Lot Essay
Another drawing of Chideock exists in a dismembered sketchbook (collection of Huntarian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow) of which this drawing was once part. It is not clear whether Mackintosh is making a drawing of an actual topiary specimen or whether he is simply formalising the form of some mis-shapen tree. The twisted trunk and dome-like canopy bear a strong resemblance to drawings such as The Tree of Personal Effort and The Tree of Influence (both 1895, both collection of Glasgow School of Art).