The collection housed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has grown out of a gift of 400 paintings to the City of Glasgow in 1854. It now encompasses over 8,000 artefacts collected from around the globe. Divided into two wings, with the overriding themes of “life” and “expression”, the collection is displayed across three floors of this spectacular Baroque building.
Take a couple of hours to explore the collections before treating yourself to tea and cake in the museum’s café in the basement. For a musical interlude, we recommend the coffee shop on the second floor where you can eat lunch to the sound of a daily organ recital.
On the ground floor, you’ll find entire rooms dedicated to Glaswegian art, sculpture and native Scottish wildlife. Make sure you check out the spitfire, the famous British warplane which hangs from the ceiling in the West Court. Just in front of it, you’ll come face to face with Sir Roger the Elephant. A local celebrity, Sir Roger was an Asian elephant who toured with Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie at the end of the nineteenth century.
Head up to the first floor to peruse the priceless collection of European paintings. Encompassing works by the Old Masters as well as ground-breaking pieces from the Impressionists, it is a master class in fine art. On the other side of the gallery, you can delve further into Scottish history with exhibits going right back to the first inhabitants of Scotland.
Temporary exhibits are housed on the lower ground floor and are always worth checking out. Look on the website before you go to see what’s on.
Admission to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is free, with the museum open every day except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the first two days of January. The gallery and museum are situated in Kelvingrove Park, a ten-minute drive from Glasgow city centre. Parking spaces are limited, so it may well be easier to get a bus or come on foot – walking takes about 30 minutes from George Square.
