Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
The Smith Institute first opened to the public on 11 August 1874. It was an occasion for great celebration in Stirling, and the shops in the town closed at 12 noon to allow people to attend the opening. Nevertheless, there were some mixed feelings, for Thomas Stuart Smith, had died in 1869 and the location of the building was felt by many people to be too far away from the old town.
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
Thomas Stuart Smith's uncle supplied funding so that he could travel and paint in Italy starting in 1840. By the end of that decade he was having his work accepted by both the Salon des Beaux Arts in Paris and the Royal Academy in London.