Smith Art Gallery and Museum
The Smith Art Gallery and Museum contains important historical collections that were inherited from collector and painter Thomas Stuart Smith who died in 1869. John Lessels designed the gallery building, which was built on the same grounds as the Stirling Castle and today there is an exhibition dedicated to the Stirling Story.
The Smith Gallery contains a number of archeological, art and historical collections that date back to 1874. One of the main collections at the Smith Art Gallery is one made up of fine art pieces handed down from Thomas Smith. The collection includes pieces done personally by Thomas Smith called "The Pipe of Freedom", which incorporates a variety of techniques like watercolors, etchings, oils, prints, drawings and sculpturing.
His whole collection dates back as far as 1670 and has continued to grow even to today. You will find art pieces from all over Scotland, England and from Europe. Some of the artists featured in this collection are Joseph Denovan Adam's 'Cattle', Cosmo Alexander's portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie, Alexander Nasmyth's oil of Stirling Castle and sketches completed in oil by Sir George Harvey.
In the Smith Museum you will also find an exciting range of objects that were collected specifically because of their connection to history, heritage and culture and natural history, which Smith was very interested in especially if it were connected to the Stirling surroundings. Some of these objects included prehistoric whalebones, curling stones, pottery from the medieval times, ancient tartans and furniture from the Renaissance era.
There is also a specific section in the Smith Art Gallery and Museum that takes on the theme of childhood over the decades. So you will see various toy collections used by children over the years, a dollhouse that originates from the Second World War and a christening gown. From the two World Wars you will see remnants of wall panels from the Castlerrankine PoW camp and other artifacts that people from around the area have donated.
The Smith Gallery and Museum is open on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10:30 am to 5pm. On Sundays it opens for a short period of time between 2 pm and 5pm. There is no payment to go in and view these wonderful collections and effort has been put in to ensure it has assisted disabled access.
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