Lost love story behind Glasgow's beautiful tea room
The Salon de Luxe, the jewel of the National Trust for Scotland's Mackintosh at the Willow Tearooms on Sauchiehall Street, will be the focus of a romantic talk led by cultural historian Dr Robyne Calvert on July 6.
The event explores how love, poetry, and symbolism shaped the design of the iconic room created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
(Image: Supplied)
Read more: ABC owners say Glasgow School of Art 'ignored fire warning' before second blaze
Oliver Braid, creative learning manager at Mackintosh at the Willow, said: "Visitors always fall in love with the Salon de Luxe, its bewitching details and important links to Scottish women's history.
"Margaret Macdonald's work is central to the room's design, with interest in her work significantly growing in recent years.
"This talk will help us understand how Mackintosh and Macdonald took inspiration from another creative and translated this into the design of our unique space, here at Mackintosh at the Willow on Sauchiehall Street.
"The event will help to bring people back to Sauchiehall Street as it undergoes major developments into an area of significant culture and heritage for the city of Glasgow, and to help us think more about the city as it celebrates its 850th anniversary."
Dr Calvert will explore how the Mackintoshes drew inspiration from the Willowwood sonnets by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
The poems influenced not only the mood of the space but also Margaret Macdonald's stunning gesso panel, which forms a focal point of the room.
(Image: Supplied)
Read more: Glasgow musician blends classical harp with 'disco-inspired strings' in new single
Dr Calvert said: "For the interior of this dazzling room, Mackintosh enlisted the aid of his wife, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
"Specifically, Macdonald crafted a gesso panel for this room, arguably amongst her most beautiful, titled after the first line in the third sonnet of Rossetti's cycle of four, O Ye, All Ye That Walk In Willowwood.
"The Salon de Luxe is a quintessential example of how the Mackintoshes engaged with Symbolist practices in the creation of a gesamtkunstwerk—a total work of art.
"The panel may be viewed as a narrative key to understanding the space's meaning."
The talk is part of a wider programme of events leading up to 2028, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Mackintosh's death, the centenary of women gaining equal franchise in Scotland, and the 200th anniversary of Rossetti's birth.
Tickets for the romantic event are priced at £7 and can be booked via Eventbrite.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Pride Edinburgh March 2025 brings colour to the city centre
Although the weather was slightly damper and darker than many had predicted on Saturday, the Edinburgh Pride march brought fun and colour to the city centre and old town, as thousands of people took part, including Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. Edinburgh was a sea of colour on Saturday as the city celebrated its 29th Pride parade, with the city painted with all the colours of the rainbow to promote inclusivity and diversity. The event has its origins in 'Lark in the Park' - an event organised by the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group in Princes Street Gardens in 1988. Six years later the first Pride Scotland March took place, with over 3,000 people taking part and enjoying a festival in the Meadows. There had since been 28 Prides in Edinburgh, due to a two year gap caused by the global pandemic, and pride and colour were yet again on show in the city centre on Saturday for the 29th hosting of the event in Scotland's Capital. 1 . Bringing the colour The annual Edinburgh Pride march took place in the city centre on Saturday, June 21, 2025. | Getty Images Photo: Jeff J Mitchell Photo Sales 2 . Crime writer Scottish crime writer Val McDermid (centre, right) joined Scotland's LGBTQ+ community at the annual Pride March in Edinburgh. | Getty Images Photo: Jeff J Mitchell Photo Sales 3 . Huge crowd Thousands flocked to the 30th Edinburgh Pride parade on Saturday in the city centre. | Getty Images Photo: Jeff J Mitchell Photo Sales 4 . Beard power This man attended Edinburgh Pride 2025 with a rainbow multi-coloured beard on Saturday. | Getty Images Photo: Jeff J Mitchell Photo Sales Related topics: PrideEdinburghDiversityPeopleScotland
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Vogue Williams admits she almost didn't marry 'sociopath' Spencer Matthews
Although they are now happily married with three children, Vogue admits her first impressions of husband Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews weren't great, believing she wasn't going to like him Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews almost didn't get together, after she had already made up her mind about him before she met him, believing he was a "sociopath". The mum-of-three admitted she had a "preconceived idea" about her now-husband, and was certain she wasn't going to like him. Of course, after meeting Made in Chelsea star Spencer, 36, she realised he was 'the one', but before that, Vogue, 39, had been enjoying the single life. Thankfully for Spencer, he made it out of the friend zone, and the couple married on Spencer's millionaire family's 10,000-acre Scottish estate in 2018. Vogue stunned her guests and fans in her off-white silk V-neck gown, a bespoke design by Paul Costello. Her groom Spencer wore a three-piece midnight-blue suit made by esteemed Mayfair tailor Tony Lutwyche. They now share three children: Theodore, six, Gigi, four, and three-year-old Otto. They welcomed their youngest in April 2022, and Vogue was pregnant with Theodore on their wedding day. In a new interview with the Sun, Vogue revealed her first impressions of the dad of her kids, confessing: "I kind of met him with a preconceived idea, and I was like, 'I'm not going to like him' because I thought he was a sociopath." Vogue soon changed her mind, adding: "But after I met him, I loved his personality straight away . . . he was so sound, but I was being really good at being single and I wanted to stay single, so I thought, 'He's going to be a really good friend' — that's the first thing I thought." The model and media personality had been single since ending her first marriage, which was to Westlife's Brian McFadden. But she knew from the start he wasn't "marriage material". In her new memoir, Vogue said she knew it was a "mistake" on the morning of her wedding. She wrote: "The morning of the wedding I felt very stressed and so anxious because deep down I knew I had made a mistake. After the wedding I tried to make things work.' Vogue added: "The relationship wasn't all terrible, we did have some great times too, and for the most part, he was good fun to be around. But he was not husband material. "It was me who called it in the end. I couldn't keep trying, it felt pointless… I'm not here to throw anyone under the bus, but there are things that went on in our relationship that will never be forgiven." Although she went on to enjoy the single life, she initially felt lost after she divorced the Westlife singer, who she was married to from 2012 to 2017. Speaking to Bryony Gordon on the The Life of Bryony podcast, she explained: I remember being divorced at 31 and thinking, I've ruined my life. "I am never going to have kids, I am never going to do what I always wanted to do. Then you see how your life actually starts to unfold – that's why it feels exciting to move into your forties.'
Glasgow Times
4 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Lost love story behind Glasgow's beautiful tea room
The Salon de Luxe, the jewel of the National Trust for Scotland's Mackintosh at the Willow Tearooms on Sauchiehall Street, will be the focus of a romantic talk led by cultural historian Dr Robyne Calvert on July 6. The event explores how love, poetry, and symbolism shaped the design of the iconic room created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. (Image: Supplied) Read more: ABC owners say Glasgow School of Art 'ignored fire warning' before second blaze Oliver Braid, creative learning manager at Mackintosh at the Willow, said: "Visitors always fall in love with the Salon de Luxe, its bewitching details and important links to Scottish women's history. "Margaret Macdonald's work is central to the room's design, with interest in her work significantly growing in recent years. "This talk will help us understand how Mackintosh and Macdonald took inspiration from another creative and translated this into the design of our unique space, here at Mackintosh at the Willow on Sauchiehall Street. "The event will help to bring people back to Sauchiehall Street as it undergoes major developments into an area of significant culture and heritage for the city of Glasgow, and to help us think more about the city as it celebrates its 850th anniversary." Dr Calvert will explore how the Mackintoshes drew inspiration from the Willowwood sonnets by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The poems influenced not only the mood of the space but also Margaret Macdonald's stunning gesso panel, which forms a focal point of the room. (Image: Supplied) Read more: Glasgow musician blends classical harp with 'disco-inspired strings' in new single Dr Calvert said: "For the interior of this dazzling room, Mackintosh enlisted the aid of his wife, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. "Specifically, Macdonald crafted a gesso panel for this room, arguably amongst her most beautiful, titled after the first line in the third sonnet of Rossetti's cycle of four, O Ye, All Ye That Walk In Willowwood. "The Salon de Luxe is a quintessential example of how the Mackintoshes engaged with Symbolist practices in the creation of a gesamtkunstwerk—a total work of art. "The panel may be viewed as a narrative key to understanding the space's meaning." The talk is part of a wider programme of events leading up to 2028, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Mackintosh's death, the centenary of women gaining equal franchise in Scotland, and the 200th anniversary of Rossetti's birth. Tickets for the romantic event are priced at £7 and can be booked via Eventbrite.
