Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928), the strikingly original Scottish architect and designer, who shone brightly across Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, died in obscurity in London, but his reputation has deservedly experienced a revival. Ellen Easton McLeod will discuss the arc of his life and describe some of his most important commissions including the Glasgow School of Art, Miss Cranston’s Tea Rooms and The Hill House. 

Ellen and John McLeod have been members of the William Morris Society of Canada since the mid 1990s. Despite living in Ottawa, they have come to numerous meetings and several trips, but not as many as they would have liked to! They helped organize the William Morris Society’s trip to Ottawa in October 2003. Ellen McLeod is an active docent at the National Gallery of Canada, and she frequently speaks on art. She has an Honours BA in English and History (University of Toronto) and an MA in Art History (Carleton University). In 1999 McGill-Queen’s University Press published her book, In Good Hands, on the early history of the Arts and Crafts movement in Canada. Ellen gave a slide presentation about the book at our AGM in September 2000. Ellen and John visited the UK in 1996 to see the William Morris centenary exhibition at the V & A and the Charles RennieMackintosh exhibition in Glasgow. Ellen looks forward to presenting the Mackintosh works she loves to the William Morris Society on November 4.

How to get there:
Toronto Reference Library
Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium,
Main Floor
789 Yonge Street, Toronto
(Yonge and Bloor subway station)