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
The triennial exhibitions were accompanied by a lecture and concert programme. The speakers and musicians were accommodated on a platform at the back of the large gallery. It was at these concerts that the work of the young Muir Mathieson was premiered. Son of artist John G. Mathieson who ran a gallery at 16 Allan Park, he went on to become famous as a composer for the British film industry. Many of the concerts in the 1930s were organised by Adam R. Lennox, musical director of the Stirling Operatic Society and organist of Chalmers’ Church. He worked in the Town Clerk's Office for David B. Morris. Alexander McIntosh OBE, at that time a young assistant in the Town Clerk's Office sometimes had the duty to show people to their seats at the Smith concerts.