Smith donated funds to Auburn University in support of the construction of an art museum as a gift to his wife, in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary.

The museum's permanent collection focuses mainly on 19th and 20th century American and European Art.

[4] The museum includes works by Romare Bearden, Ralston Crawford, Arthur Dove, Georgia O'Keeffe, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, and Ben Shahn within its Advancing American Art collection.

[4] Within the museum's Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection are prints by naturalist John James Audubon.

[2][4] In addition, the museum contains the Bill L. Harbert Collection of European Art, which features works by Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.