The Burrell Collection

While I am not what I would consider a "museum junkie", I can really enjoy a great museum from time to time; and The Burrell Collection really falls into this category!

Just outside of Glasgow, this museum also has an interesting history; the pieces it houses were originally owned by Sir William Burrell, who owed them personally - it was one of the largest personal collections in the world.  When he died, he willed it to the city of Glasgow, but with several conditions:  one of the most important being that the collection needed to be housed 16 miles outside of the city, to protect it from pollution, and to my understanding to also assure it a more aesthetically pleasing setting.  It took over 20 years to find an acceptable site, and even then some of the requirements had to be waived to make it work; but the result is magnificent; the building, which is a result of an architectural competition of local architects, is stunning.  I can tell you that I thought that the way the building worked with the art was incredible.

The artwork itself has amazing variety; the man collected EVERYTHING, and I think this is what kept my attention.  There was something new around every curve; completely reconstructed rooms, beautiful paintings by Degas and Cezanne, all sorts of sculptures that were amazing, a ton of beautiful tapestries, ancient artifacts of all types, stained glass windows...

I can't really explain or justify why I was so impacted by this place.  Maybe it was the dramatic snow storm outside that had driven us into the Burrell Collection to begin with; maybe it was the way this incredible building worked with the art.  But my theory?  I think that because this was a collection made by one man of things that moved HIM, it moves YOU - and it moved ME.  Unlike other museums that use logic and value and facts to collect the pieces, this entire museum represents what mattered to one man; and it's something I will never forget.

Write me back after you go, I'd really love to hear from you.