Glasgow's Burrell Collection to close for £60m facelift

A leading museum is marking the final day before it closes for a multimillion-pound refurbishment with a host of activities.

The Burrell Collection, Glasgow. Picture: Robert Perry

The Burrell Collection, one of Glasgow’s cultural jewels, will close its doors this evening, reopening in 2020 after redevelopment.

This weekend the museum is hosting live music, a family ceilidh, helmet making and mural workshops, and guided tours, with all activities free of charge.

The Burrell Collection opened to the public in 1983, and received international acclaim.

But the building which houses the collection, in the heart of Pollok Country Park, is said to no longer be fit for purpose and in need of a full refurbishment.

Only 20 per cent of the collection - donated to the city by Sir William Burrell in 1944 - is currently on display as many items have had to be removed to protect them from damage.

It is estimated that the total cost of the project will be between £60 million and £66 million.

Under the modernisation plans, a new roof and high-performance glazing will make the museum more energy-efficient.

Two new floors of exhibition space will be created so that 90 per cent of the 8,000 objects can be viewed by the public.

Throughout the Burrell’s refurbishment, some of the works from its collection will be on display at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow.

Burrell At Kelvingrove will showcase a series of changing displays, providing visitors continued access to treasures from the collection.

The first exhibition - Burrell At Kelvingrove: Joseph Crawhall - will offer visitors a rare opportunity to see 23 of the finest works by one of the radical group of young Scottish painters, the Glasgow Boys. It will run from October 24 until July next year.

To support public fundraising efforts, an international tour will also showcase treasures from the Burrell Collection, with the aim of raising the collection’s profile worldwide and promoting Glasgow as one of the world’s great cultural cities.

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