London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Glasgow’s Burrell Collection to reopen after six-year, £68m refurbishment

Glasgow’s Burrell Collection to reopen after six-year, £68m refurbishment

Digitally innovative galleries will put emphasis on community, and look at collection’s links to slave trade

One of the best-known personal art collections ever amassed will reopen to the public in Glasgow next month after a six-year refurbishment costing £68m.

The Burrell Collection, which consists of more than 9,000 objects spanning six millennia, uses digital innovation to connect 21st-century viewers to ancient artefacts.

The redevelopment, which many consider a cornerstone of the city’s cultural recovery from the pandemic, also commits to integrating the museum with the surrounding natural environment in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow’s largest green space.

There is also a new emphasis on community, including the acknowledgment of the collection’s links to the slave trade, an examination of objects’ connections to LGBT history and a redisplay developed with the input of 15,000 locals.

The shipping magnate and philanthropist Sir William Burrell, along with his wife, Constance, collected thousands of works, including Chinese ceramics, stained glass, tapestries and fine art. They donated them to the City of Glasgow in 1944 on the proviso that the collection be housed in a rural setting.

The original gallery was opened by the Queen in Pollok Park in 1983, but was built with a single public entrance. The refurbishment adds a 1,000 sq-metre concourse, with a playscape and cafe terrace, making the building more accessible to park visitors.

Duncan Dornan, Glasgow Life’s head of museums and collections, says the Burrell’s closure offered an opportunity to re-examine the provenance of its collection, at a time when the rest of the UK sector was doing likewise, resulting in new wording for displays, for example, where art was created to mark the wealth of European plantation owners.

The Burrell Collection, in Pollok Country Park, has one of the most significant holdings of Chinese art in the UK, medieval treasures including stained glass, arms, armour and tapestries, and paintings by Manet, Cezanne and Degas.


“Language is moving on, and we’re much more conscious of the provenance of objects and being transparent about these connections where they exist,” he said.

This transparency extends to the whole collection, according to Burrell curators, with visitors having access to a third more of the building, including the basement stores, where, for the first time, they may book to see a particular object.

This allows the museum to put on its first permanent display of the Wagner garden carpet, a depiction of Paradise from the Qur’an and one of the earliest surviving Persian garden carpets in the world. It is so large that an entire gallery has been designed specifically for it.

Digital is promoted as the primary mode of interpretation, with a particular emphasis on younger visitors – 25% of digital displays are aimed at children under five – and ranging from tablet-based information to 16-metre wide immersive video projections, including images of the Burrells themselves walking through the streets of Glasgow.

Stained glass from Vale Royal, Cheshire.


Nearly half of the funding for the redevelopment was committed by Glasgow city council, with more than a quarter coming from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and significant grants from the Scottish and UK governments.

As Scotland emerges from the latest restrictions resulting from the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Dornan says the Burrell’s spring opening places the museum at the heart of the city’s recovery.

“As people come back to enjoy museums and social settings again, clearly we are in a park and it’s a very open building, so it is a nice safe-feeling environment,” he said. “As the Burrell did in 1983, when it was really the first step in Glasgow’s reinvention, it can play a part again in 2022 in the city recovering from the pandemic and again rebuilding it economy.”

The Burrell Collection will reopen to the public on 29 March.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×