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John ClarkMackintosh art school is 20th century's masterpiece The Glasgow School of Art building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, has topped a list of the 100 most important and interesting British works of art in the 20th century.
The list, which includes Concorde, a Henry Moore sculpture and the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, was drawn up by the producers of a Millennium series on British arts for UK Arena, UKTV's arts and entertainment channel.
Each programme in the series will feature four works of British art which are, or have been, on public display. This evening's programme features the Trainspotting film poster, Francis Bacon's Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Sir Richard Rogers' Lloyds building, and Concorde. Rob Warr, channel editor for UK Arena, who commissioned the series, admitted that the list was "eclectic". He added: "The definition of a work of art is very broad and we wanted to reflect this. It's almost impossible to compare any work of art with another. How do you compare a Francis Bacon with a David Hockney, for instance? "Nevertheless, people make comparisons. For many people, the film Trainspotting was a seminal influence in their lives and the artwork for it is important to them. It's all in the eye of the beholder, I'm afraid.'' "However, the programme makers all agreed Mackintosh's design for the School of Art had resonated down through the century. It reasonably deserved to be number one on the list." The building in Renfrew Street, Glasgow, was built in two stages. The first from 1896 to 1899 saw the eastern half take shape. However, the school's governors did not have enough money to complete the building for a further seven years. The second phase was constructed between 1906 and 1909. Professor Dugald Cameron, director of the school, said he was surprised and delighted the building had come top of the poll. He said: "What is truly significant is that this inspiring building is in use 100 years from when the first phase was built and it is being used for the same purpose it was created - the education of artists, designers and architects."
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