MacDonald, Frances (1874–1921)
MacDonald, Frances (1874–1921)
English-born artist and designer . Born Frances Macdonald in England in 1874; died in 1921; sister of Margaret Mackintosh (1865–1933); studied at the Glasgow College of Art; married J.L. Herbert Mac-Nair (a painter).
A member of the Glasgow group, Frances MacDonald painted portraits and figurative subjects. In 1894, she and her sister Margaret Mackintosh opened a studio and worked with stained glass, metal, embroidery, and illustration. Frances MacDonald's work was exhibited in Vienna in 1900 and at Turin in 1902. Following her marriage to artist Herbert MacNair in 1899, Frances moved to Liverpool, teaching arts and crafts there at the university. Her work was strongly influenced by her brother-in-law Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In fact, the sisters and their husbands worked so closely together that they were known as "The Four." In 1907, Frances returned to Glasgow where she taught various crafts.