Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
The West End
he urbane
West End
seems a world away from Glasgow's industrial image and the
hustle and bustle of the city centre. In the 1800s the city's wealthy merchants
established huge estates away from the soot and grime of city life, and in 1870 the
ancient university was moved from its cramped home near the cathedral to a spacious
new site overlooking the River Kelvin. Elegant housing swiftly followed, the
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was built to house the 1888 International
Exhibition, and, in 1896, the Glasgow District Subway - today's underground -
started its circuitous shu
e from here to the city centre.
he hub of life in this part of Glasgow is
Byres Road
, running between Great Western
Road and Dumbarton Road past Hillhead underground station. Shops, restaurants,
cafés, some enticing pubs and hordes of roving young people, including thousands of
students, give the area a sense of style and vitality. Glowing red-sandstone tenements
and graceful terraces provide a suitably stylish backdrop to this cosmopolitan district.
he main sights straddle the banks of the cleaned-up River Kelvin, which meanders
through the gracious acres of the
Botanic Gardens
and the slopes, trees and statues of
Kelvingrove Park
. Overlooked by the Gothic towers and turrets of
Glasgow University
,
Kelvingrove Park is home to the pride of Glasgow's civic collection of art and artefacts,
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
,
off Argyle Street. Note that the much-loved
Transport Museum has closed, and its collection has been moved to the new Riverside
Museum (see p.198).
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Argyle St • Mon-Thurs & Sat 10am-5pm, Fri & Sun 11am-5pm • Free •
T
0141 276 9599,
W
glasgowlife.org.uk •
Kelvin Hall underground
Founded on donations from the city's Victorian industrialists and opened at an
international fair held in 1901, the huge, red sandstone fantasy castle of
Kelvingrove Art
Gallery and Museum
is a brash statement of Glasgow's nineteenth-century self-confidence.
Intricate and ambitious both in its riotous outside detailing and within, where a superb
galleried main hall running the length of the building gives way to attractive upper
balconies and small, interlinked display galleries, Kelvingrove (as it's popularly known)
offers an impressive and inviting setting for the engaging display of art and artefacts within.
here are recitals on a giant ornate organ daily at 1pm, and an excellent
café
(see p.208).
he displays are organized under two principal headings:
Life
, in the western half of
the building, encompassing archeology, local history and stuffed animals, and
Expression
, in the eastern half, which houses much of the superb art collection. he
wide and sometimes bizarre range of the exhibits, from a World War II Spitfire
suspended from the roof of the West Court to suits of armour, ancient Egyptian relics
and priceless paintings by Rembrandt, Burne Jones, Whistler and Raeburn, has led to
accusations that the museum is somewhat ill-defined. Countering this is the argument
that this is a rich and deliberately varied civic collection, gathered from legacies, astute
purchases and serendipitous good fortune, which principally aims to educate, enlighten
and entertain the people of Glasgow.
The artworks
Most visitors will be drawn to the
paintings
at Kelvingrove, the most famous of which
is Salvador Dali's radically foreshortened
St John of the Cross
, located on the West
Balcony. he focus of huge controversy when it was purchased by the city in 1952 for
what was regarded as the vast sum of £8200, it has become an icon of the collection
and essential viewing on any visit here. Other favourites include Rembrandt's calm
A
Man in Armour
, Van Gogh's portrait of Glasgow art dealer Alexander Reid, Whistler's
FROM TOP
CLYDE ARC
P.198
; THE BURRELL COLLECTION
P.201
; KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM
P.194
>
