Burrell Collection, Glasgow

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The collection belonged to the shipping magnate, Sir William Burrell. It is comprised of over 8000 objects. As a teenager I recall seeing a BBC documentary about the collection - it was in storage as it had no home of its own. This was resolved when the Pollok family bequeathed land to the City Council for the use of the population. (two birds with one stone so to speak)

They regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, and runs an extensive programme of events and activities for both adults and families with children.

The museum was opened in 1983 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

There are two eateries and a shop within the facility.

Sir William Burrell started collecting art when he was sixteen and only stopped with death, when he was well in his nineties. He gave his collection to Glasgow in 1944 under a few conditions:
^v^ it should be housed as far away from Glasgow as possible, surrounded by nature
^v^ the collection should never be separated and the items never sent abroad

After a design competition in 1971, the building was finally built inside Pollock Park, at the edge of a field surrounded by a forest, that we can see through the glass walls. This allows nature to come in the collection as well as natural light to come through the tainted glass.

You'll see:
^v^ Three reconstitutions of Hutton Castle, Burrell's house (the Dining Room, the Hall, the Library)
^v^ A hall with trees, a medieval portal, sculptures by Rodin (notably my beloved Age of Bronze) and the Warwick Vase from Hadrian's villa (you'll see a little brother of it in the British Museum Library)
^v^ Egyptian / Roman / Ancient section
^v^ Asian three colours ceramics: the Luohan has got a brother at the British Museum, signed by the same artist
^v^ A lot of china
^v^ Medieval weapons and costumes - needlework
^v^ Christian art (notably alabaster scenes - as you can see in the Victoria & Albert)
^v^ Tainted Glass (especially from France and Germany)
^v^ Tapestries (check the Bible one)
^v^ Suzanis and Middle East carpets
^v^ The Henry VIII room
^v^ Paintings: a self-portrait by a young Rembrandt, then, upstairs, large Degas collection, as well as Sisley, Boudin, Whistler, Cezanne, Cranach the Elder,...

Free entrance and free tours, sometimes by the curators themselves

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Visit the Burrell collection, located in Pollok Park just south of city centre. Wonderful collection of art & artefacts. Rodin, for example.

In a building opened in 1980s, inside the park. Good food in cafe, and you can walk in the park too. Great in all seasons, but autumn very good.

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There are so many well known art objects here from Rodin to Degas. The Hutton rooms and the ancient egyptian collections aligned with a huge glass wall onto forested trees is a piece of art work on itself.

The Burrell Collection is a massive but slightly strange conglomoration of ancient and less ancient works of art and artifacts. It was gifted to the City and people of Glasgow in the 1940s by Sir William Burrell (hence it's name). There has been some controversy around how some items were acquired, but it certainly makes for an interesting day's viewing and for art lovers and historians alike there are some real gems to be seen.

The Burrell Collection is one of my favourite places to visit when I'm in Glasgow. The museum itself is an architect's inspiration. The building's amalgamation of wood, concrete, glass and the greenery outside seem to make peace with each other and that peace transpires into the visitor's soul.

The Burrell Collection is about 3 miles south of Glasgow on the A77. 9,000 pieces of art are stored here and were a gift to the city of Glasgow. It's amazing what this collector accumulated in his lifetime. This is a part of the Asian collection.

The Burrell Collection in Glasgow is a wonderful and varied collection. It was given to the city in 1944 by Sir William Burrell. Burrell (1861-1958) was a wealthy shipping agent. He stipulated that the collection was to be kept together and a purpose built museum was built in 1983.

This airy courtyard near the entrance to the museum is one of my favourite parts of the building. The Warwick Vase [in the photo] sits in the middle surrounded by sculptures including some by Rodin. On three sides of the courtyard are the "mock ups" of rooms from Burrells castle so it almost serves as their "garden".

A competition was held to design the building that would hold the collection. The winning design actually uses some parts of the collection - stone doorways, such as the Hornby Portal, window surrounds and gargoyle type things - in the architecture of the building. Despite having been built 20 years ago (it opened in 1983) it still feels really modern.

This collection was amassed by a guy called Sir William Burrell and eventually he gifted it to the City of Glasgow in 1944. They built this museum specially to house the collection when they were also given Pollok Park. The collection is really amazing and there is so much stuff on display even though that is only a fraction of the whole collection. There are tapestries, lots of stained glass (so pretty!), paintings (a lot of Degas, Manet, a Cezanne as I recall & plenty others), sculptures (couple by Rodin in the courtyard area), artifacts from ancient Egypt, Asia, Greece and mock ups of 3 of the rooms in Burrells castle.

In the first couple of months of this year I went to see special Whistler [as part of Glasgows year of Whistler exhibits in 2003] and Turner exhibits.

Entry is free although you have to pay to park there so be prepared. Its about £1.60, pay & display

More pictures in my travelogue