Ellisland: A Museum History. Part 2: Broadening Horizons, 1953–2020

Abstract

This article examines how a museum collection was developed from the 1950s at Ellisland Farm, the home of Robert Burns from 1788–91. In 1953, following the death of Matthew McKerrow, the Ellisland Trust’s energetic Secretary, the museum entered a new phase which focused more on the modernisation of visitor facilities and the story of farming, rather than the major acquisitions that had characterised collecting at Ellisland in the 1930s and 1940s. Although the focus of collecting and presentation did broaden in scope during this period, the model underlying the collection’s growth continued to exert itself in terms of significance.