Mackintosh writing desk returns to the Hill House

This elegant writing desk was commissioned by publisher Walter Blackie, the first owner of the Mackintosh-designed and built Hill House in Helensburgh. Like much of the furniture in the drawing room, it was designed by Mackintosh and constructed by Alex Martin.

Designed in 1904 and crafted the following year from ebonised mahogany with insets of mother of pearl, ivory and glass, it is referred to by some as the ‘kimono desk’ due to its shape. It reflects Mackintosh’s interest in Japanese design and incorporates delicate rose petal details. The beautiful steel and enamelled leaded-glass panel may have been designed by Mackintosh’s wife and collaborator, Margaret Macdonald.

The desk is jointly owned by the National Trust for Scotland and Glasgow City Council. In recent years, it has been on display in the Mackintosh and Glasgow Style gallery at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which is operated by Glasgow Life Museums. It will now be at home in the Hill House for approximately two years, and then will move back to Kelvingrove when the comprehensive restoration project of the interior of the house, supported by The National Heritage Lottery Fund, is expected to begin in 2027.

Louise Baker, the Trust’s Operations Manager at the Hill House, said: ‘We’re delighted that, through this partnership, visitors to the Hill House will be able to view this iconic piece of furniture back in its original home once more.

‘Research by Mackintosh experts shows that there were several alternative designs for the desk, which suggests that Blackie and Mackintosh had many conversations about the shape and style. Mackintosh also made himself a replica, so it must have been a piece he particularly liked. It’s a beautiful piece that fits so well in the Hill House, and we hope that visitors enjoy seeing it as part of our collection here.’

Alison Brown, Curator of European Decorative Art and Design from 1800 to the present at Glasgow Life Museums, said: ‘Back in 2002, the significant support of The National Lottery Fund and the Art Fund enabled Glasgow City Council and the National Trust for Scotland to jointly acquire this important piece of furniture by Mackintosh at auction. The co-ownership and our partnership means the desk can be displayed and enjoyed by visitors in two distinct heritage contexts.’

A generous £1.1 million package of development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been pledged to the Trust as the first step towards the ambitious Mackintosh Illuminated project, which aims to celebrate the genius of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald. With both the Hill House and Mackintosh at the Willow in our care, we have two of the couple’s most important, surviving, publicly accessible masterpieces of design in our portfolio.

Mackintosh Illuminated will help make Mackintosh and Macdonald better known and appreciated – both internationally and at home – through the creation of an online learning resource, as well as an expanded programme of property-based community and education work in both Helensburgh and Glasgow. The project also aims to encourage more people to visit the Hill House and Mackintosh at the Willow to get a richer appreciation of the couple’s skill and versatility. Importantly, this project supports the vital conservation work at the Hill House which, since the property’s completion in 1904, has been afflicted with chronic damp.