Together with their husbands, these two English sisters were crucial in making the Glasgow Style internationally important.
The Macdonald sisters were two of the most important female artists to emerge from the Glasgow School of Art.
The sisters worked closely together, and at the school met two young architectural draughtsmen of like-minds: James Herbert MacNair and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The group became known as The Four. Their artistic collaboration led to marriage: Frances to MacNair in 1899 and Margaret to Mackintosh in 1900.
After their marriages the paths of the sisters went down very different routes. Each of them collaborated with their husbands but their artistic opportunities and private lives differed greatly as different stresses of life were put upon them.
The work produced by the sisters is quite distinct – the symbolic content can sometimes be read as a reflection of their own lives and aspirations.
This story tells the human story of:
- the sister’s very different lives
- the significant story of the formation of The Four, and
- their work, both collaborating together and working apart.