Sir John Soane's Museum

Sir John Soane's Museum The house and museum of Sir John Soane, renowned neo-classical architect. Home to an eclectic collect Welcome to the page of Sir John Soane's Museum.
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Sir John Soane, R.A., architect, was born in 1753, the son of a bricklayer, and died after a long and distinguished career, in 1837. Soane designed his house to live in, but also as a setting for his antiquities and his works of art. After the death of his wife (1815), he lived alone, constantly adding to and rearranging his collections. Having been deeply disappointed by the conduct of his two so

ns, one of whom survived him, he determined to establish the house as a museum to which ‘amateurs and students’ should have access. The Museum is a building of outstanding originality, with its picturesque vistas and inventive handling of light and space. He filled it with a remarkable collection of art, sculpture, books, drawings and models. The collection includes paintings by Hogarth, Canaletto, Turner and Reynolds; antique sculpture; plaster casts; architectural models and an Egyptian sarcophagus. The objects are arranged in a labyrinth of top-lit spaces, decorated with hundreds of mirrors.

04/09/2026

Have you ever been taken aback by the theatricality of Soane’s architecture? 🎭

This sense of theatre and play has been at the heart of our 2026 Jerwood Artist in Resident work here at the Museum.

Looking closely at the extraordinary collections of artworks and sculptures on display, Kanto has been reimagining them as characters and bringing them to life for a series of miniature theatre sets ✏️🎨

Having spent the first few months of his residency producing exquisite pencil drawings of some of his favourite figures, he is now beginning the process of animating them, using a lightbox.

In this interview, Kanto shares more about the project and the inspiration behind it.

✨ Which character from the Soane would you like to see brought to life?

🎨 Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at a museum, and wanted the chance to help shape it? Are you age...
03/09/2026

🎨 Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at a museum, and wanted the chance to help shape it? Are you aged 15-25 and live, work or study in London?

Why not apply to be part of the Soane Youth Panel!

The Soane Youth Panel is a group of young people who help Sir John Soane’s Museum shape the activities, events and opportunities we offer to young audiences.

Since 2017, the Panel has worked on a huge range of projects - from developing youth-focused events and curating an exhibition, to writing blog posts and creating artwork and online content as part of Museum programming.

If you’d like to get behind the scenes, meet other young people and have your say in what happens at the Museum, we’d love to hear from you.

🔗⏰The deadline to apply is Tuesday 8th September, 9am. Find out more via our website: https://www.soane.org/learning/young-people

📸John Stead

Which of these iconic pieces are you going to see first on your visit? 👀☀️ The Apollo Belvedere, one of our visitors’ fa...
02/09/2026

Which of these iconic pieces are you going to see first on your visit? 👀

☀️ The Apollo Belvedere, one of our visitors’ favourite sculptures, illuminated by the stained glass above, creating the magical impression that Apollo himself is emerging from the sun

🐍 The Snake in the Grass, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, first President of the Royal Academy. The mirrors surrounding this piece reflect Soane’s portrait opposite, creating the illusion that it is floating

🖼️Three unmissable Canaletto masterpieces, dazzling views of Venice that capture the city’s architecture and bustling life in extraordinary detail

🎡 George Jones RA's vibrant oil painting of The Opening of London Bridge, with Soane and his great friend Turner depicted in the crowd

You can see these treasures up close and discover more of the collection on one of our Highlights Tours – find out more via our website: https://www.soane.org/whats-on

📸Joseph Asghar, Matt Clayton, Gareth Gardner, John Stead

🐾 Meet the Soane family’s favourite four-legged friend!F***y was Eliza Soane’s beloved black and tan Manchester Terrier,...
26/08/2026

🐾 Meet the Soane family’s favourite four-legged friend!

F***y was Eliza Soane’s beloved black and tan Manchester Terrier, who has captured the hearts of so many visitors🖤🤎

F***y joined the family around 1803 and accompanied Eliza everywhere! Her presence was so important that Eliza’s letters home to her husband would often mention her, and on one occasion F***y’s paw was dipped into the ink so she could sign the letter too 🐾✉️

After Eliza’s death, F***y became a cherished companion to the grieving Sir John Soane, who described her as his “faithful companion”. He commissioned this portrait two years after she died, portraying her as an architect’s dog, seated on a capital, with one of the most celebrated buildings of Athens, the Erechtheion, in the distance.

A fitting tribute to a beloved companion – keep an eye out for this painting in the Breakfast Room this International Dog Day🐶

Endless portals into Soanean worlds 🌀🌍Painted by Joseph Michael Gandy around 1824, this watercolour imagines Sir John So...
24/08/2026

Endless portals into Soanean worlds 🌀🌍

Painted by Joseph Michael Gandy around 1824, this watercolour imagines Sir John Soane’s architectural works brought together in one vast gallery - an imaginative expansion of Soane’s celebrated Picture Room.

Rather than showing the Picture Room as it actually existed (a 13ft-square room with hidden folding picture planes), Gandy has ‘concertinaed out’ the space, imagining the picture planes stretched out into one continuous gallery. The result is a room large enough to display hundreds of paintings and models of Soane’s architectural designs, offering a glimpse into the extraordinary creative partnership between Soane and Gandy.

Which Soane buildings can you spot?👀🏛️

How do you like to spend your summer holidays? ☀️In 1804, Soane joined his family in Margate for a brief holiday, but wh...
20/08/2026

How do you like to spend your summer holidays? ☀️

In 1804, Soane joined his family in Margate for a brief holiday, but while away he was busy continuing to put pencil to paper, working on plans for the Bank of England.

This drawing, charmingly signed and dated “At Margate / Sepr 16: 1804”, shows Soane developing plans for the north-west corner of the Bank, the ‘Tivoli Corner’, part of the Bank’s extension which was built in 1806–07.

The design was inspired by the ancient Temple of Vesta at Tivoli - Soane’s favourite classical building. It’s particularly special because the Tivoli Corner is one of the few surviving parts of Soane’s Bank of England today, making this drawing an important link to Soane’s original vision.

No out-of-office for Soane. But not a bad way to spend a day at the seaside, designing the building that would become one of his greatest architectural achievements🌊✏️

14/08/2026

We went postcard hunting around the Museum, spotting some of our visitors' favourite spaces and artworks 🎨

Which one is your favourite?

If you’d like something to remember your visit by, you can pick up postcards and other keepsakes in the Shop and online - every purchase helps support the Museum💛
🔗https://shop.soane.org/

12/08/2026

Have you explored our latest exhibition yet?🎨🎲

𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝙑𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙥: 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 invites visitors into the artist’s playful and surreal world - a place where discarded materials are transformed into creatures that bring joy anew and everyday objects reveal unexpected stories.

Through her distinctive blend of humour, storytelling and creativity, Vriesendorp encourages us to look again and see the familiar with fresh eyes.

🔗📽️Want to learn more about the artist and her creative process? Go behind the scenes in our exclusive film exploring Vriesendorp’s studio, now available to watch on our website (link in bio)

This exhibition has been generously supported by Hamish and Sophie Forsyth | Film produced by .studio
WhatsonLondon

Have you ever seen a staircase quite like this?🤩The cantilever, or ‘geometrical’, staircase in No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fiel...
05/08/2026

Have you ever seen a staircase quite like this?🤩

The cantilever, or ‘geometrical’, staircase in No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields is one of the Museum’s most striking architectural features, appearing almost to float!

As you’d expect from Soane, skylights, strategically placed windows and mirrors maximise natural light throughout the space, meaning the atmosphere shifts as you climb — until you reach the top, where the staircase is bathed in daylight🌞🪞

The walls, painted to imitate giallo antico marble, evoke the grandeur of imperial Rome and reflect Soane’s enduring fascination with classical architecture. Owing to the unusual shape of the building, the staircase broadens along the northern wall creating an asymmetrical plan - a detail only apparent when viewed from above.

Take a look on your next visit!

📸: Celia Rogge

There's always room for more paintings... right? 🖼️Sir John Soane certainly thought so – turning this 13ft-square room i...
29/07/2026

There's always room for more paintings... right? 🖼️

Sir John Soane certainly thought so – turning this 13ft-square room in his home in Lincoln's Inn Fields into an extraordinary gallery space, with a design that feels just as innovative today as it did two centuries ago.

Home to 118 paintings, the Picture Room showcases Soane's pioneering use of indirect natural light to illuminate art, first developed while designing Dulwich Picture Gallery, alongside his ingenious solution for displaying more paintings: concealed panels that open to reveal hidden layers.

Soane's ideas went on to shape the design of other purpose-built galleries, from the National Gallery in London to Frank Lloyd Wright's dramatic central light well at the Guggenheim.

🤩Join a Highlights Tour to have this room revealed to you by one of our expert guides – https://www.soane.org/whats-on/highlights-tour

📸: Gareth Gardner

Address

13 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London
WC2A3BP

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+442074052107

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