The Stirling Smith is the home of a significant collection of rare and unique artefacts, spanning centuries of Scottish, British and World history. The collection is managed by the Smith's three full-time curatorial staff, and contains many remarkable objects, including a great many items of interest from the worlds of social history, ethnography, women's history, natural history, and fine art.

The Smith holds one of the most important collections in Scotland, and the exhibits which are on display are visited by guests from all over the world. We have a permanent exhibition on the premises, The Stirling Story, which recounts the history of the city of Stirling from its earliest origins through to present day. The Stirling Story has many important objects from Stirling's past and present in the displays, and additions are made on a regular basis. Here can be discovered the works of Christian Maclagan, Britain's first female archaeologist, the striking artwork of Joseph Denovan Adam, artefacts from the Stirling Guildry and Seven Incorporated Trades of Stirling, marble busts of local people, and a great many more items, both unique and ordinary.

Special Collections

The Stirling Smith has a number of Special Collections, which include:

* Exclusive collection of the works of Thomas Stuart Smith (1814-1869), founder of the Smith Institute, including portraits, landscapes, oils and watercolours.

* Quality collection of 19th century watercolours made by Thomas Stuart Smith of his contemporaries – J.D Harding, David Cox and Elijah Walton.

* Sketches by Sir George Harvey PRSA (1806-1876), which comprises a portrait gallery of the ordinary people of Stirling in the 1830s and 40s. 82 works.

* Collection of 31 watercolours by Jane Ann Wright (1842-1922) of the buildings and mansion houses of Stirlingshire. Of architectural and social importance.

* Collection relating to Jacobitism in Stirlingshire (1740-1840).

* Collection relating to the story of William Wallace (1274-1305), 18th–20th centuries. 300 images digitised for SCRAN.

* Collection relating to Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham MP (1882– 1936), Laird of Gartmore, writer, novelist, horseman, traveller, socialist, founder of the Scottish Labour Party 1888, and the National Party of Scotland 1928.

* Collection of spectacles and reading glasses, 18th and 19th centuries, 100 items.

* Collection of seaweeds made by Alexander Croall (1808-1885), first curator of the Smith and author of the definitive work, British Seaweeds (1860), c1500 items.

* Collection of domestic and church pewter, recognised by the British Pewterer’s Society as one of the collections of significance in Scotland.