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’.
Francine Clark
In 1950 the Clarks founded the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute as a permanent home for their collection. During construction, Sterling and Francine lived in an apartment on the campus, overseeing every detail of the original 1955 building. The museum first opened to the public in 1955.