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.
Manly Art Gallery and Museum
Manly Art Gallery and Museum is the oldest metropolitan purpose-built regional gallery in NSW having been established on its present site in West Esplanade in 1930. The first committee of the Manly Art Gallery was appointed in 1924 and included Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, Percy Nolan, Charles Bryant, Herbert Marriner, Hermon Slade, Henry Forsyth and Percy Gledhill and the collection was initially housed in the Town Hall. The present building was formerly an outdoor concert pavilion opened in 1922 and its adaptive re-use was made possible with the closure of the proscenium arch. The Newly adapted building was opened by the Chief Justice of New South Wales Sir Phillip Street. At the time of the building opening the collection already housed 200 exhibits including 79 paintings and 62 historical photographs. In March 1939, Antonio Dattilo Rubbo presented 100 works to the young gallery including his own paintings, works on paper, watercolours and etchings. This donation included works by W. Lister Lister, Harold Septimus Power, John Seymour Lucas and Grace Cossington Smith. An annex to house this collection was opened in 1940, and is known as the Dattilo-Rubbo Room, and on his death he bequeathed more of his paintings and £500 to the gallery. P S Garling donated 55 paintings in 1947, including works by George Washington Lambert and William Piguenit. In 1966, during the chairmanship of Keith Jones, the gallery was extended with an additional gallery, a storeroom, a new ceiling, a new entrance through the Rubbo annexe and improved lighting. Many works were acquired for the gallery through the Manly Art Prize (1962–1984). In 1968 Clarice Thomas held the first ceramic exhibition and a major bequest by Lady Askin in 1984 has made the ongoing display of these works possible. In 1981, Clarice Thomas was appointed full-time Director of the gallery after acting as Honorary Director for some fourteen years and a grant was received from the NSW Ministry for the Arts contributing towards the cost of building a museum to adjoin the gallery. These additions and renovations provided a new entrance and reception and the Dattillo Rubbo Room was doubled in size. After reopening in 1982 the name became Manly Art Gallery & Museum.