Iconic Irma Stern Museum shuts its doors

The University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Irma Stern Trust have announced that the Irma Stern Museum, located in the historic house of the famous artist, has closed. 

The museum has been operating as a tourist attraction and heritage landmark for 56 years, showcasing the life and artistry of one of South Africa’s most celebrated painters. 

The announcement of the museum’s closure was published on 30 October. The museum then closed its doors to the public on 31 October.

UCT and the Irma Stern Trust say that the collection of the artist’s work will be moved into an archival facility to ensure its preservation.

The museum house, The Firs, will be repurposed. In early 2026, the Irma Stern Trust will reveal further plans for the new ways that Stern’s collection will be displayed.

This will “engage an even wider South African and international audience,” according to the Trust. 

Stern, who passed away in 1966, left instructions in her will that her home and collection be used “for the encouragement and promotion of fine arts within and outside South Africa.”

While the museum is closed, the Irma Stern Trust said it remains dedicated to continuing the work of sharing the art with future generations. 

The Irma Stern Museum was first opened in 1971. A collection of the artist’s work, valuable artefacts from her life and her house have been on display for visitors since. 

Some of the rooms in the museum were kept as the artist would have left them, including her studio, where Stern’s paintbrushes, easel, rags and painting overcoat lay as she last used them. 

The sitting room and dining room were also left as Stern arranged them. Other rooms held temporary exhibitions for contemporary South African artists. 

“UCT is proud to have been a custodian of Irma Stern’s legacy for decades,” said Professor Elelwani Ramugondo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UCT. 

“We look forward to seeing her work reach new audiences in innovative and impactful ways.” The university did not provide any further information on how the building will be used in the future.

An iconic South African heritage site

Stern was born in 1894 in Schweizer-Reneke, a small town in the North West, where her father ran a trading store and cattle farm. 

Following the Anglo-Boer War, the Stern family left for Germany, where they remained through the First World War, although travelling intermittently back to South Africa. 

Stern studied art in Berlin and Weimar. She held her first exhibition in Berlin before returning to South Africa in 1920. 

Her family moved to Cape Town, where Stern’s paintings were initially dismissed.

She continued with her work, undeterred, and came to be regarded as an established South African artist by the 1940s. 

She spent her life making art and travelling across the world, collecting the artefacts that were displayed in the museum on trips to Europe, Southern Africa, the Congo and Zanzibar. 

After her death, Stern’s work grew exponentially in popularity, with one of her paintings being sold for R6.6 million in 2007. Recent sales of her work have reached up to R22.3 million.

Stern acquired the museum building, The Firs, in 1927. She lived and worked in the house until her death in 1966. 

The building dates back to 1842. It was originally a single-storey thatched house. A second storey was added to the house in 1906.

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More photos from the Irma Stern Museum:

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