The 11 best London art exhibitions to see in autumn – winter 2026
Square white paintings, trails of red wool, and Renoir in love – here are the shows to book first this season, plus eight more to see if you have time.
Duncan Grant, Fan c.1913. David Herbert Collection © 2026 Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS
London is back to its chilly, damp self after a worryingly hot summer, so now is the time to head indoors. Fortunately, the city’s world-famous museums and galleries have laid out an enticing selection of exhibitions for autumn and winter.
There are sweeping, time-travelling adventures that take you to across centuries, from the empires of Constantinople to 2000 years of Korean treasures.
There are several musings on love and relationships – almost as if the curators all had the same idea that autumn calls for some contemplation of matters of the heart and soul: Renoir at the National Gallery, Bloomsbury at Tate Britain, Salman Toor at the Courtauld.
And there are shows about art-making itself, and how it can change society as a whole and each one of us individually, from Robert Ryman’s white paintings to Nan Goldin’s activism.
Yes, there is more to see than physically possible, but I hope this list of the 11 best exhibitions in London this season will get you started, and help you make an informed choice.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance in the Country, Musée d'Orsay
Renoir and Love at the National Gallery
3 October – 31 January
This is the hottest ticket in town – I had to queue to get in. French Impressionists always do well in London. But Renoir is the most romantic of them all, because he painted love in all its forms – from flirtation and romance to friendship and family, to intellectual intimacy. In this show, the National Gallery brings together 45 works from the 1860s to 1880s, when Renoir was particularly interested in capturing Paris – its streets and salons, love and society. The canvases are full of joy and promise, depicting a particular moment in time for the City of Lights, as well as for the Impressionist movement.
Also at the NG: Van Eyck: The Portraits, 21 November – 11 April
'Aya Sofia Constantinople', published by P. & D. Colnaghi. London, 1852 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires at the Victoria & Albert Museum
From 7 November
Istanbul, meeting place of the world for millennia, is a microcosm of human civilisation. Now the V&A is shining a light on 1600 years of its cultural output. You’ll find religious artefacts, musical instruments, coffee pots, textiles, paintings, and much more, all covered in intricate details and displaying fabulous levels of craftsmanship.
Peggy Guggenheim on the roof-terrace of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, early 1950s. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Photo: Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche, Gift, Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, 2005.
Peggy Guggenheim in London at the Royal Academy
21 November - 14 March
How to shock conservatives in Britain? Follow the footsteps of Peggy Guggenheim. In 1938, this American collector opened her first gallery in London and changed the face of the British art world. From Surrealism and abstraction to scandalous sculpture, her gallery challenged the prevailing views of the day. It also established Peggy Guggenheim’s persona as the definitive collector and patron. This exhibition will reunite works from her pioneering shows, including some by Salvador Dali, Vasily Kandinsky and Barbara Hepworth.
Also at the RA: Painting the French Riviera, 2 October – 31 January
Vanessa Bell Interior with the Artist’s Daughter c.1935-36. The Charleston Trust. © 2026 Estate of Vanessa Bell. All rights reserved, DACS
Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury at Tate Britain
12 November - 11 April
Bell and Grant had a profound influence on British art and society in the early 20th century. Their lives were inseparable from their art; both were centered around freedom and experimentation. This show digs deep, investigating how these two extraordinary people lived and worked, both together and apart, over 50 years. It features everything from paintings to furniture, ceramics to textiles, and a whole artist’s studio relocated especially for this exhibition.
Also at Tate: The 90s Art and Fashion at Tate Britain, 8 October – 14 February and Light and Magic: the Birth of Art Photography at Tate Modern, 14 October – 21 February
Salman Toor, The Bar on East 13th (2019), Oil on panel, 91.4 x 121.9cm, Private Collection. © Salman Toor; Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and Thomas Dane Gallery. Photo: Genevieve Hanson.
Salman Toor: Someone Like You at the Courtauld
2 October – 10 January
Toor’s paintings are very green. As if in a haze, they show life’s many moments, but reimagined or remembered rather than observed. (Toor often cites Old Masters or Impressionists as influences.) This show can be seen in a dialogue with the National Gallery’s Renoir and Love discussed above, as both address similar themes of human relationships in all their shapes. One work makes a direct reference to the Courtauld’s most feted masterpiece, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Manet. This is the first solo exhibition of this Pakistan-born American artist in Europe.
Robert Ryman in his studio, ca. 1972. Photo: Timm Rautert. © Archive Timm Rautert, Museum Folkwang, Essen.
Robert Ryman: The Real Thing at the Barbican
8 October - 28 February
These are square, white paintings – all somewhat the same, and yet also very different. Ryman really believed in looking closely, so seeing them on a phone screen just won’t do! Texture, brushstrokes, materials are all supplied by the artist. Light, surroundings, display are provided by the gallery. You – the viewer – add the crucial third part: observation, time, mood. If you are looking for art that makes you slow down and concentrate on the physical aspects of painting, this is the show to see.
Jeong Seon (1676-1759), Clearing after rain on Mount Inwang, 1751 Hanging scroll; ink on paper. © National Museum of Korea, LKH1, National Treasure
1 October – 31 January
Each item here is part of Korea’s history. Some are actual National Treasures. A mirror held up by a lion, and a folding screen with five mountains; a real moon jar and a painted one; Buddhist statue and secular ewer – 2000 years of Korean creativity are here for you to explore in one leisurely afternoon. And if you want some K-Drama in the background – the audio guide is narrated by Lee Byung-hun and Yerin Ha.
Neisser, Pinar del Río, Cuba by James Clifford Kent from the series Yuma, 2025 © James Clifford Kent
Winston Taylor Photo Portrait Prize 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery
5 November – 17 January
There is something about portraits. They make us both uneasy and curious. Whether formal or spontaneous, professional or intimate, they seem to steal a little bit of the subject’s soul and let us peek inside. This annual photography prize (formerly the Taylor Wessing) brings together a diverse range of images that each tell a story or capture a mood. Go if you want to see the world outside your own, and maybe get some inspiration for your next family photo shoot.
Also at NPG: Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends, 9 October – 7 February
Katsushika Hokusai, Clear Day with a Southern Breeze ('Red Fuji'), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, c. 1830 - 33, 25.6 x 37.6 cm, colour woodblock. The Iuchi Collection, on deposit at the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Photo by Norihiro Ueno
Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji from the Iuchi Collection at Dulwich Picture Gallery
20 October – 17 January
One sacred mountain, many ways to see it. The Great Wave will be here. Officially known as Under the Wave off Kanagawa, you’ve probably seen it many times – it appears on everything from socks to water bottles. Red Fuji, however, has never been shown in the UK before (at least this variant of it). Also known as Clear Day with a Southern Breeze, it will join the rest of this famous series of prints, letting visitors see exactly why Katsushika Hokusai is one of the most celebrated printmakers in history.
Also at DPG Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse… and You, 3 November – 7 February
Nan Goldin, Joey on David’s bed, Brooklyn, 1999. © Nan Goldin, courtesy the artist and Gagosian.
Nan Goldin: You Never Did Anything Wrong at Hayward Gallery
24 November – 14 March
What if life and art become one? This American artist and activist brings the personal and the political firmly together. From addiction and queer subcultures, to animal consciousness and the land, Goldin’s camera captures it all. The show will include recent films, including the public debut of You never did anything wrong, Part II, as well as photographic stills and archival material. To some degree, Nan Goldin continues what the Bloomsbury group started a century ago – bridging life and art (see Tate Britain’s exhibition discussed above).
Also at Hayward: Andrius Arutiunian: They Tried to Count Us, 24 November – 7 March
Cecilia Vicuña, Quipu Menstrual 1 (unknotted), 2006 / 2024. Site-specific installation with unspun wool and video. Dimensions variable; video duration: 4 minutes, 13 seconds. Installation view, Cecilia Vicuña: Soñar el Agua. Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil. May 17 – September 15, 2024. Photo Isabella Matheus
Cecilia Vicuña: Living Threads at Whitechapel Gallery
7 October – 14 February
This Chilean artist, poet and activist is hard to place in a neat box. The major work in this show is a sculptural installation of long pieces of wool in different shades of red hanging from the ceiling to the floor – it is about menstruation. In her work for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall four years ago, Vicuña also hung things dramatically from the ceiling. But that is only part of what she does. There are paintings and poetry, performance and textile, photography and film, ritual and activism. The themes in her art are as diverse as the media she uses – from displacement, loss, political violence and instability to ecosystems and indigenous systems of knowledge. Vicuña dissolves boundaries and makes you reconsider what you think you know about art and the world around you.