A Yew Tree at Night

Best known as an architect and designer of Art Nouveau interiors, Charles Rennie Mackintosh also produced accomplished watercolours. In this beautifully textured drawing, he has covered the surface with a dense network of lines and ink blotches, giving an almost Abstract Expressionist effect. A scattering of red dots describes the distinctive seed berries of the yew. Native to the UK, the yew is richly symbolic. With its poisonous berries, remarkable longevity and potential size, it represents variously death and immortality. Indeed, the year 1913 proved to be a trying one for Mackintosh, as he dissolved his architecture partnership and found it difficult to gain commissions on his own.