1861 - 1958
Ship owner and art collectorBurrell was the third of nine children born into a Glasgow shipping family on 9 July 1861. He followed his father and grandfather into the family firm at the age of 14 and on his father's death took over responsibility along with his brother.
They developed a highly successful business strategy of ordering modern and advanced ships during downturns in the shipping market thus arming themselves with the very latest ships to sell for big profits when the market peaked again.
This system allowed the brothers to make a fortune from shipping and they sold off their entire fleet for three times the building cost during World War I allowing William to effectively retire from the business.
He was then free to devote all his time to his passion for collecting art and antiques from around the world, which began when he was just a teenager and continued throughout his life. He was an eclectic collector with a keen eye for a bargain and amassed thousands of treasures spending as much as 20,000 a year.
Burrell married Constance Mitchell in 1902 and following the birth of the couple's daughter they moved to a grand house in Great Western Road designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson. In 1916 he bought Hutton Castle in the Borders to house his vast collection although he did not move in until 1927 following refurbishment.
In 1944 Burrell, who was knighted in 1927 for services to art and his public work, donated nearly his entire collection, some 6,000 items, to the city of Glasgow along with 250,000 to construct a building to house it. By the time of his death he had donated more than 8,000 items to the city.
However the terms of the bequest that it should be housed in a rural setting but still within easy reach of the city centre caused problems until Pollok Park was also given to the city and the Burrell Collection finally had a home - nearly 40 years after it was bequeathed.
An architectural competition was held to create a building worthy enough to house such a grand collection and it opened in 1983. The collection is so huge that only 3,000 items can be displayed at any one time meaning visitors can enjoy repeat visits and still see something new.
The Burrell Collection contains many fine works of arts including Japanese prints, Islamic ceramics, Persian carpets, Chinese ceramics, Gothic and Renaissance art from Northern Europe, paintings by masters like Degas, Cezanne and Rembrandt as well as furniture, stained glass and sculpture.
Glasgow City Council museums and galleries service care for the collection and it is open to the public all year round with free admission.
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