Stamford Museum is a small local history museum, founded in 1980, which forms part of Lincolnshire County Council Heritage Service. The artworks which were added to the collection in the early days of the Museum were collected largely on the criteria of their being old. This accounts for the eclectic mix of paintings, with little or no local connection. In recent years, however, collecting has been confined to paintings which show local scenes or buildings, or those which are by local artists. In common with many small Museums, Stamford Museum is indebted to the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and The Art Fund for their generous assistance, and many of the most important paintings in our collection could not have been acquired without their help. We are also indebted to the many people who have kindly donated works of art to us.