The Burrell Collection was opened - On this day in Scottish history

The Burrell Collection was opened on 21 October 1983 by the Queen. The collection comprises more than 8,000 works of art which were donated to the city of Glasgow by wealthy shipping magnate Sir William Burrell in 1944. Burrell died in 1958, having stipulated that his collection must be housed at least sixteen miles from Glasgow, to avoid the effects of city pollution.

When the Pollok Estate was donated to the city of Glasgow in 1967, trustees were able to waive Burrell's distance stipulation, and an agreement was reached to house the Burrell Collection on the site. The museum was designed by Barry Gasson who won a design competition to create the building in 1971.

Artists whose work is included in the collections include Degas, Cezanne and Rodin.

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Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow G43 1AT; tel: 0141 287 2550. To find out more, visit the Burrell Collection website.
(Image copyright Finlay McWalter)