The Glasgow-born architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh was clearly very talented but talent on its own is usually never quite enough. Successful designers, architects and even artists rely heavily on patrons, benefactors and clients who are prepared to buy and invest in new art, or commission new buildings. Although a client needs to be satisfied that the designer or architect involved can meet his or her expectations, the designer or architect meanwhile is looking for clients prepared to allow them a degree of artistic licence.
Mackintosh was certainly fortunate that at the peak of his career, between 1895 and 1910, he was provided with an almost constant supply of work, most of it linked to his employer, the architectural firm of Honeyman and Keppie. Mackintosh had some clients such as Miss Cranston, owner of a series of Glasgow tea rooms, who was perfectly happy to employ him on a regular basis and over many years. Here Mackintosh was given an unparalleled freedom to implement his most adventurous designs. Other more conservative clients were less enamoured with this style of working and the issue of design and even cost was only ever resolved after Mackintosh had been forced to rein in his artistic aspirations.
As one would expect, no two designs were ever the same and for Mackintosh the journey from commission to completion inevitably involved many twists and turns. However, even when Mackintosh was forced to compromise and this was something that he struggled to accept throughout his career, the resulting work still exuded a recognisable quality and style.