The arrival in the UK of the Bayeux Tapestry has caught the headlines in recent weeks, and for good reason. But London, and the rest of the country, has a wealth of high-quality exhibitions taking place over the coming months, which also demand attention.
The capital, Bath, Liverpool and Newcastle are all hosting some highly anticipated shows, ranging from studies of Korean culture, portraits of the 90s and the birth of oil painting among others. Here are some of our favourites.
Korea
British Museum, London WC1
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If you can’t get tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibit, the British Museum has much more in store. Its next big show is dedicated to Korea, and encompasses the past two millennia of that nation’s culture and history. Featuring paintings, sculptures and decorative pieces, as well as religious icons, it will recount the peninsula’s complex history in eye-catching detail. Many of the pieces have been borrowed from collections in Korea itself, and have never before been seen in the UK.
1 October-31 January 2027; britishmuseum.org
Ancient Landscape, Modern Times: Eric Ravilious and the Artists of the Chalk Downs
Holburne Museum, Bath
In the years between the world wars, a number of British painters adopted a style that embraced the new while also expressing a yearning for Britain’s mysterious past. Chief among them was Eric Ravilious (1903-1942), whose pictures present an uncanny synthesis of ancient and modern. At Bath’s Holburne Museum, his paintings of the South Downs will be shown with works by contemporaries such as William Nicholson, Paul Nash and Tirzah Garwood. For these artists, the view from the hills wasn’t just a picturesque vision; it was a means to explore questions of English identity and belonging.
3 October-10 January 2027; holburne.org
The 90s: Art and Fashion
Tate Britain, London
Curated by Edward Enninful, the former editor of Vogue, this celebration of a decade known for its bold creativity will feature art by the likes of Steve McQueen, Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas, photographs by Juergen Teller and David Sims, and fashion collections by Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.
8 October-14 February 2027; tate.org.uk
Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Laing Gallery’s autumn exhibition joins the dots between the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite “Brotherhood” and their literary fellow-travellers. Featuring major loans from collections across the UK, including works by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Edward Burne-Jones, it shows how the movement’s leading lights were inspired by poets such as Dante, Chaucer and Keats, as well as by their own contemporaries – and how the artists influenced later poets.
17 October-13 February 2027; northeastmuseums.org.uk/laing
Van Eyck: The Portraits
National Gallery, London WC2
Jan van Eyck has been described as the inventor of oil painting; and while this has since been disputed, there’s no doubting his status as a founding artist of the Western canon. Only around 20 paintings by van Eyck (1390-1441) are known to have survived, including nine portraits: of rich Flanders merchants, nobles – not least the deathless “Arnolfini Portrait” (1434) – and family members. For the first time, all nine will be united. Along with its forthcoming Renoir show, this National Gallery exhibition is sure to be a highlight of the coming months.
21 November-11 April 2027; nationalgallery.org.uk
Mary Magdalene: Woman and Myth
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
The Walker’s next big show invites us to consider one of history’s most contentious yet frequently portrayed figures: Mary Magdalene. This exhibition tells her extraordinary story through early Renaissance panels by Carlo Crivelli, Annibale Carracci and Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo, and reinterprets it through baroque paintings and even works of conceptual art. The show will also tour to Sheffield and Bishop Auckland.
6 February 2027-23 May 2027; liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
