Margaret Macdonald

Scottish artist

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July 16, 2026

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Margaret Macdonald was a Scottish artist and a key figure in the Glasgow style, working alongside her husband, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. She was part of a group known as "The Four," who gained international recognition in the 1890s for their innovative posters, craftwork, and furniture. Her work, characterized by its elegance and originality, contrasted with the prevailing fashions of the time. Macdonald also contributed to the design of interiors, including notable tearooms in Glasgow. While Mackintosh is more widely known for his architectural projects, Macdonald's artistic contributions were integral to their shared aesthetic and the broader Art Nouveau movement in Britain.1

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graphic design
Art Nouveau
…McNair joined artists (and sisters) Margaret and Frances Macdonald in a revolutionary period of creativity beginning in the 1890s. This group in Glasgow, Scotland, combined rectangular structure with romantic and religious imagery in their unorthodox furniture, crafts, and graphic designs. In a poster it made for the Glasgow Institute of…
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…McNair joined artists (and sisters) Margaret and Frances Macdonald in a revolutionary period of creativity beginning in the 1890s. This group in Glasgow, Scotland, combined rectangular structure with romantic and religious imagery in their unorthodox furniture, crafts, and graphic designs. In a poster it made for the Glasgow Institute of…
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Charles Rennie Mackintosh
…“The Four”), one of whom, Margaret Macdonald, became his wife in 1900, Mackintosh achieved an international reputation in the 1890s as a designer of unorthodox posters, craftwork, and furniture. In contrast to contemporary fashion his work was light, elegant, and original, as exemplified by four remarkable tearooms he designed in…
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…“The Four”), one of whom, Margaret Macdonald, became his wife in 1900, Mackintosh achieved an international reputation in the 1890s as a designer of unorthodox posters, craftwork, and furniture. In contrast to contemporary fashion his work was light, elegant, and original, as exemplified by four remarkable tearooms he designed in…
Read More