Sir William Burrell became wealthy through his families shipping business. After World War I, when Burrell sold his fleet to meet the demand for ships, the Glaswegian businessman devoted his life to collecting works of art.

Art was a lifelong interest for Burrell, but once he began collecting in earnest, he spent an average of twenty thousand pounds a year on items such as paintings by Degas and Cezanne, and Rembrandt. He also bought late Gothic and early Renaissance art from Northern Europe, including stained glass, tapestries, sculpture, and furniture.

Burrell was also interested in Eastern art, and collected Japanese prints, Islamic ceramics, Persian carpets, and a surprisingly comprehensive assortment of Chinese ceramics.

In 1944, Burrell presented his collection – then at around 6000 items – to the City of Glasgow. He continued to collect, and by the time he died in 1951, he had donated over 8000 items to the city.

Since 1983, The Burrell Collection has been housed at in Pollock Park, fulfilling Burrell's stipulation that his art be kept "in a rural setting far removed from the atmospheric pollution of urban conurbations, not less than 16 miles from the Royal Exchange."