The Lyon Housemuseum is a public art museum exhibiting works of Australian contemporary art.
It comprises two interconnected buildings - the original Housemuseum and the adjacent Galleries. The Galleries are open to the public Thursday to Sunday 12:00pm - 4:00pm (excluding public holidays) and the Housemuseum is open for pre-booked tours on designated days each year.
The original Housemuseum at 219 Cotham Road is the former private residence of museum founding patrons Corbett and Yueji Lyon.
The Housemuseum presents a unique combination of family residence and private museum where 'museum' and 'living' are brought together in a single building. In 2010 Larry's List named the Housemuseum 'one of the world's 10 most exciting buildings of private museums'.
Designed by architect Corbett Lyon the Housemuseum builds on a lineage of private art collections housed and displayed in residential settings including Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, New York’s Frick Collection, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and London's Wallace Collection.
The Housemuseum presents key works from the Lyon Collection.
Check available tour dates and make a booking for your visit here.
The adjacent Galleries at 217 Cotham Road were completed in 2018 as a major expansion of the original Housemuseum.
The Galleries, also designed by Lyon, include large flexible exhibition spaces designed for large scale artworks and installations. A public forecourt and an enclosed sculpture court extend the Galleries beyond its physical walls.
In 2024 the Housemuseum and Galleries were joined together to create a single integrated public museum.