78 Derngate Archive

Botanical drawing: Japanese Witch Hazel” 1915

10 Jul
2017
David Walsh

This botanical watercolour was produced by Mackintosh during his stay in Walberswick between 1914 and 1915. It featured in the 78 Derngate Centenary Exhibition “Charles Rennie Mackintosh & The Great War“.

A number of sketches of Southwold and the surrounding area survive from Mackintosh’s first visit to Suffolk in 1897. In the early 1900s he travelled there again to visit Francis Newbery, Headmaster of Glasgow School of Art and mentor to Mackintosh. On this later extended visit in 1914-15 Mackintosh concentrated on flower drawings and landscape painting. Japanese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis japonica) is grown for its winter display of flowers. The detached flower is shown at an enlarged scale to the rest of the drawing. The cartouche box contains a characteristic minor spelling error; Mackintosh is believed to have had a mild form of dyslexia.

He also made a number of watercolour studies of the surrounding landscape, developing the themes and style of his Sussex and Kent drawings of 1909 and 1910.

Image and information reproduced by kind permission of and is © The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.

Clicking on the catalogue number link below will take you to the Hunterian website where further information may be available. All enquiries about usage of this image, access to the original work and information should be directed to The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.

The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery catalogue information.
Watercolour: “Aubretia, Walberswick” 1914
CRE MACKINTOSH, Charles Rennie; (Scottish; 1868-1928)
pencil and watercolour on paper 26.3 x 21.1
Catalogue number:
41013

Sources