6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winter

It’s shaping up to be another season of riveting shows opening at museums across the U.S. Here are six to check out over the winter, including pioneering exhibitions that look at the life and career of Frida Kahlo, examine how lithography changed Hindu art and celebrate Austrian expressionism.

‘Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir,’ Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Otto Kallir is credited with helping “establish" Austrian Expressionism through his “influential” New York art gallery, and over the decades Kallir built up an extraordinary personal collection, said the Los Angeles Times. Recently, his family gave more than 100 of those works to LACMA, including the museum’s first Gustav Klimt painting. This 1897 portrait, “Woman With Fur Collar,” is one of the 24 pieces on display in “Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir,” along with newly acquired “seminal” landscape paintings by Egon Schiele. (Through May 31, 2026)

‘Divine Color: Hindu Prints from Modern Bengal,’ MFA Boston

Art is often shaped by emerging technologies, and when lithography made its way to Kolkata during the 19th century, it changed how Indian artists depicted Hindu gods. “Divine Color: Hindu Prints from Modern Bengal” looks at how this form of printmaking “reinvented devotional art” and made divinity prints “more realistic, colorful and accessible than ever before,” said MFA Boston. This exhibition is the first of its kind in the U.S. and features more than 100 prints, paintings, sculptures and textiles, including 38 “vibrant” lithographs from the museum’s collection. (Jan. 31-May 31, 2026)

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‘Frida: The Making of an Icon,’ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Frida Kahlo was “practically unknown to mainstream audiences” during her lifetime — she didn’t became a worldwide phenomenon until her work was rediscovered in the 1970s, two decades after her death, said the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Instead of a traditional retrospective, “Frida: The Making of an Icon” takes a different approach to showcasing her life and art and is the first major exploration of her “transformation” from “local painter to a universal icon and global brand.” More than 30 of Kahlo’s works will be on display, alongside 120 pieces by artists she inspired. (Jan. 19-May 17, 2026)

‘Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives,’ Denver Art Museum

An 1896 ballgown from Paris’ first haute couture fashion house and a groundbreaking Chanel shift dress from 1926 are some of the items set to be displayed in this celebration of finery. The Denver Art Museum acquired its first pieces of women’s clothing in 1942, and “Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives” will use garments from its permanent collection to explain cultural trends, how fashion evolves and how history influences clothing. While there is a global focus, the exhibition will also dive into local fashion and how Denver’s department stores promoted homegrown designers. (Feb. 15-Aug. 30, 2026)

‘Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work,’ Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses became a prolific painter in her late 70s, giving rise to the nickname Grandma Moses. While she was “met with astounding popular and commercial success,” any type of “critical success eluded her,” said The New York Times. “Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work” aims to change that by examining her legacy and reframing the painter as a “serious, workmanlike artist.” The Smithsonian American Art Museum only started collecting Moses paintings within the last decade and now has 33 works. All of them will be on view. (Through July 12, 2026)

‘still/emerging: Native American Works on Paper,’ The Cleveland Museum of Art

The 30 prints and drawings in “still/emerging: Native American Works on Paper” showcase the “unique histories and perspectives” of Indigenous artists from a “number of backgrounds and tribal affiliations,” said The Cleveland Museum of Art. Highlights include “powerful” memorial woodcuts by T.C. Cannon (Kiowa/Caddo), “deeply symbolic” color lithographs by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation) and a multimedia piece by Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow). (Feb. 1-June 7, 2026)