Burrell Collection refurb allows more treasures to be displayed

[ON 29 MARCH the refurbished home of The Burrell Collection in Glasgow opened its doors again, having closed at the beginning of 2017.

The museum’s gallery space has increased by 35%, 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 give visitors a better understanding of the international significance of The Burrell Collection’s artworks, the people who made them and some of the people who have owned them. In total 225 displays are 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.

A new central stairway allows 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 special 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 make it more airtight and watertight. New glazing means it is far less susceptible to changes in heat and the upgrades of plant and systems mean 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 a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ – a major achievement for a refurbishment.

Nearly half of the funding for the £68.25m 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.

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

The donation of the collection to the city in 1944 was described at the time by Sir Hector Hetherington, Principal of Glasgow University, as “…one of the greatest gifts ever made to any city in the world.” It is now managed by a charity, Glasgow Life.

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 – as well as paintings by renowned French artists including Manet, Cézanne and Degas. Its medieval treasures include stained glass, arms and armour and over 200 tapestries and 150 carpets, which are among the finest in the world.

In the first 50 days since it reopened the refurbished museum welcomed 124,034 visitors: as many as it did in the full year of 2016 before it closed for refurbishment.

Bailie Annette Christie, chair of Glasgow Life, commented: “The Burrell Collection is already realising its potential as a destination which will help our recovery from the pandemic by bringing local people and visitors to the south of Glasgow. It is clear that interest in The Burrell Collection is undiminished, which is reflected by the strong visitor figures since it reopened at the end of March.

“I have no doubt the exceptional quality, unique breadth and global significance of the Collection, housed in its beautiful and significantly improved home, will remain an irresistible draw in the years ahead, supporting local businesses and Glasgow’s tourism economy.” q