From Renaissance masters to radical modern icons, 2026 promises an exceptional year for art lovers around the world. Major museums are unveiling ambitious retrospectives, rare reunions of masterpieces, and bold cross-disciplinary projects that span centuries, styles, and continents. From London to Los Angeles, Paris to Venice, these are the exhibitions set to define the cultural calendar — and why they deserve a place on your must-see list.

Photo Credits: Portrait of Giovanni(?) Arnolfini and his Wife, Jan van Eyck, National Portrait Gallery

Van Eyck: The Portraits at The National Gallery, (21 November 2026 – 11 April 2027)

For the first time, all of Jan van Eyck’s known painted portraits will be reunited in one exhibition at The National Gallery. Hailed as the father of modern portraiture, van Eyck revolutionised painting through extraordinary detail and lifelike realism. These rare, fragile masterpieces, rarely lent and seldom seen together, offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to encounter the people he immortalised.

Photo Credits: To Be Looked At, Marcel Duchamp, MoMA

Marcel Duchamp at The MoMA, (12 April - 22 August 2026)

Comprising around 300 works, this exhibition is the first U.S. retrospective of the artist since 1973. Over the past fifty years, both scholarship and myths have grown around Duchamp’s famously enigmatic oeuvre. The show presents a comprehensive overview of his diverse career across all mediums from 1900 to 1968, giving contemporary audiences a rare chance to experience the full scope of his creative achievements.

Photo Credits: Alexander Calder, Vertical Foliage, 1941, Calder Foundation

Alexander Calder at Fondation Louis Vuitton (15 April - 16 August 2026)

This April, the Fondation Louis Vuitton presents Calder. Rêver en Équilibre, presents a major retrospective marking key centenaries in Alexander Calder’s life. Spanning five decades, the exhibition traces his work from Cirque Calder to monumental public sculptures, featuring nearly 300 works, with mobiles animating Frank Gehry’s architecture in a choreographed play of movement and light.

Photo Credits: Tracey Emin, The End Of Love, Tate Modern

Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, (27 February – 31 August 2026)

In the years that followed Tracey Emin’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent life-saving surgery, she has approached what she describes as her “second life” with remarkable resilience — a phrase that also lends its name to this major retrospective at Tate Modern. Featuring more than 90 works, the exhibition traces key moments in Emin’s career, including early landmark pieces such as My Bed, which famously shaped conversations around the 1999 Turner Prize.

Photo Credits: Les Codomas (The Codomas) from Jazz, 1947, Henri Matisse

Matisse’s Jazz at Art Institute of Chicago, (7 March - 1 June 2026) 

Discover a fresh view of the legendary Henri Matisse at this compelling exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago. Confined to bed and unable to paint during the 1940s, Matisse embraced a new medium: cut paper. Drawing on memories of circuses, travels, folktales, and Parisian music hall concerts, he created a series of 20 maquettes, which will be on public display in their entirety for the first time.

Photo Credits: Rose Wylie, Study for Red Twink, 2002

Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First at Royal Academy of Arts, (28 February - 19 April 2026)

This exhibition unites Rose Wylie’s best-known works with newly created and never-before-shown paintings, forming the most extensive presentation of her art to date. Her practice brims with nods to film, famous figures, literature, and ancient cultures, weaving cultural touchstones together with personal memories, including her childhood experiences during the Blitz.

Photo Credits: Marina Abramović ,Photography by JOSHUA WOODS.

Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, (6 May - 19 October 2026)

The Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice will present a solo exhibition by Marina Abramović, coinciding with next year’s Venice Biennale and the artist’s 80th birthday. Abramović will be the first living woman to have a solo show at the historic museum, and for the first time, her works—both new and earlier pieces—will be integrated throughout the permanent collection, creating a dialogue with Renaissance masterpieces. This marks the museum’s first contemporary exhibition to extend beyond its traditional temporary galleries.

Photo Credits: Hauser & Wirth, Michaela Yearwood-Dan

Michaela Yearwood-Dan at The Whitworth,(17 April – 18 October 2026)

The Whitworth presents Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s first UK institutional exhibition, marking a significant moment for one of contemporary painting’s most exciting emerging voices. Centred on a major new commission, the exhibition brings together painting, drawing, ceramics, furniture and sound to form an immersive, reflective environment exploring Blackness, queerness, femininity and healing through richly layered, exuberant visual language.

Photo Credits: Portrait of a Woman, Pablo Picasso, The Louvre Abu Dhabi

Picasso, the Figure at Louvre Abu Dhabi, (21 January - 31 May 2026)

Louvre Abu Dhabi presents Picasso, the Figure, a landmark monographic exhibition exploring one of modern art’s most influential figures and his revolutionary approach to the human form. The show traces Picasso’s lifelong fascination with the figure, featuring key works from the Musée National Picasso–Paris alongside loans from the Louvre, Mobilier National, Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Department of Culture and Tourism, and other regional collections, highlighting his impact on the Arab world. Among the highlights, Portrait of a Lady, newly acquired by Louvre Abu Dhabi, will be displayed for the first time at the Birth of a Museum exhibition.

Photo Credits: Mark Rothko, No.3/No. 13, MoMA The Museum of Modern Art

Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi, (14 March - 23 August 2026) 

This spring, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi will present Rothko in Florence, one of the most important retrospectives ever devoted to Mark Rothko, the iconic master of American modern art. Curated by the artist’s son, Christopher Rothko, alongside Elena Geuna, the exhibition was specially conceived for Florence, celebrating the artist’s deep connection to the city. The show traces Rothko’s entire career through more than 70 works borrowed from leading international institutions, including MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate, and the Centre Pompidou.

Photo Credits: Barbara Hepworth: The Family of Man, Brittanica

Hepworth in Colour at The Courtauld Gallery, (12 June  – 6 September 2026)

A major new exhibition celebrates one of the 20th century’s most renowned artists, Barbara Hepworth, whose abstract sculptures were inspired by nature and the rugged Cornwall coastline. This ambitious show highlights a lesser-known facet of her practice: her lifelong exploration of colour. For the first time, Hepworth’s early colour-infused sculptures from the 1940s will be presented alongside her key drawings from the same period, offering a fresh perspective on her artistic vision.

Photo Credits: The Virgin and Child With Infant St. John the Baptist in a Landscape (The Alba Madonna), Raphael, circa 1520 National Gallery of Art

Raphael: Sublime Poetry at The Met , (29 March - 28 June 2026)

Raphael: Sublime Poetry, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the first major U.S. exhibition dedicated to Raphael. Spanning his early years in Urbino, his rise in Florence, and his final decade at the papal court in Rome, the show presents over 200 works, including drawings, paintings, tapestries, and decorative arts, offering fresh insights into one of the greatest figures of the Italian Renaissance.

Photo Credits: Haegue Yang, Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun, 2024, Courtesy of the artist.

Haegue Yang: Star Crossed Rendezvous at MOCA Grand Avenue, (24 February - 2 August 2026) 

MOCA and the Los Angeles Philharmonic collaborate on a cross-disciplinary project pairing visual artist Haegue Yang with composer Isang Yun. The initiative features the U.S. debut of Yang’s installation Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun at MOCA Grand Avenue and a one-night performance of Yun’s Double Concerto at Walt Disney Concert Hall, creating an immersive dialogue between visual art and sound.