Burrell Collection re-opens to the public

The A-listed home of the Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park is now a modern, greener museum that will show more of the collection to visitors and give access to over a third more of the building.

What is in the collection?

Sir William Burrell devoted more than 75 years of his life to amassing, along with his wife, Constance, Lady Burrell, one of the world’s greatest personal art collections, renowned for its quality of Chinese art, exquisite stained glass and intricate tapestries, as well as its breadth of fine art.

The collection is home to the Wagner garden carpet which is one of the earliest surviving Persian garden carpets in the world, and has rarely been on public display since the Burrell Collection first opened in 1983. The museum’s refurbishment and redisplay means this priceless carpet will now be on long-term display, accompanied by new and innovative methods of interpretation.

Other highlights include Chinese pottery and porcelain produced over a 5,000-year period, making it one of the most significant collections of Chinese Art in Europe; paintings by renowned French artists including Manet, Cézanne and Degas; Medieval treasures including stained glass, arms and armour, and over 200 tapestries and 150 carpets, which are among the finest in the world.

‘Great cultural institutions’

Dr Bridget McConnell CBE, chief executive of Glasgow Life said: “The Burrell Collection is one of Glasgow’s great cultural institutions, displaying one of the finest personal collections ever assembled. Visitors will again appreciate one of the world’s great museums and enjoy the quality and beauty of the works left to Glasgow by Sir William and Constance, Lady Burrell in its spectacular home in Pollok Country Park.

“It is a museum for all, that will bring local people back time and again, while attracting visitors from across Scotland, the UK and from around the world to enjoy.”

Professor Frances Fowle, senior trustee of Sir William Burrell’s Trust said: "The redevelopment of The Burrell Collection has been an impressive undertaking that has delivered a spectacular home for this unique collection. The additional gallery space has vastly increased the areas for display, enabling visitors to see and appreciate much more of the collection, reinterpreted through the most modern and sophisticated technology.

“Visitors can get to know Sir William and Constance, Lady Burrell, as well as the varied and fascinating objects that they acquired, and will make new discoveries each time they visit. The refurbishment has surpassed all our expectations, establishing the Burrell Collection as one of the country’s most internationally significant, sustainable and inspiring museums that has something for everyone.”

What has the refurbishment changed?

Nearly half of the funding for the £68.25 million project was committed by Glasgow City Council with more than a quarter coming from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and significant donations from The Scottish Government, the UK Government, and from many generous trusts and private donors.

On reopening, the museum’s gallery space has increased by 35 per cent, allowing important and unique objects from the collection, which have not been seen for decades, or have never been on permanent display, to go on show.

New displays will give visitors a better understanding of the international significance of the Burrell Collection’s artworks and the people who made them and some of the people who have owned them.

In total 225 displays will spread across 24 galleries. The displays include innovative digital elements such as video walls, interactives and hybrid systems created to help people engage with the stories behind the collection.

For the first weekend the Burrell Collection is open (April 2-3), outdoor events and activities are also being delivered with support from EventScotland’s Year of Stories.

A new central stairway will allow visitors access to the lower floor of the Burrell Collection for the first time, where they can watch items not on display being cared for. A new temporary exhibition space has also been created. Similarly, new galleries have been created on upper floors which will take visitors to spaces in the building they have never seen before.

The museum’s environmental performance has been enhanced by greatly improving the building’s exterior through a new roof, glazing and cladding, and by replacing power, heating and lighting systems with more efficient and sustainable technologies.

The changes made to the fabric of the building to make it more air tight and water tight, and new glazing make it far less susceptible to changes in heat, and the upgrades of plant and systems means the building is far more efficient, and able to take advantage of new technologies in the future to lessen its impact further. The building has achieved industry standard BREEAM rating of “Excellent” – a major achievement for a refurbishment.

Architects John McAslan + Partners, appointed in 2016, are the refurbishment project’s architect and landscape designers.