legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is part of the fabric of Glasgow and his buildings, art and design are of international significance so it was only right that we marked the 150th anniversary of his birth and his place in our shared history with something very special.

Mackintosh's own drawing room became famous across Europe

"The overwhelmingly positive response we've had to Mackintosh 150 over the past year, backed by a record number of visitors to Mackintosh venues and events in Glasgow and beyond, confirms the huge interest and affection there is for him both at home and globally."

The full north facade of Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art, taken before the 2014 fire

"The tragedy and impact of the fire at our beloved Glasgow School of Art earlier this year and the shock and sadness felt here and around the world was a painful reminder of the fragility and importance of Mackintosh's work."

A detail from the Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh room

More than a million people visited Mackintosh venues in and around Glasgow - including Scotland Street School Museum, House for an Art Lover and Mackintosh House at The Hunterian - in 2018, according to the venues' operator Glasgow Life.

Mackintosh's designs for a House for an Art Lover were finally built in the 1990s

It marks an 8% increase on the levels in 2017 and is up 30% compared to 2016.

Mackintosh legacy

The figures were revealed in a year which saw the completion of a four-year, £10m restoration of Mackintosh's only surviving Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street, and a Mackintosh interior forming the centrepiece of the Scottish design galleries at the new V&A museum in Dundee.

Several venues, mostly in the west of the country, were involved in Mackintosh 150, a year-long programme of events and exhibitions celebrating the birth and legacy of the artist, architect and designer.

Hill House in Helensburgh was built for Walter Blackie in 1904

Glasgow Life said the anniversary programme has been the springboard for the implementation of the city's new 10-year Mackintosh plan, which seeks to promote Mackintosh as Scotland's national architect and safeguard his legacy for the future.

A Mackintosh bureau at Hill House

Jim Clarkson, VisitScotland's regional leadership director, said: "Mackintosh designs have been everywhere this year, from a Vogue fashion shoot to the centrepiece of the Scottish Design Galleries at V&A Dundee. He is a national icon with a global influence that is a major asset in attracting visitors to Scotland, as shown by this range of successes.

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