Oswald and Friend, Ailsa Black
The Ailsa Black exhibition featuring beasts both wild and domestic finishes this week. One beast which will be remaining in the Stirling Smith’s collection is Ailsa’s whimsical portrait of cat-in-charge Oswald. The painting has been purchased by an anonymous benefactor as a tribute to all of the marketing and publicity
Counting the Cash – The Stirling Smith Bank Note Collection
Two of our volunteers, Ben and Rachel have been working on scanning and documenting our bank note collection. Apart from local banks we also have notes from the American Revolutionary war 1771 – 1783 and the American Civil war; 1861-1865. Collecting mementos of war in the form of notes
Westward by Ian Campbell (1902 – 1983)
Keeping on the theme of ‘Stirling, the Artists’ Town’, here is another example of a great work in the Stirling Smith’s collections by a Scottish artist who lived locally. Ian Campbell was born in Oban in 1902 and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1921 to 1925, where he
Forthside Past and Future
On Monday night, the Friends of the Smith are hosting a talk by Colin Tennant of Historic Scotland on the development of the Engine Shed, Forthside as Scotland’s first National Conservation Centre. This new national facility in Stirling will act as a focal point for those seeking information, advice and
Cast Iron Fireplace
Even the mantle shelf of this fireplace, made in 1894 – 5 is of cast iron. It has been in the Stirling Smith collections for many decades, but until a few weeks ago it had thick layers of paint, in white pink and gold, obscuring the original design. Thanks to
Boo Haughton, Mines Rescue Service
Bill “Boo” Haughton of Fallin first qualified as a miner in 1970, and went on to train as a developer and driver, opening up new coal seams, and in the specialist work of the Mines Rescue Service. He was photographed by John McPake at the opening of the Battle for
Stirling Castle, John O’Connor (1830 – 1889)
This rare print of a work by Irish artist John O’Connor (1830 – 1889) is a recent gift to the Stirling Smith collections. It was donated by Jean Archibald, who when working for the British Library, was able to pick up interesting Scottish views from the print shops in Great
Bridges between Imagination and Reality An exhibition of paintings by Peter Yates
This exhibition, from Stirling – born artist Peter Yates, is part retrospective and part new work. Some of the works have been inspired by wind farms. Although wind farms are Scotland’s fastest growing renewable energy technology and are prominent on the landscape in many parts of Scotland, few artists have