The UK's best art exhibitions in 2024

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Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception

This "exquisitely curated and designed" exhibition at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh sets out to uncover the work of female artists long hidden in "historical obscurity", said Giles Sutherland in The Times, and to challenge the familiar, male-dominated story of art in Scotland. Until 6 January 2024. Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh; dovecotstudios.com

Tartan

Tartan may well be "the most categorised textile on Earth", said Cal Revely-Calder in The Daily Telegraph. This show at the V&A in Dundee brings together more than 300 objects to explore tartan's history and significance, covering everything from Culloden to the Bay City Rollers. Until 14 January 2024. V&A Dundee, Riverside Esplanade, Dundee; vam.ac.uk/dundee

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Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas

"Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas" celebrates work by the former YBA, exploring themes of class and gender, often with humour and incorporating everyday materials. Until 14 January 2024. Tate Britain, London SW1; tate.org.uk

Frans Hals

The National Gallery's blockbuster draws together 50 works by Frans Hals, one of the greatest portrait painters in Western art history – including "The Laughing Cavalier", loaned for the first time from The Wallace Collection. This is the first major retrospective of the Dutch Golden Age painter in the UK in 30 years. Until 21 January 2024. National Gallery, London WC2; nationalgallery.org.uk

David Hockney: Drawing from Life

This exhibition of David Hockney's drawings originally opened at the National Portrait Gallery in early 2020, but was forced to close after just 20 days owing to the pandemic. Following the gallery's three-year refurbishment, it has now reopened, bolstered with 30 new portraits realised since the end of lockdown. Until 21 January 2024. National Portrait Gallery, London WC2; npg.org.uk 

Rubens & Women

"Rubens & Women" at Dulwich Picture Gallery looks afresh at the Old Master's depiction of the female form, showing more than 40 paintings that rejoice "in bodies of all shapes and ages", said The Guardian. Until 28 January 2024. Dulwich Picture Gallery, London SE21; dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

Philip Guston

Tate Modern's long-delayed Philip Guston retrospective traces the career of one of 20th century America's most influential artists – from his anti-fascist frescoes to his abstract expressionist paintings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the deliberately crude, cartoonish satirical paintings he produced late in his life. Until 25 February 2024. Tate Modern, London SE1; tate.org.uk

Albrecht Dürer's Material World

Manchester's Whitworth gallery is showing its magnificent collection of Albrecht Dürer's graphic art. "Albrecht Dürer's Material World" will focus on the German Renaissance master's intensely detailed depictions of manufactured objects, from weaponry and tools to books and cutlery, considering them in the context of the huge technical developments during the artist's lifetime. Until 10 March 2024. The Whitworth, Manchester M15; whitworth.manchester.ac.uk

Women in Revolt!

Tate Britain's "bracing" exhibition – subtitled "Art and Activism in the UK, 1970-1990" – is a long-overdue survey of a largely overlooked art movement, bringing together more than 700 exhibits to show how these pioneers communicated their message. Until 7 April at Tate Britain in London, then touring to Edinburgh and Manchester; tate.org.uk 

Holbein at the Tudor Court

The Royal Collection is "especially rich" in works by Hans Holbein, said Melanie McDonagh in the Evening Standard, and a treasure trove of wonders are on display at The Queen's Gallery. This "fine" show brings together a number of "exceptionally beautiful" paintings alongside miniatures and 40 preparatory drawings for his portraits. Until 14 April 2024. The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1; rct.uk

Spies, Lies and Deception

Espionage is the theme of Imperial War Museum London's "Spies, Lies and Deception" exhibition, which brings together some 150 objects from the First World War to the present day. Free entry. Until 14 April 2024. IWM London SE1; iwm.org.uk

Turner Prize 2023

On show at Eastbourne's Towner Gallery, the four shortlisted artists who competed for the £25,000 prize have each been accorded their own mini-exhibition. The 2023 Turner nominees are installation artists Ghislaine Leung and Jesse Darling; painter, film-maker and musician Rory Pilgrim; and Barbara Walker, who is feted for her portraits of black Britons. They have created a display that is brimful with "that rarest of all Turner qualities – talent", said Waldemar Januszczak in The Sunday Times. Until 14 April 2024. Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, Sussex; townereastbourne.org.uk 

The Cult of Beauty

This "fascinating" exhibition at the Wellcome Collection tells all manner of "untold stories", said Anita Bhagwandas in The Guardian. The show brings together some 200 objects, installations and works of art to explore the concept of beauty "in all its glorious and insidious guises". Until 28 April 2024. Wellcome Collection, London NW1; wellcomecollection.org

Capturing The Moment

There is "a lot going on" at this Tate Modern exhibition, said Laura Freeman in The Times. Subtitled "a journey through painting and photography", the show is a huge and ambitious attempt to explore the relationship between painting and photography from the early 20th century to the present day. Until 28 April 2024. Tate Modern, London SE1; tate.org.uk

Michael Rakowitz: The Waiting Gardens of the North

Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is showcasing another leading contemporary artist, Michael Rakowitz. The Iraqi-American is best known in the UK for his widely praised sculpture of a lamassu, a creature from Babylonian mythology, on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth in 2018. In Gateshead, he once again revisits the lore of ancient Babylon to create an installation inspired by both its fabled Hanging Gardens and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Until 26 May 2024. Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead NE8; baltic.art