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’.
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
"As you entered the room on the right, you stopped dead in your tracks, because, there in front of you was a stuffed wild cat which looked alive and ready to pounce on you. The stuffed birds of prey looked every bit as alive as the wild cat, especially one of the eagles. I used to duck as I ran past it. In the glass cases against the wall, there were snakes in liquid in tall glass jars, also creepy crawlies. Not my favourite part of the museum, as it gave me nightmares. There were steps which led into another part of the room. There was a stone age display of bowls, round grinders with a hole in the middle to put a stick so you could turn it to grind corn, etc. What was so interesting was that man had made these, and the tools that were needed for cooking."