To know about Kelvingrove, you need to understand a little about Glasgow's history. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow had a boom in development in the 19th century, but they grew in entirely different directions. While Edinburgh had become a city of academia and culture with its advances in medical sciences, literature, philosophy and the like, Glasgow got rich through industry and trade. It is still reflected in the looks of both cities. 

As Glasgow quickly advanced, becoming one of the richest cities in the British Empire, the authorities wanted to put it on the map by demonstrating its wealth and cultured nature. Building Kelvingrove Museum in 1901 was part of those efforts. 

If you look at the building, you will notice that its style of architecture is very different from what you see around. The red sandstone and the facade details are part of Spanish Baroque. This building is Glasgow's message to the world: "Look, we are advancing: take us seriously!" This message was conveyed not only through the outside, but also through the inside of the museum. The galleries both proudly display Scottish fine arts and international masterpieces, including Salvador Dali's haunting Christ of Saint John of the Cross- a painting that caused uproar when Glasgow bought it in the 1950s. Back then people got mad that too much taxpayer's money went towards buying a piece of art that the public didn't understand. However, nowadays this and many other paintings, as well as Scottish history, and everything else you will see inside, gather visitors worldwide. 

Enjoy your free time at the museum!

Time for a darker chapter of Glasgow's history that is necessary to look back on. You hear a lot that English and Scottish cities prospered during the Enlightenment in the 18th and 19th Centuries, including Edinburgh and Glasgow. However, the wealth didn't come from no where, and largely originated from colonialism and the slave trade in Africa and the Caribbean. Merchant City was once the hub of Glasgow's tobacco and sugar trade that was largely produced in those regions by enslaved people. Not spending money on labour but inflating the prices on its products was a sure way to make money, but a seriously unethical one. 

Many of the merchants you see immortalised in street names- Buchanan, Ingram, Glassford- owned or profited from enslaved people. These men were fabulously wealthy- and they invested in buildings, libraries, and universities, reshaping the city in their image. 

Today, Glasgow tries to acknowledge this dark history and commemorates it on plaques on the streets, in the Kelvingrove Museum that you visited, and in the discourse on history. But the plaques are less visible than monuments and the entire streets.