Great War Silks – Valentine’s Day
The departure of a generation of young men to fight in the Great War was felt keenly by families world – wide and poignantly expressed in the form of mass-produced cards known as Great War Silks. These cards were originally hand-embroidered by women in France and Belgium, but as demand
William Neilson. M.M., a Cambusbarron Great War Hero
The hundred year old Great War page in the Observer is now a regular feature and a gripping read every week, as the events unfold for this generation. Today’s story should have been held until May 2019, but as it involves such a generous gift to the Stirling Smith, we
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
Stirlingshire Collieries
This rare plate, donated to the Smith collections by colliery workers William McKinlay and Raymond Frew, attempts, to sum up the significance of the Stirlingshire collieries. That the miners and the mining industry were as important to Stirling, as Stirling Castle, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce is undeniable.
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
Out of Time, David Paterson Photography
The stones tell us that humans have long been capable great feats of strength and organisation, and that they have been engaged since the beginning in a search for meaning and spirituality. These monuments speak directly to us and though we may no longer understand their language, we feel their
The Stirling Smith Girl, Marie Louise Wrightson
With the New Year comes a new face at the Smith. The Stirling Smith Girl is the creation of artist Marie Louise Wrightson, done as homage to J G Mathieson’s Stirling Girl of 1928, which in turn honoured the Gibson Girl of the 1890s. The Stirling Smith Girl is a
Thomas Stuart Smith
145 years ago today, the artist Thomas Stuart Smith died in a hotel in Avignon. The death was sudden and unexpected. He had planned to be in Stirling to personally superintend the building of the Smith Institute in 1870-71, but he died of ‘apoplexy’ following a cold. He was buried
The Real Stirling Christmas, The Drummond Tract Depot
This illustration of the birth of Jesus with the shepherds in attendance in the cattle shed is a classic pre-War illustration from The Greatest Story Ever, printed by the Drummond Tract Depot or Stirling Tract Enterprise. The Drummond Family, as seed merchants and agricultural improvers, did much to shape the