The Irma Stern Museum occupies the former home of South Africa's best-known expressionist painter, who lived in this house in Rosebank from 1927 until her death in 1966. The collection includes around 200 of her paintings — strong, vivid works influenced by her time in Central Africa and Zanzibar — alongside her collection of African and Congolese artefacts, antique furniture and personal effects.
The house itself, with its lush garden, is part of the experience. Stern was as much a collector as a painter and filled the rooms with objects that fed her artistic vision. The museum is a short drive or Uber from the city centre, close to the University of Cape Town upper campus.