Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
The University of Glasgow
's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland
. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow
.
bequeathed his substantial and varied collections to the University of Glasgow. (Hunter, writing to Dr William Cullen) They were "to be well and carefully packed up and safely conveyed to Glasgow and delivered to the Principal and Faculty of the College of Glasgow to whom I give and bequeath the same to be kept and preserved by them and their successors for ever... in such sort, way, manner and form as ... shall seem most fit and most conducive to the improvement of the students of the said University of Glasgow."
The museum first opened in 1807, in a specially constructed building off the High Street, adjoining the original campus of the University. When the University moved west to its new site at Gilmorehill (to escape crowding and pollution in the city centre) the museum moved too. In 1870, the Hunterian collections were transferred to the University’s present site and assigned halls in Sir George Gilbert Scott
's neo-Gothic building.
At first the entire collection was housed together, and displayed in the packed conditions common in museums of that time, but significant sections were later moved away to other parts of the University. The Zoological collections are now housed within the Graham Kerr Building, the art collections in the Hunterian Art Gallery, and Hunter's library containing some 10,000 printed books and 650 manuscripts, finally received in 1807, in Glasgow University Library
. Hunter’s anatomical collections are housed in the Allen Thomson Building, and his pathological preparations at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow
The money to build the museum, and the core of its original collections, came from the bequest of the Scottish anatomist and scientist William Hunter
, who died in London
in 1783. As well as his medical collections, which arose from his own work, Hunter collected very widely, often assisted by his many royal and aristocratic patrons. He and his agents scoured Europe for coins, minerals, paintings and prints, ethnographic materials, books and manuscripts, as well as insects and other biological specimens. Hunter's eclectic bequest forms the core of the collections, but since Hunter's death, they have grown considerably, and now include some of the most important collections of work by artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh
and James McNeill Whistler
, as well as superb geological, zoological, anatomical, archaeological, ethnographic and scientific instrument collections.
The Hunterian Museum re-opened in September 2011 featuring a new permanent gallery devoted to the Romans in Scotland and new opening hours of 10:00-5:00 Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00-4:00 Sundays and closed Monday..
's University buildings on Gilmorehill, the museum features extensive displays relating to William Hunter and his collections, Roman
Scotland (especially the Antonine Wall
, geology, ethnography, ancient Egypt, scientific instruments, coins and medals, and much more.
collections, including those of William Hunter, are displayed in a separate museum within the Graham Kerr building, which also houses most of the University's zoological research and teaching. This is also open to the general public. The insect
collections are particularly important and extensive, and are the feature of some excellent recent displays.
The Gallery is now housed in a modern, custom-built facility that is part of the extensive Glasgow University Library
complex. This displays the University's extensive art
collection, and features an outdoor sculpture
garden
. The bas relief aluminium
doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi
. The gallery's collection includes a large number of the works of James McNeill Whistler
and the majority of the watercolours of Charles Rennie Mackintosh
.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(although Mackintosh himself did not design it). The University rebuilt the form of the house (using modern materials) approximately 100 metres from the site of the original. Due to its displacement, one door now hangs precariously above a 20 feet (6.1 m) drop, the ground on what was once Hillhead Street having been radically excavated during the construction. The Mackintosh House features some of the original woodwork of the old terraced house, and has been furnished entirely to Mackintosh's design, with original decorations and furniture.
, a surgeon
, also founded a museum; the London
museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
, also known as the Hunterian Museum, is based on his collection. The museum displays thousands of anatomical specimens, including the Evelyn tables
and the skeleton of the "Irish giant" Charles Byrne, and many surgical instruments. It underwent a major refurbishment in 2003 and 2004, creating a new "crystal" gallery of steel and glass.
Both brothers are celebrated in the town of their birth, East Kilbride
, at the small Hunter House Museum
.
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
History
In 1783, William HunterWilliam Hunter (anatomist)
William Hunter FRS was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day...
bequeathed his substantial and varied collections to the University of Glasgow. (Hunter, writing to Dr William Cullen) They were "to be well and carefully packed up and safely conveyed to Glasgow and delivered to the Principal and Faculty of the College of Glasgow to whom I give and bequeath the same to be kept and preserved by them and their successors for ever... in such sort, way, manner and form as ... shall seem most fit and most conducive to the improvement of the students of the said University of Glasgow."
The museum first opened in 1807, in a specially constructed building off the High Street, adjoining the original campus of the University. When the University moved west to its new site at Gilmorehill (to escape crowding and pollution in the city centre) the museum moved too. In 1870, the Hunterian collections were transferred to the University’s present site and assigned halls in Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
's neo-Gothic building.
At first the entire collection was housed together, and displayed in the packed conditions common in museums of that time, but significant sections were later moved away to other parts of the University. The Zoological collections are now housed within the Graham Kerr Building, the art collections in the Hunterian Art Gallery, and Hunter's library containing some 10,000 printed books and 650 manuscripts, finally received in 1807, in Glasgow University Library
Glasgow University Library
The University of Glasgow Library is one of the oldest and largest University libraries in Europe. It holds more than 2.5 million books and journals, as well as providing access to an extensive range of electronic resources including over 30,000 electronic journals.The current 12-storey building,...
. Hunter’s anatomical collections are housed in the Allen Thomson Building, and his pathological preparations at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow
The money to build the museum, and the core of its original collections, came from the bequest of the Scottish anatomist and scientist William Hunter
William Hunter (anatomist)
William Hunter FRS was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day...
, who died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1783. As well as his medical collections, which arose from his own work, Hunter collected very widely, often assisted by his many royal and aristocratic patrons. He and his agents scoured Europe for coins, minerals, paintings and prints, ethnographic materials, books and manuscripts, as well as insects and other biological specimens. Hunter's eclectic bequest forms the core of the collections, but since Hunter's death, they have grown considerably, and now include some of the most important collections of work by artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
and James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
, as well as superb geological, zoological, anatomical, archaeological, ethnographic and scientific instrument collections.
The Hunterian Museum re-opened in September 2011 featuring a new permanent gallery devoted to the Romans in Scotland and new opening hours of 10:00-5:00 Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00-4:00 Sundays and closed Monday..
The museum and gallery's current facilities
The collections of the museum are distributed across a number of buildings around the campus:The Hunterian Museum
Housed in large halls in George Gilbert ScottGeorge Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
's University buildings on Gilmorehill, the museum features extensive displays relating to William Hunter and his collections, Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
Scotland (especially the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
, geology, ethnography, ancient Egypt, scientific instruments, coins and medals, and much more.
The Zoology Museum
Most of the zoologyZoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
collections, including those of William Hunter, are displayed in a separate museum within the Graham Kerr building, which also houses most of the University's zoological research and teaching. This is also open to the general public. The insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
collections are particularly important and extensive, and are the feature of some excellent recent displays.
The Hunterian Gallery
Glasgow University Library
The University of Glasgow Library is one of the oldest and largest University libraries in Europe. It holds more than 2.5 million books and journals, as well as providing access to an extensive range of electronic resources including over 30,000 electronic journals.The current 12-storey building,...
complex. This displays the University's extensive art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
collection, and features an outdoor sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
. The bas relief aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi, KBE, RA , was a Scottish sculptor and artist. He was a major figure in the international art sphere, while, working on his own interpretation and vision of the world. Paolozzi investigated how we can fit into the modern world to resemble our fragmented civilization...
. The gallery's collection includes a large number of the works of James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
and the majority of the watercolours of Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
.
The Mackintosh House
The Mackintosh House is a modern concrete building, part of the gallery-library complex. It stands on the site of one of two rows of terraced houses which were once sections of Hillhead Street and Southpark Avenue, demolished in the 1960s to make room for the University's expansion across the residential crown of Gilmorehill. One of the buildings lost, 78 Southpark Avenue, was formerly a home to Glasgow architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
(although Mackintosh himself did not design it). The University rebuilt the form of the house (using modern materials) approximately 100 metres from the site of the original. Due to its displacement, one door now hangs precariously above a 20 feet (6.1 m) drop, the ground on what was once Hillhead Street having been radically excavated during the construction. The Mackintosh House features some of the original woodwork of the old terraced house, and has been furnished entirely to Mackintosh's design, with original decorations and furniture.
Other Hunterian museums
William Hunter's brother JohnJohn Hunter (surgeon)
John Hunter FRS was a Scottish surgeon regarded as one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour...
, a surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, also founded a museum; the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
, also known as the Hunterian Museum, is based on his collection. The museum displays thousands of anatomical specimens, including the Evelyn tables
Evelyn tables
The Evelyn tables are a set of four anatomical preparations on wooden boards that are thought to be the oldest anatomical preparations in Europe. They were acquired by John Evelyn in Padua in 1646 and later donated by Evelyn to the Royal Society. They are currently owned by the Royal College of...
and the skeleton of the "Irish giant" Charles Byrne, and many surgical instruments. It underwent a major refurbishment in 2003 and 2004, creating a new "crystal" gallery of steel and glass.
Both brothers are celebrated in the town of their birth, East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, at the small Hunter House Museum
Hunter House Museum
Hunter House Museum is a museum in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Hunter House is the original Long Calderwood Farm and may be the oldest extant building in East Kilbride....
.