The Athenaeum housed a small museum in its early days and then an art gallery. The gallery hosted the first exhibition of Frederick McCubbin's "The Pioneer" in 1904, and in 1918, the Australian tonalists staged their first group exhibition there. The gallery also showed paintings by Rupert Bunny, Hans Heysen, Albert Namatjira, Tom Roberts, John Rowell, Ernest Buckmaster, Constance Stokes and Arthur Streeton, before closing in 1971. The gallery also hosted talks by the Melbourne Society of Women Painters, including one in 1935 at which Mary Cecil Allen spoke. Membership of the Athenaeum's subscription library peaked at 7,579 in 1950, after the State Library of Victoria ceased lending of its books in 1939. Membership reduced over the subsequent decades to 1,600 by the mid-1980s, and 750 by the late 2000s. Membership is now increasing. Today, the Athenaeum Theatre is used for theatre, comedy and music performances, including as a principal venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne Opera. The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas presents discussions and talks at the theatre. The Hillsong Church also uses the theatre for its Sunday services. The subscription library has a 30,000-strong collection and hosts regular events, talks, book clubs and a screen club.