On Thursday, 13 November 2025, the Irma Stern Trust held a public consultation in Cape Town to address concerns about the temporary closure of the Irma Stern Museum in Rosebank.
Terry Behan, who served as chair for the meeting and spokesperson on behalf of the trust, stated that the museum closed as a result of a duty of care to both the art collection and the nearly 200-year-old building that housed it. The structure sits on a high waterline, suffers from rising damp, has a tin roof and was never designed to function as a museum. The climatic conditions began to adversely affect the collection, with general slow degradation of some works. A condition report conducted a couple of years ago revealed that the building was not optimal for housing the collection, while the estimated cost of repairs ranged from R33 to R34 million.
The Irma Stern Museum operated under a partnership with the University of Cape Town, which staffed, maintained, and repaired the facility during a period that lasted 56 years. UCT recently decided to withdraw from the agreement, citing its primary focus on student welfare and its educational mandate. The trust has now taken back control of the building and acquired the Firs back from UCT. Behan emphasised that UCT contributed what would amount to over R100 million in today’s terms over the partnership period, covering staffing, maintenance, security, gardening services and other costs. The museum is not an endowed facility and lacks unlimited access to capital; therefore, historically, the trust has looked to the collection itself to support restoration, insurance, logistics and management costs. A 2022 sale of items from the collection raised R23 million (which the public had raised questions about previously). The proceeds, which have been invested and grown over that period, are currently being used for ongoing maintenance, management and restoration of the collection. A portion will fund the building restoration and other activities to be rolled out during the year.
When asked if the trust had approached Nedbank Corporate (The Irma Stern Trust is administered by the Nedgroup Trust) for the R35 million needed for refurbishment, Behan answered no. He indicated that going forward, the trust would actively seek market support for the restoration project, noting that many people had offered help in recent weeks. Behan stressed that the closure is not permanent and is designed to allow the trust to remove the collection, store it safely while refurbishing the building, and bring it back to its former glory. He noted the irony that there had been a complete outpouring of support for Irma Stern in recent weeks, in opposition to the actual number of people who visit the museum according to their records. This year, fewer than 2,500 people visited, with 60-70% being schoolchildren on educational projects.
The Irma Stern collection is extensive, with over 1,000 pieces. It will be moved to a custom-built facility in the basement of the Clock Tower building, set up to museum-grade standards for temperature and humidity control, a facility used for the preservation and restoration of the works. We were told that the trust will draw from the collection when touring the artworks and reconstituting the museum. Although the stored collection will not be open for public access, it will be available for scholarly research and restoration work at the curator’s discretion.
The trust outlined three core pillars for the future of the collection and the museum: ongoing curation by touring the collection around the country and possibly internationally; amplifying Irma Stern’s story by commissioning writing on her work and legacy; and growing the Irma Stern brand by developing licensing agreements and revenue streams to ensure the trust does not have to sell works from the collection unnecessarily.
Regarding what will happen to the house itself, Behan explained that, where possible, certain items, such as the stained glass windows and doors, would not be removed for safekeeping because they are difficult to reconstitute. The process will entail a combination of taking out items that might be affected or damaged during refurbishment and protecting those that stay behind. He indicated there is an opportunity to honour the context of the house museum while also possibly adding onto it in sensitive ways or repurposing outer buildings that are not part of the original structure. Dr Kathy Wheeler (Irma Stern Trust curator) emphasised the importance of maintaining the property as a house museum, noting that Stern’s personal collection and the home environment tell an essential part of her story. She described the possibilities as exciting, noting that there is much to be explored in Stern’s story.
Attendees were allowed to raise questions and recommendations during the consultation. One attendee asked about the composition of the trust, who is on it and what expertise and experience they have. Behan explained that the trust was historically made up of three trustees: a corporate trustee, an independent trustee (who was present at the consultation) and a nominated trustee, whose role is to manage the estate and administrate the asset. Behan acknowledged there has been a vacuum between the trust, UCTand the curatorial work, with a missing link of a team exclusively focused on the three pillars outlined above. Going forward, responsibilities will be split: professional trustees will continue their fiduciary duty to administrate the trust, while a new permanent team of industry experts in curation, exhibition, communication and commercial experience will be brought in. This team has been identified and will be appointed and onboarded in the coming weeks, with an announcement to follow. Behan declined to provide details, citing ongoing due diligence.
Questions were raised about the expertise being applied to the nuanced complexities of the material collection beyond just paintings, including items subject to substrate issues and paint cracking, as well as the valuable material items in the collection. Behan deferred to Wheeler on conservation details and acknowledged that the museum had works inappropriately stored, or at least not to the standard required for a collection of this nature.
Requests were made to publish the trust deed and financial accounts for the past 10 years, given that the matter is of public importance. The trust indicated that they could divulge the agreements and that financial statements are public documents that they can make available.
Questions arose about why the trust did not accept an alleged offer from Qatari collectors to fund the museum’s refurbishment as part of the agreement to loan Irma Stern’s famous Arab Priest painting. Behan said he did not have an answer and the trustees did not know either. It was acknowledged that this was a question that needed to be engaged with, but that it was actually a question for the UCT committee going back several years.
An attendee questioned the relationship between UCT and the trust regarding property responsibilities, asking whether UCT as landlord and owner had responsibilities they didn’t fulfill and whether they were being allowed to walk away without paying their dues. The attendee disputed Behan’s claims about UCT’s maintenance, noting the garden had been in terrible condition for the last 5-10 years, and pointing out that the building’s deterioration hadn’t happened in one year but over 50 years during which UCT had a duty to maintain it as owner and custodian. Behan reiterated UCT’s contribution towards maintaining and running the museum.
The trust committed to answering questions they couldn’t address during the meeting and synthesising recommendations into a single document, which will be made public.
For now, the closure of the museum is described as temporary, with doors expected to reopen within a reasonable timeframe. The meeting revealed significant information gaps and unresolved questions, with trustees acknowledging they could not answer all concerns raised. They committed to following up with additional information in the near future.
