Glasgow School of Art, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Kelvingrove, Burrell

Glasgow School of Art & Charles Rennie Mackintosh

You'll need to book yourself on a guided tour of the Mackintosh Building on Renfrew Street as the Glasgow School of Art is still a working building. Several guided tours run daily on the hour from 10am to 4pm, open 7 days a week from April to September and from October to March Monday to Saturday tours commence 11am and 2pm (closed Sunday).

The Glasgow School of Art sits firming in architectural history and as a monument to the modern Architectural Movement in Europe. The building dates from 1845, and was designed by ex-student Charles Rennie Mackintosh who won a competition to design it. Some prestigious names have passed through its doors - recently Ken Currie (see some of his work at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum) and Robert Colquhoun. The build was strapped for cash initially so had to be opened in two parts, the east wing in 1899 and the west win and attic storey in 1907/09.

Take a guided tour and you'll quickly see that Mackintosh didn't just design the exterior, but also the furniture for the school (note this in the Library, Board Room and Director's Room particularly). Charles Rennie Mackintosh then went on to really stamp his mark and style on Glasgow, designing furniture for Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms on Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Ingram Street, followed by the famous Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street, all of which opened between 1896 and 1917. Mackintosh designed houses too (including interior furniture), for example The Hill House at Helensburgh for Walter Blackie in 1904.

The Glasgow School of Art tour takes in the Main Entrance, a museum on the first floor, the Director's Room - one of Mackintosh's white rooms with distinctive upright back chairs, the Mackintosh Room (originally the Board room, Studios for painting, the East and West Staircases of stone with wrought iron stair grilles and coloured ceramic tiles, the Pavilion and Loggia, the Mackintosh Furniture Gallery and the famous Library situated at the end of the west wing. There's a Mackintosh Shop on-site. The Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G3 6RQ, Scotland. Tel. 0141 3534500. (International 00 44 141 353 4500). Check the Glasgow School of Art weblink right for more details.

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Kelvingrove Art Galleries, Glasgow West End

How many amazing collections can you take in one city! Glasgow's art collections continue to astound. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow's West End opened in 1902 and has one of the most acclaimed art collections in the UK.

Art blends with natural history and archeology to great effect here in this historic mammoth building. Spread over several floors, the Ground floor contains exhibitions such as 'Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style, 'Scottish Art' and the Art Discovery Centre. Move to the First Floor for French, Italian and Dutch Art alongside the Scottish Identiy in Art exhibition. Prepare yourself for some treasures - Rembrandt and Scots artists such as the Glasgow Boys and Scottish Colourists are all here!

You can download detailed information on art held here via the Glasgow Museums weblink right, as well as floor plans. It's well worth browsing these before your visit as there's much to see, and guess what it's absolutely free to enter. Long a favourite with local Glaswegians, this museum and art gallery has moved with the times presenting radical exhibitions with an excellent leaning towards Scottish art and Glasgow life. Allow a good few hours in here.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AG. Tel. 0141 276 9599. (see the Glasgow Museums weblink right for details). A cafe, shop and lift to all floors are on-site, plus children are well catered for in various exhibits targetted at them, for example the Mini Museum section is hands-on fun for the under 5s.

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The Burrell Collection, Glasgow Art & Pollok House/Pollok Park

The Burrell Collection is another of Glasgow's treasured art collections. Situated quite a distance to the south of Glasgow city centre at Pollock Country Park (nearest railway stations are Maxwell Park and Pollokshaws West Station), this ecclectic art collection was donated to the city in 1944 by the Glasgow shipping magnate William Burrell (1861-1958). The collection is huge (around 9000 pieces) and exhibitions rotate with around 3000 pieces consistently on display.

Included in the collection are tapestries, medieval art, stained glass and English oak furniture, Islamic art, Epstein and Rodin sculpture, ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Greek art, and French 19th century art including work by Cezanne and Degas. Download a full gallery guide via the Glasgow Museums weblink right. The building housing the Burrell Collection was designed specifically to hold the collection here in Pollok Park by Barry Gasson, and first opened in 1983. The Hutton Castle Rooms area actually a reconstruction of the drawing room, hall and dining room of Hutton Castle which Burrell lived in and owned.

The setting for the Burrell Collection is delightful Pollok Park which spreads over 420 acres. Within the park and also well worth a look is Pollok House, a Georgian house dating from 1750 and built by William Adam for the Maxwell family who owned Pollok Park. If you're a fan of Spanish art then you should head here to Pollok House to view work by genius artists such as Goya.

The Burrell Collection, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G43 1AT. Tel: 0141 287 2550. Pollok House, Pollok Country Park. 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G43 1AT. Tel. 0141 616 6410

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Gallery of Modern Art, City of Glasgow Art

An important collection of contemporary art, this modern art galleries is the second most visited modern art gallery outside of London. Relatively new, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) opened in 1996. With its friendly populist appeal, the gallery contains work by the new Glasgow Boys (aka Ken Currie, Steven Campbell and Peter Howson to name a few). Changing exhibitions include such prestigious names as Andy Warhol.

The building housing the Gallery of Modern Art on Royal Exchange Square has had a few previous functions - a mansion initially, dating from 1775 and owned by tobacco merchange William Cunninghame it was later a library.

Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, G1 3AH. Tel. 0141 229 1996. (see the Glasgow Museums weblink right for details).

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Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Art

Situated on Glasgow University's complex in the West End (with sister Hunterian Museum), the Hunterian's collection is impressive indeed, particularly for Scottish Art, although American artist Whistler comes to the fore. Other highlights include the Mackintosh House - a re-creation of the Glasgow home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald.

Over 450 paintings, 40,000 works on paper and a choice of Mackintosh, Scottish cereamics, Whistler memorabilia, sculpture and decorative art pieces are held here. Highlights include paintings by Rembrandt, Stubbs and Chardin with a wide selection of art by the Glasgow Boys and Scottish Colourists

See the Hunterian online photo library (weblink right) for a preview of what you can see here. Browse also the Hunterian focus on Whistler's art which is well represented here (weblink right). If you're a fan of American artist James Abbott Whistler (1834-1903) you'll be in your element at the Hunterian. Whistler first visted Glasgow in 1848, and just before his death was awarded an honorary doctorate of law by Glasgow University. Glasgow University's Whistler archive is renowned, and one of the most comprehensive including letters, prints, paintings and more.

Hunterian Art Gallery, 82 Hillhead Street, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ. Tel Internationa 00 44 141 330 5431 (0141 330 5431). Checkout the Hunterian Art Gallery & Museum weblink right for more details.

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