William Burrell

Identity:

Sir William Burrell was a Glasgow shipowner, collector and philanthropist. His family were originally from Northumbria. In 1901 he married Constance Mary Lockhart Mitchell, the daughter of another ship owner. He was knighted in 1927.

Life:

Burrell was an important collector, purchasing works by Géricault, Delacroix, Courbet, Courbet, Millet, Boudin, Manet, Degas, Sisley, Cézanne and Whistler. He relied on a couple of notable dealers including Daniel Cottier and Alexander Reid. In 1901 Burrell loaned more than 200 objects from his collection to the International Exhibition at Kelvingrove. From 1911 to 1957 he carefully documented all his purchases, noting prices, dates and provenance.

Burrell owned Whistler's La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine y050, which was sold to him by Reid, and which - after some haggling - he sold to C. L. Freer in August 1903 for £3,750; Study for the Head of Miss Cicely H. Alexander y128, bought by Burrell at auction on 16 May 1902; Nocturne: Grey and Gold - Westminster Bridge y145, presented to the City of Glasgow in 1945 and Arrangement in Black and Brown: The Fur Jacket y181, bought by the New York dealer Smythe from Burrell for £10,000 at some point after 1905.

Amongst the works in pencil, watercolour and pastel by Whistler that Burrell purchased were The Purple Iris m0397, bought by Freer on 7 June 1904 for £160; r.: Morning Glories; v.: Nude study m0410, bought by Freer in November 1903 for £150; San Giovanni Apostolo et Evangelistae m0783, also bought by Freer in August 1902 for £75; Amsterdam in Winter m0877; and Mother and child m1288, one of the works Whistler signed for Burrell at the request of the Fine Art Society in 1895. Burrell also bought The Bridge; flesh colour and brown m0759 from the London dealer D. C. Thomson for 580 guineas on 28 May 1925 and Modèle drapé m1071 on 28 May 1937.

Burrell became a city councillor in Glasgow, a trustee of the National Gallery of Scotland and a trustee of the Tate Gallery in London. In 1944 he donated around 6000 items of his collection to the City of Glasgow. This increased by a further 2000 objects before his death. The Burrell Collection is now housed in a purpose-built builfing in Pollock park, Glasgow.

Bibliography:

Wells, W., 'Sir William Burrell and his Collection', Museum Journal, vol. 72, 1972, pp. 101-3; Clark, K., 'Sir William Burrell: A Personal Reminiscence', Scottish Review, vol. 2, 1977, no. 6, pp. 15-16; Savage, P., 'Through the Eyes of a Friend: William Burrell, Collector (1861-1958)', Country Life, vol. 161, 27 January 1977, pp. 15-16; Marks, R., Burrell: A Portrait of a Collector, Glasgow, 1983; Nicholas Pearce, 'Sir William Burrell', The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy; The Burrell Collection, Glasgow museums website.