Built in a Spanish Baroque style, there’s a sense of magic to the Kelvingrove, beyond the collection of exhibits that includes outstanding artworks by Monet, Renoir and van Gogh. It opened in 1901, for the Glasgow International Exhibition held in Kelvingrove Park – taxi drivers will tell you the building is the wrong way round but that’s an urban myth.
Visit to see a Spitfire suspended from the ceiling above a stuffed elephant, furniture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, collections of armour and the enigmatic presence of Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross. There’s no doubt Glaswegians have a tangible sense of connection to the jewel in the crown of the city’s cultural collection.
The art here ranges from Old Masters from across Europe to Glasgow artwork from the 20th Century. There’s exhibits from Ancient Egypt, Asia and the Americas alongside Scottish Colourists like John Duncan Fergusson and Francis Cadell and furniture in the Art Nouveau style.
Each visit brings its own opportunity to wander through the galleries and find something new. Here are nine artworks to look out for on your next visit.
1. Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali (1951)
Positioned on a cross which hovers over a watery landscape, Salvador Dali’s 'Christ of Saint John of the Cross' is radically different from other crucifixions. Later explaining the painting, Dali recalled that he was so impressed by a drawing of the crucifixion made by the sixteenth-century Carmelite Friar Saint John of the Cross, that it inspired a dream. Dali saw Christ in a similar position to the drawing by Saint John, pictured from above. Christ was modelled by Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders. A body double in more than 100 movies, including for Hollywood actors such as Gene Kelly, Saunders didn’t know who Dali was at the time, but agreed to pose for $35 a day, suspended from the ceiling. The figures in the fishing boats are based on two existing artworks, by Louis Le Nain and Diego Velázquez. Photo: JPI Media
2. Windows in the West by Avril Paton (1993)
View of a four-storey sandstone tenement building in Glasgow’s West End, as seen from the artist’s window in the building across the street. The artists says: “On January 11th 1993 at about 5.30pm, there came a sudden heavy blizzard. In ten minutes it was over and the view from the attic window at Athole Gardens overlooking Saltoun Street was transformed. The lilac-pink sky, the lighted windows, the clarity of whiteness where there had been darkness – it was magical. The building is uncommon in that many of the occupants work at home, often beyond office hours. That factor, combined with the goodly amount of children, young persons and sociable adults living there, gives the place a distinctive appearance, particularly on a winter’s evening before curtains are drawn and children sent to bed." | Glasgow Life
3. Anna Pavlova by John Lavery (1910-11)
After his move to London in 1896, Glasgow Boy painter John Lavery concentrated on portraiture and became one of the most sought-after society portraitists of his day. He painted many famous people, including the celebrated Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Lavery was worried that she would be troublesome, not turn up to appointments or arrive with an entourage. However, he recalled in his memoirs: "I was entirely wrong. She arrived unheralded and alone in a taxi... For a whole morning she posed, almost without resting." | Glasgow Life
4. O ye, all ye that walk in Willowwood by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1903)
This gesso panel was designed as the focal point of the Salon de Luxe, at Miss Cranston's Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street. The panel's title comes from the first line of a sonnet entitled 'Willowwood' from The House of Life by poet, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Margaret's intricate panel shows the women who wander forever in mourning for their loved ones in Willowwood. | Flickr