The Burrell Collection is one of Scotland's richest art museums: more than 9,000 works gathered over a lifetime by a Glasgow shipowner, Sir William Burrell, and given to the city. They range from Chinese ceramics to medieval tapestries, from Gothic stained glass to paintings by Degas, in a modern building set in the greenery of Pollok Country Park. After a major refurbishment, it reopened in 2022 and was named Museum of the Year in the United Kingdom. Entry is free.
History
William Burrell (1861-1958) was a wealthy shipowner with a keen business sense. For more than seventy years he bought works of art with passion and curiosity, without following fashion: ceramics, bronzes, sculpture, furniture, armour, carpets, stained glass and paintings. In 1944 he gave the entire collection to the city of Glasgow, on condition that it be displayed in the countryside, away from the pollution of the centre. It took decades to find the right place: the museum opened in 1983, in a building of glass and sandstone designed to interact with the surrounding woodland. Closed in 2016 for a complete refurbishment, it reopened in March 2022.
- 1861William Burrell is born in Glasgow
- 1944Burrell gives his collection to the city of Glasgow
- 1983The museum opens in Pollok Country Park
- 2016The museum closes for a major refurbishment
- 2022The museum reopens
- 2023The Burrell is named UK Museum of the Year
What to see
The collections
The galleries are organised by theme and mix periods and cultures. Highlights include:
- One of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics and bronzes in Europe, with vessels spanning thousands of years.
- Medieval tapestries and stained glass, among the finest in the world, with hunting, court and religious scenes.
- Art from the Middle East, with carpets, tiles and Islamic ceramics.
- 19th-century French paintings, with a group of works by Degas, as well as Manet and Cézanne, and a cast of Rodin's The Thinker.
- Sculpture and finds from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, such as the great Warwick Vase, a Roman vase reconstructed in the 18th century.
- The Hutton Castle rooms, three rooms from Burrell's home reconstructed with their furnishings.
The building and the park
The large windows look straight out onto the woods, and some medieval stone doorways and windows have been set into the walls of the museum. Around it stretches Pollok Country Park, with meadows, woodland, paths and a herd of shaggy, russet Highland cattle. The park is also home to Pollok House, an 18th-century mansion with a collection of Spanish paintings including works by El Greco, Goya and Murillo.
Practical information
Entry to the museum is free; you only pay for parking. There is a café overlooking the park. Pollok House is run by the National Trust for Scotland, with its own opening hours. Up-to-date opening times are on the Glasgow Museums website.
Getting there
- By train: from Glasgow Central to Pollokshaws West in about 10 minutes, then a walk through the park.
- By bus: local buses from central Glasgow.
- By air: Glasgow Airport is about 20 minutes away.
Nearby
- Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis.
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Riverside Museum, the city's other great free museums.
- See also Glasgow.
Tips
- How long: at least two hours, half a day with the park and Pollok House.
- When to go: all year round; in spring and autumn the park is beautiful.
- A tip: do not try to see everything: choose two or three sections and look slowly, as Burrell did with his objects.