Charles Hodge Mackie (1862–1920) was a Scottish artist. He was a co-founder, and the first president, of the

Society of Scottish Artists The Society of Scottish Artists is a Scottish artist-run organisation which seeks to ''promote and encourage experimentation and the "adventurous spirit" in Scottish art.'' It was founded in 1891 by Patrick Geddes, William Gordon Burn Murdoch and ...

in 1900.

Life

Mackie was born in

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

, England, the son of an army captain from Duddingston, Edinburgh. His family moved back to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1866 when he was 4 years old. He briefly attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

as a medical student. He then studied art at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

School where

William McTaggart William McTaggart (25 October 1835 – 2 April 1910) was a Scottish landscape and marine painter who was influenced by Impressionism. Life and work The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros, near Cam ...

was one of his tutors. At the beginning of his career, Mackie worked in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

, Scotland. His first exhibition of a Kirkcudbright picture was of ''Kirkcudbright Town'' in 1884 at the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. In 1893 he worked with

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban plannin ...

, creating murals for an urban renewal project at Edinburgh's

Ramsay Garden Ramsay Garden is a block of sixteen private apartment buildings in the Castlehill area of Edinburgh, Scotland. They stand out for their red ashlar and white harled exteriors, and for their prominent position, most visible from Princes Street. ...

. In 1890 he was living and operating a studio from 15 Queen Street, one of the best addresses in the New Town of Edinburgh. By 1895 he had moved to smaller premises at 2 William Street in the West End. Soon after this he moved to Coltbridge Studio, a more rural location on the edge of the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...

in the

Roseburn Roseburn is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The area lies in the west of the city, approximately a 20-minute walk from the city centre, west of Haymarket and close to the Murrayfield area (and Murrayfield Stadium). It is imm ...

district of west Edinburgh. In 1895 and 1896 he contributed black and white woodblock prints to illustrate the four issues of ''The Evergreen: A Northern Seasonal'' published by Patrick Geddes and Colleagues and designed the embossed leather covers for each of the volumes.Clark, Pat (2016), ''People, Places & Piazzas: The Life & Art of Charles H. Mackie'', Sansom & Company, He died in Edinburgh on 12 July 1920 and was buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

in the north of the city.

French influence

In 1892, Mackie and his wife honeymooned in France, where he befriended

Paul Sérusier Paul Sérusier (; 9 November 1864 – 7 October 1927) was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabis movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism. Education Sérusier was born in Paris. He studie ...

. Sérusier later introduced him to

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

and other artists within the

Pont-Aven School Pont-Aven School (; ) encompasses works of art influenced by the Breton town of Pont-Aven and its surroundings. Originally the term applied to works created in the artists' colony at Pont-Aven, which started to emerge in the 1850s and lasted until ...

, making Mackie one of the first British artists to meet Gauguin. These connections resulted in a strong French influence in Mackie's works, and it was Gauguin who convinced Mackie to use Japanese oak blocks for printing, rather than cut linoleum. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, Mackie had adopted a more conventional impressionist style.

Memberships

In 1900, Mackie was a co-founder, and the first president, of the

. In 1901, he was a founding member of the Staithes Art Club and subsequently contributed work to Yorkshire Union of Artists exhibitions. He was a member of the

Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is a Scottish art society established in 1878. The current patron is Charles III. It is a registered charity based in Glasgow and holds an annual exhibition. The first preliminary meeting ...

and involved in the establishment of the Scottish Modern Arts Association in 1906. He became a full member of the

in 1917.

Associates

Mackie became close with many

artists during his trips to France. He also had a close friendship with artist

Laura Knight Dame Laura Knight ( Johnson; 4 August 1877 – 7 July 1970) was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and drypoint. Knight was a painter in the figurative, realist tradition, who embraced English Impressi ...

, whom he had met at an

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

Staithes Staithes () is a village in North Yorkshire, England, situated by the border between the unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and Redcar and Cleveland. The area located on the Redcar and Cleveland side is known as Cowbar. Formerly a hub for f ...

in North Yorkshire around 1900. In 1908, he travelled to Venice with fellow Scottish artist

Adam Bruce Thomson Adam Bruce Thomson Order of the British Empire, OBE, Royal Scottish Academy, RSA, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, PRSW (22 February 1885 – 4 December 1976) or ‘Adam B’ as he was often called at Edinburgh College of ...

. His French style also had an influence on some of the

Glasgow Boys The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook Schoo ...

Exhibitions

Exhibitions of Mackie's work during his lifetime. *

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibiti ...

Thomas Agnew & Sons Thomas Agnew & Sons is a art dealer, fine arts dealer in London that began as a print and publishing partnership between Thomas Agnew and Vittore Zanetti in Manchester in 1817. Agnew ended the partnership by taking full control of the company in 183 ...

Colnaghi Colnaghi is a last name. Notable people with this last name include: * Ignazio Colnaghi (1924–2017), Italian actor * Luca Colnaghi (born 1999), Italian racing cyclist * Martin Henry Colnaghi (1821–1908), British art dealer * Mattia Colnaghi (bor ...

* The International Society *

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, England. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupi ...

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

*Yorkshire Union of Artists

Family

Mackie was married to Anne MacDonald. Their son Donald MacDonald Mackie (1897-1970) was an architect.

References

External links

*
Works by Charles Hodge Mackie
at the

Scottish National Gallery The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Play ...

site
Charles Hodge Mackie
on

Art-Net Art-Net is a royalty-free communications protocol for transmitting the DMX512-A lighting control protocol and Remote Device management (RDM) protocol over the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) of the Internet protocol suite. It is used to communic ...

site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackie, Charles 1862 births 1920 deaths Organization founders Royal Scottish Academicians Scottish artists Presidents of the Society of Scottish Artists