Kelvingrove, Glasgow's museum

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow is one of the most visited museums in the United Kingdom outside London, and one of the best loved. Housed in a magnificent red sandstone building in Kelvingrove Park, it mixes art and natural history, European masterpieces and stuffed animals, medieval armour and a Spitfire hanging from the ceiling. At its centre, in the great hall, is an organ that plays every day. Admission is free.

History

The museum was born for the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1901, the great international fair celebrating the city, then one of the richest in the British Empire thanks to its shipyards and trade. The building, designed by John W. Simpson and E. J. Milner Allen in Spanish Baroque style, was partly funded by the proceeds of an earlier exhibition, that of 1888. A local legend says the building was built back to front and that the architect, in despair, threw himself from a tower: in reality the main entrance has always faced the park.

In 1952 the museum bought, amid much controversy over the price, Salvador Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross, today one of the most famous works in the collection. Between 2003 and 2006 the building was closed for a major restoration, which renewed the displays and made them livelier and more family-friendly.

What to see

The art collections

The collection of European painting includes works by Botticelli, with an Annunciation, Rembrandt, with A Man in Armour, Giorgione, Titian and many Dutch and Flemish masters. There are also 19th-century French painters, from Monet to Renoir, and a portrait by Van Gogh of the Glasgow art dealer Alexander Reid. Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross, with the cross seen from above over a lake, has a room of its own.

Glasgow and Scotland

Plenty of space is given to Scottish artists: the Glasgow Boys, the Scottish Colourists and above all Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow's great architect and designer, with furniture, stained glass and objects in the early 20th-century "Glasgow Style".

Natural history and curiosities

In the West Court a Second World War Spitfire hangs above a stuffed elephant, Sir Roger, who lived in a Glasgow zoo. There are also dinosaurs, animals from around the world, arms and armour, and objects from ancient Egypt. In the East Court, Sophie Cave's installation Floating Heads presents dozens of suspended heads with different expressions.

The organ

The great organ of 1901 dominates the central hall. Every day, usually at one in the afternoon, a short free recital is held: it is one of the highlights of the visit.

Practical information

The museum is open every day and admission is free, with donations welcome; some temporary exhibitions are charged. There is a café, a restaurant and a shop. Opening times are on the Glasgow Life website.

Getting there

• By subway: to Kelvinhall, then a 5-minute walk.
• By train: to Partick or Exhibition Centre, then a 10 to 15-minute walk.
• By air: Glasgow Airport is about 20 minutes away by car.

Nearby

• Kelvingrove Park and the University of Glasgow, with its Gothic Revival tower and the Hunterian museum.
• The Riverside Museum, the transport museum on the Clyde, and the tall ship Glenlee.
• The Burrell Collection and the cathedral and the Necropolis.

Tips

• How long: at least two or three hours.
• When to go: all year round; it is the perfect refuge on rainy days.
• A tip: arrive around midday, tour the galleries and then sit in the centre hall for the organ recital.

Kelvingrove on the map

Nearby