Sir John Soane's Museum London

Sir John Soane was one of the leading architects of the Regency era, a professor of architecture at the Royal Academy, and a dedicated collector of paintings, sculptures, architectural fragments and models, books, drawings, and furniture. Soane's success as an architect, coupled with his fascination with the history of architecture, inspired him to purchase and repurpose three buildings to include a museum for architecture students. 

Sir John Soane acquired and rebuilt three buildings at Nos 12, 13, and 14, which he turned into his personal home, office, and a public museum, including a Picture Room for his expanding painting collection. 

In 1833, Soane negotiated a private Act of Parliament: to preserve his house and collection precisely as it was at the time of his death and to keep it open and free to the public for inspiration and education. Today, the museum continues to uphold Soane's wishes.

The three-building museum and its collection sit exactly as Soane had left it, with a collection arranged purposefully to enhance objects' poetic qualities through creative and inspiring juxtapositions. Thanks to his vision, Sir John Soane's Museum continues to move the public with thousands of objects ranging from Ancient Egyptian antiquities and Roman sculpture to models of contemporary buildings.