The Best Art Exhibitions in London Right Now (November 2026)

Quick answer

The one not to miss: Van Eyck: The Portraits at the National Gallery, every portrait by Jan van Eyck shown together for the first time (from Nov 21). Closing first: Schiaparelli at the V&A (Nov 15), then Frida at Tate Modern (Jan 3). Hard to get into: the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, where tickets are sold out until April 2027.

How this list works. We checked the title and dates of every show below on the museum’s own website on November 4, 2026, and we update this page every month. It covers art exhibitions at London’s major museums and galleries, grouped by when they close. We describe what each show is and why it might be worth your time. We don’t star-rate shows we haven’t seen.

Heading somewhere else? See the best exhibitions in Paris and in New York.

Closing soon: see these first

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art

V&A South Kensington · closes Sunday, Nov 15, 2026
The history and lasting influence of Elsa Schiaparelli, one of the 20th century’s most inventive designers and a close collaborator of the Surrealists. Last chance: under two weeks left.

Frida: The Making of an Icon

Tate Modern · until Jan 3, 2027
How Frida Kahlo became one of the most recognizable artists in the world, through her self-portraits and the image built around her. Expect it to be busy right up to the end.

Salman Toor: Someone Like You

The Courtauld Gallery · until Jan 10, 2027
The first solo exhibition in Europe of the New York-based painter Salman Toor. It’s in the same building as the Courtauld’s Impressionist collection, so you can see both in one visit.

Ana Mendieta

Tate Modern · until Jan 17, 2027
The Cuban-American artist’s work in performance, film and photography, much of it made with her own body in the landscape.

The big shows: on into 2027

Renoir and Love

The National Gallery · until Jan 31, 2027
Renoir’s gift for painting love, friendship and everyday pleasure. Look out for the gallery’s Friday-evening sessions, which run until mid-January.

Painting the French Riviera

Royal Academy of Arts · until Jan 31, 2027
How the light and color of the Côte d’Azur drew modern art’s great innovators south.

Korea

British Museum · until Jan 31, 2027
The British Museum’s major exhibition on Korea. Note that the exhibition is closed on December 1 and 2.

The 90s: Art and Fashion

Tate Britain · until Feb 14, 2027
Curated by Edward Enninful, whose own experience of the decade shapes it, a look at how art and fashion changed British culture in the 1990s.

Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography

Tate Modern · until Feb 21, 2027
Photography’s path to being taken seriously as an art form.

Robert Ryman

Barbican Art Gallery · until Feb 28, 2027
The American painter who spent his career on white paintings and the textures, edges and supports that make each one different. As Ryman put it, you have to see the real thing; reproductions flatten them completely.

The Bayeux Tapestry

British Museum · until Jul 11, 2027
The embroidered story of the Norman Conquest, on loan from France. Tickets from September 10, 2026 to March 31, 2027 have sold out. The museum releases further dates in 2027 and has a mailing list for releases, so sign up now if you want to go in the spring or summer.

Opening this month

Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires

V&A South Kensington · opens Saturday, Nov 7, 2026
1,600 years of art and design from one city, across the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The V&A bills it as a first for the UK.

Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant: Inside Bloomsbury

Tate Britain · Nov 12, 2026 – Apr 11, 2027
The two Bloomsbury painters who lived and worked side by side for decades, and whose interiors and designs were as much a part of their art as their canvases.

Van Eyck: The Portraits

The National Gallery · Nov 21, 2026 – Apr 11, 2027
For the first time, all of Jan van Eyck’s portraits together, including the gallery’s own Arnolfini Portrait. The National Gallery calls it a once-only event. Book early.

Coming next

Monet fans: the Musée de l’Orangerie’s centenary exhibition Monet, peindre le temps moves to Tate Modern from February 25 to June 27, 2027. If you can’t get to Paris this winter, it’s coming to you.

Tips for exhibition-going in London

Most permanent collections are free; most big exhibitions aren’t. The National Gallery, Tate, the British Museum and the V&A charge for major shows. Members usually get in free, which pays off quickly if you go to more than two or three shows a year.
Use the late openings. Several of the shows above have Friday-evening hours. They’re the least crowded way to see a blockbuster.
Book ahead for the National Gallery and British Museum headliners. Van Eyck and the Bayeux Tapestry are the two shows this season where walking up on the day is unlikely to work.
Check the dates again before you go. Every link above goes to the museum, so confirm there.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still get tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum?

As of November 4, 2026, the British Museum says tickets from September 10, 2026 to March 31, 2027 have sold out. The exhibition runs until July 11, 2027, and the museum releases further tickets in 2027; you can sign up on its site to hear when.

What are the biggest art exhibitions in London right now?

Van Eyck: The Portraits at the National Gallery (from November 21), Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern (until January 3, 2027), Renoir and Love at the National Gallery and Painting the French Riviera at the Royal Academy (both until January 31, 2027).

Which London exhibitions close soonest?

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A closes on Sunday, November 15, 2026. After that, Frida at Tate Modern closes on January 3 and Salman Toor at the Courtauld on January 10, 2027.

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