The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology Museum and the Anatomy Museum, which are all located in various buildings on the main campus of the university in the west end of Glasgow.

History

In 1783, William Hunter, a Scottish anatomist and physician who studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His will stipulated that his substantial and varied collections should be donated to the University of Glasgow. Hunter, writing to Dr William Cullen, stated that 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." As well as Hunter's medical collections, which arose from his own work, Hunter collected 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 have grown considerably, and now include some of the most important collections of work by artists such as

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...

and

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

, as well as superb geological, zoological, anatomical, archaeological, ethnographic and scientific instrument collections. The museum first opened in 1807 in a specially constructed building off the High Street, adjoining the original campus of the university. For this, Hunter ensured funds for its building and design by architect William Stark through his three trustees: his nephew Matthew Baillie; his Scottish lawyer Robert Barclay of

Capelrig House Capelrig House is an 18th-century house in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, upon whose lands is situated Eastwood High School. The house is protected as a Category A listed building. The lands of Capelrig were held by the Knights Temp ...

; and John Millar, cousin of Dr

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

. When the university moved west to its new site at

Gilmorehill Hillhead ( sco, Hullheid, gd, Ceann a' Chnuic) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming the ...

(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 Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

'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 in Scotland is one of the oldest and largest university libraries in Europe. At the turn of the 21st century, the main library building itself held 1,347,000 catalogued print books, and 53,300 journals. In total, the ...

. Lady Shep-en-hor’s coffin and possible mummy were donated to the museum in 1820 by Joshua Heywood. The university's Librarian Professor Lockhart Muirhead became the first Keeper of the Hunterian Museum in 1823. Hunter's anatomical collections are housed in the Allen Thomson Building and his pathological preparations at the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow.

Notable Curators

Robert Arnot Staig Robert Arnot Staig FRSE (1878–1963) was a 20th-century Scottish entomologist and zoologist who served as Curator of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow University. Life He was born in 1878, possibly the son of William Staig, a ...

c.1905 to c.1945 * William Smellie (geologist)

The museum and gallery's current facilities

Hunterian Museum

Housed in large halls in

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

's University buildings on Gilmorehill, the museum features extensive displays relating to William Hunter and his collections,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Scotland (especially the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

), geology, ethnography, ancient Egypt, scientific instruments, coins and medals, and much more. The museum contains many donated collections, such as the Begg Collection of fossils donated by

James Livingstone Begg James Livingstone Begg (14 September 1874 – 11 August 1958) was a Scottish geologist, paleontologist and artist, awarded the Clough Medal in 1942 and recipient of the Wollaston Fund in 1946. Begg was President of the Geological Society of ...

in the 1940s. The museum contains a high number of scientific instruments owned by or created by

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), Professor of Natural Philoso ...

and other 19th century instrument makers. In September 2016, the new Hunterian Collections and Study Centre, embracing the full range and activities of the museum and the art gallery, opened in the transformed Kelvin Hall in Phase 1 of a partnership with

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

Glasgow Life Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

The Lady Shepenhor, the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow University

Various fossils on display at the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow

Zoology Museum

Most of the

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

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 Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

collections are particularly important and extensive, and have been the subject of exhibitions of note in the 2010s.

Hunterian Art Gallery

The Gallery is now housed in a modern, custom-built facility that is part of the extensive

complex, designed by William Whitfield. This displays the university's extensive art collection, and features an outdoor sculpture garden. The

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

aluminium doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

. The gallery's collection includes a large number of the works of

and the majority of the watercolours of

. The Hunterian Art Gallery reopened in September 2012 after a refurbishment, with an exhibition dedicated to

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, ''Rembrandt and the Passion''. The gallery has held three major Mackintosh exhibitions: ''Architecture'' (2014), ''Travel Sketches'' (2015) and ''Unbuilt'' (2018), as well as two based on their Whistler collection ''Watercolours'' (2013) and ''Art and Legacy'' (2021).

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 (between 1906 and 1914) the home of Glasgow

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

(although Mackintosh himself did not design it) and his wife, the artist,

Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (5 November 1864 – 7 January 1933) was an English-born artist who worked in Scotland, and whose design work became one of the defining features of the Glasgow Style during the 1890s - 1900s. Biography Born Marga ...

. The university rebuilt the form of the house (using modern materials) approximately 100 metres from the site of the original. Due to its displacement, the former front door is now located in the façade of the gallery, some 6m above the ground over Hillhead Street. ''The Mackintosh House'' comprises the principal interiors of the original house (including the dining room, studio-drawing room and bedroom), largely replicating the room layout of the old end-of-terrace building. It features the meticulously reassembled interiors from the Mackintoshes’ home, including items of original furniture, fitments and decorations. The exhibits strikingly demonstrate Charles Rennie Mackintosh's concept of the room as a work of art.

Other Hunterian museums

William Hunter's brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, a surgeon, also founded a museum; the London museum of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

, 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 were celebrated in the town of their birth,

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

, at the small

Hunter House Museum Hunter House Museum was a museum in Calderwood, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Description Hunter House forms part of the original Long Calderwood Farm, purchased in the early 18th Century by John Hunter, father of William Hunt ...

, later closed due to budget cuts.

References

External links

The Hunterian's website

The Hunterian's searchable online catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunterian Museum And Art Gallery Infrastructure completed in 1807 Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed museum buildings in Scotland Museums in Glasgow Natural history museums in Scotland Art museums and galleries in Glasgow University of Glasgow University museums in Scotland Science museums in Scotland Medical museums in Scotland Musical instrument museums Biographical museums in Scotland History museums in Scotland Museums established in 1807 1807 establishments in Scotland Science and technology in Glasgow Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Museums of ancient Greece in the United Kingdom Egyptological collections in Scotland William Whitfield (architect) buildings Hillhead