Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum – formerly The Smith Institute – has played a very special part in the history of Stirling since its foundation in 1874. Established by the bequest of artist Thomas Stuart Smith (1815–1869) on land supplied by the Burgh of Stirling, it is an historic public-private partnership which has continued to the present day. It was founded as a gallery of mainly contemporary art, with museum and library reading room ‘for the benefit of the inhabitants of Stirling, Dunblane and Kinbuck’.
Stamford Museum &amp; Nature Center
Art education at SM&NC stretches back to its days at Courtland Park where local artists were exhibited. Art classes for all ages were introduced. The move to the Bendel Estate attracted more donors who helped build the museum's current collection, starting with the 1956 gift of a John Singer Sargent portrait and the 1961 donation of the Schulman twentieth-century American art collection. In June 1973, an enlarged and modernized art gallery opened in the main building, allowing for the growth of permanent collections as well as exhibitions featuring selections from collections, as well as works from local art organizations.