Frommer's Review
Although the Burrell Collection may be the star, the newly refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum presents the stirring soul of the city's collection, one of the best amassed by a municipality in Europe. Reopened in 2006 after a 3-year and several million pound refurbishment, the Kelvingrove can boast that it is the most visited gallery and museum in Scotland -- the most popular in the U.K. outside of London. The space features French impressionists and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings. One painting of particular note is Christ of St. John the Cross by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. Purchased at great expense by the city, it has been returned to its original position in the hall after a stint at the city's St. Mungo Museum. Other highlights include paintings by the Scottish Colourists and the Glasgow Boys, a wing devoted to Mackintosh, as well as more recent art by Anne Redpath and Joan Eardley. But there is more than art, with exhibits on Scottish and Glasgow history, armory and war, as well as natural history and nature -- often mixing all to good educational effect, such as showing how human armor copied the natural protection of some animals, such as the armadillo. There are plenty of interactive display and touches of humor, too, such as the creature that supposedly is responsible for the traditional dish, haggis. The building itself, built for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition, is magnificent, as well. In the semibasement is a new cafe/restaurant.
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