BBC Documentaries

The Man Who Collected the World: William Burrell (2013x165)

: 29, 2013

William Burrell made a fortune out of shipping and spent it on art. Over his long life, he assembled one of the most remarkable private collections of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics and stained glass in the world and in 1944 he donated it all - over 9,000 objects - to the city of Glasgow. The Burrell Collection finally opened to the public in 1983 but the building that bears his name contains no tribute to Burrell and he never commissioned a portrait of himself. Kirsty Wark tells the story of the self-effacing collector and tours the highlights of his collection in the company of its curators.