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Cape Town’s arts community were up in arms in October 2025, when the Irma Stern Museum abruptly announced that it was closing its doors.
The artworks and artefacts held by the Museum are owned by the Irma Stern Trust, while the actual building – the former home and studio of the acclaimed South African artist – belonged to the University of Cape Town.
At the time of the sudden closure, the Trust and the University said they had agreed to part ways because the house, The Firs, was no longer ‘museum-grade’ and unable to preserve the works and artefacts held by the Trust.
“For 56 years, the museum has been a cherished cultural landmark, welcoming generations of members of the UCT community as well as local and international visitors from around the world to experience the vibrant artistry of one of South Africa’s most celebrated painters,” said an official statement. “Now, in the spirit of Irma Stern’s own adventurous nature, the collection will be embarking on a new journey.”
That journey, it turns out, is just a short way down the M3 highway.
Last week, the Norval Foundation unveiled ‘Irma Stern: A Life of Displacement’, a new exhibition of her works, which will run until 17 August 2026.
“Drawing exclusively on material from her extensive archive and Collection, this opening exhibition of the series forms part of a new unique multiyear collaboration between the Norval Foundation, the Irma Stern Trust and Nedbank,” says the Norval Foundation website.
This exhibition is the first in a four-part series that will run over the next two years, presumably while the Irma Stern Trust arranges a new permanent home for the works.
The good news is that for the next two years, fans of Stern’s work can look forward to a series of shows that will explore Stern’s life, travels, archives, and collection. On display will be rarely seen works, travel artefacts from Stern’s personal collection, private documents, paintings, and works on paper created by Stern from Berlin to Zanzibar.
Why does this matter now? Simply put, Stern continues to be a significant force in the local art scene and one of its most commercially successful painters. In the same month the Museum closed, a Stern portrait sold for R21.7 million at Strauss & Co auction. In 2011, her 1945 painting ‘Arab Priest’ was bought by Qatar’s Orientalist Museum for a staggering $4.9 million… approximately R34 million at the time!
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