Art & Architecture by Moira Dyer
Glasgow’s architectural heritage paints a vivid picture of the city’s constant ability to re-invent itself, while still embracing its past.
The city’s Victorian skyline - with its neo-classical spires and glowing sandstone – blends seamlessly with the 18th century Merchant City, sensuous art nouveau and the minimalist glass and titanium of contemporary Glasgow.
Glasgow built its wealth in the eighteenth century through the tobacco, sugar and cotton trade and the legacy of the merchants responsible can be found everywhere.
The Gallery of Modern Art - with its contemporary canvases and installations - is located in the former home of one such 'Tobacco Lord'. Their warehouses meanwhile, have been transformed into the shops, bars & restaurants of the fashionable Merchant City district, and their elaborate tombs gaze out over Glasgow from the Necropolis.
The city’s Victorian skyline - with its neo-classical spires and glowing sandstone – blends seamlessly with the 18th century Merchant City, sensuous art nouveau and the minimalist glass and titanium of contemporary Glasgow.
Glasgow built its wealth in the eighteenth century through the tobacco, sugar and cotton trade and the legacy of the merchants responsible can be found everywhere.
The Gallery of Modern Art - with its contemporary canvases and installations - is located in the former home of one such 'Tobacco Lord'. Their warehouses meanwhile, have been transformed into the shops, bars & restaurants of the fashionable Merchant City district, and their elaborate tombs gaze out over Glasgow from the Necropolis.
Clydeside’s dominance as the world’s leading manufacturer of ships and locomotives allowed Glasgow to prosper yet further in the nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth so that it came to be known as the 'Second City of the Empire'.
This wealth is primarily responsible for Glasgow’s amazing portfolio of more than 20 museums and galleries such as Pollok House and the unique Burrell Collection, which contains more than 8,000 exhibits ranging from medieval stained glass and Chinese porcelain to works by Degas and Rodin.
The inheritance left behind by the city’s two greatest architects is also much in evidence. A stroll round the West End or South Side will uncover some of the amazing and exotic buildings of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, while Charles Rennie Mackintosh is the creative genius behind such art nouveau masterpieces as Glasgow School of Art and the Willow Tearoom.
Glasgow however, is also a very modern city for the twenty-first century and at the vanguard of innovation in design and technology.
This is reflected in attractions like the Glasgow Science Centre and the cutting-edge Lighthouse, which showcases the work of new and established designers as well as housing a Charles Rennie Mackintosh Interpretation Centre.