The Sturdza House – Museum of Collections (Casa Sturdza – Muzeul Colecțiilor) is an art museum in Bârlad, housed in a historic residence built between 1796 and 1812 for Ștefan and Elisabeta (Safta) Sturdza Bârlădeanu. The house later served several public functions before becoming part of the Vasile Pârvan Museum.
The residence stood on a large Sturdza family property and remained with the family through several generations. Among the people received here were Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Manolache Costache Epureanu and Prince Mihail Sturdza. In 1903, the municipality bought the house from the family’s descendants, after which it served first as the Financial Administration and later as the Bârlad Court.
The earthquake of 1977 badly damaged the building, and it subsequently passed into the administration of the Vasile Pârvan Museum. Consolidation work carried out between 1980 and 1993 allowed it to become the museum’s Art Section and later the Museum of Collections. After further deterioration forced the building to close for more than a decade, a major rehabilitation returned it to museum use in 2022.
The museum now houses the permanent exhibition Interferențe, built around collections donated by two Bârlad-born contemporary artists: painter Corneliu Vasilescu and graphic artist Dragoș Pătrașcu. Vasilescu is represented by paintings and graphic works in the abstract expressionist style, while Pătrașcu’s collection includes drawings, engravings and other works on paper.
Casa Sturdza also hosts temporary exhibitions of painting, graphic art and sculpture. When the restored building reopened in 2022, it hosted the fourth N. N. Tonitza International Biennial of Contemporary Art, with around 200 works by artists from 40 countries.
