Kelvingrove

Oh, what a fantastic place. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum-- everything about it is wonderful. The exterior of the building, the lavishness of it, the ornate quality of the place from paneled ceiling to marbled floors. And then there's all the stuff in it! Simply fantastic... le sigh.

Here are some of the highlights:

The aforementioned exterior of the building.


Just inside the front doors.


Giant Irish Deer... Yes, I like skeletons of dead things,

and this dead thing is nearly a full 8 feet tall, which makes it inherently nifty.

If there is a dinosaur in the place, I will find it and photograph it.

It's this neat party trick that I do.

Much like the Hunterian, this place is almost a cabinet of wonder.

Yes, that is indeed a bomber plane and an elephant. Also a giraffe.

It's fine, that's why we love places like this.

Yeah, it's John Locke. Yay, philosophy!


A Highland Funeral by one of the Glasgow Boys, James Guthrie.


Yay, car! Second version of a car built by James Anderson,

which was wildly popular with the Bertie Wooster set.

This little baby could reach speeds of up to 100 mph-- pretty zippy in 1924!

Dashboard of revolutionary zippiness.


The spotted kiwi, left in the picture, lays the egg which is to the right in the picture,

being the largest egg to body mass ratio in the animal kingdom.

Damn. Poor kiwi.

Grouse, meet the Famous Grouse.


A Haggis-- totally what every haggis I've ever seen looks like, no joke.

I love you, Scotland.

Curators have a sense of humor here.

And the peoples rejoiced.

Supposedly the key to Mary, Queen of Scots' cell in Loch Leven Castle.

You know that scene from Bedknobs and Broomsticks?

To me, the one on the far left is saying, "Hey, yeah, just hanging out with my rifle..."

The one in the middle something like "Who's called shotgun now, bitches!"

The one on the right is ignoring the other two.

Soay Sheep (Ovis aires) from St. Kilda.

I'd really like to visit St. Kilda one day...

Field mouse of St. Kilda, which are supersized compared to their mainland cousins.

It's sitting next to the bones of a cat which, after everyone evacuated from the island,

were left but then later shot. Go, mice.

The oldest spinning wheel from St. Kilda... le sigh. :)

Motherless, by Geogre Lawson.

Supposedly the wife and mother of these two has just died,

and there is an undeniably haunting quality to it.

Detail of Motherless.

Large silver thing...

Awesome detail of large silver thing.

Modesty by Giosue Argenti.

Victor Hugo by Rodin, 1883.

Masscre of Glan Coe, by James Hamilton.

The 1692 masscre of Glencoe was so shocking that it has become legendary.

THough the murders were carried out by an army at royal request,

the Campbell clan is still blamed today for this atrocity against the Macdonalds.

Detail. The girl's eyes are so compelling.

Detail.

Detail.

I found it!

The Auchendrane Portrait of Robert Burns.

Execution of mary, Queen of Scots by Robert Herdman.

Ann Pattison, Mrs. William Urquhart by Henry Raeburn.

She is what I picture when I think of Scottish beauty.

Detail of a painting by Seurat.

Detail of The Man in Armour by Rembrandt. This is totally the wallpaper on my little phone and a print of which is in my living room courtesy of the gift shop. *snifs* I love you, Rembrandt!

Yes, those are floating heads. Thanks, contemporary art.

So, these are just a sampling of the goodness and delight to be found at the Kelvingrove. I'd rate their cafe pretty well, too-- just avoid the caesar salad. They do, however, have a Fraoch lager called Heather Ale, which is delicious and delightful.

Go forth and view if you can! Glasgow wins again!