Burrell Collection gets £1m to support revamp
Plans to refurbish a museum containing one of Scotland’s most internationally significant collections of art have been boosted by a £1 million donation from businessman Sir Angus Grossart.
The Burrell Collection will use the award from the prominent banker to help pay for the ambitious development, which will increase display space by 35 per cent and allow more of the 9,000 items in its possession to be shown.
Sir Angus, a former vicechairman of RBS, leads the Burrell Renaissance committee which is overseeing the project. The museum closed to the public in 2016 to allow work to begin and is not expected to reopen until 2020.
The Burrell, in Glasgow’s Pollok Park, boasts priceless examples of medieval art, tapestries, and stained glass. Every item was acquired by Scottish shipping magnate and art collector Sir William Burrell, who bequeathed it to the city of Glasgow in 1941.
A purpose-built museum was finally opened in 1983, 25 years after Sir William’s death.