In his will, Mr Smith, who died on March 2, bequeathed the works representing half a century of art collecting and spanning 120 years of southern artists to the gallery with which he and his partner of 53 years, Mr Yallop, had strong links.
Gallery director Jim Geddes, who is a long-term family friend, said he was ‘‘very grateful they wanted the artworks to come to us''.
Mr Geddes visited Mr Yallop a month ago to select the 50 pieces from the collection of about 500 art works.
Works selected cover three periods - early historic pieces by southern artists such as W Menzies Gibb and J Peele, mid-20th century art by Mr Smith's art school contemporaries including Max Walker, R N Field and Roy Dickison, and emerging Dunedin artists of the past 15 years, including Gary McMillan, Alastair Galbraith, Michael Morley and Philip James Frost.
‘‘The latest art works give a very valuable overview of some very exciting emerging Southern artists,'' Mr Geddes said.
He said the works would ‘‘grow in significance'' as the artists' reputations grew.
Mr Yallop said he was pleased the artworks were going to Gore, where Mr Smith's sister Marjory Lusk and her husband Ray owned a music store for many years.
‘‘I don't think I will miss them to a great degree because the memories are here and I know they will be well looked after,'' Mr Yallop said.
‘‘And it will be exciting buying some new works to compensate.''
Dunedin Public Art Galley director Elizabeth Caldwell said the city gallery had ‘‘been fortunate enough to be the recipient of four paintings'' from Mr Smith and Mr Yallop in the 1990s and she was ‘‘delighted for the Eastern Southland Gallery''.
An exhibition of the 50 donated artworks will open in October next year, to mark what would have been Mr Smith's 90th birthday.
