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With so much happening at our museum and gallery partners throughout the UK, you don't have to get caught out in the cold searching for cultural hotspots. Meet Rembrandt in London and Cambridge, Paula Rego in Edinburgh, or Martin Parr in Aberdeen on your own cross-country Grand Tour.

Featured regions:

Channel Islands

England: London

England: Midlands and East

England: North

England: South

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

 

Channel Islands

Guernsey

To Japan and Back Again: How a Corner of Guernsey Turned Japanese | Guernsey Museum

Until 31st December 2019

A colourful and enlightening exhibition that reveals rich connections between Guernsey and Japan.

 

England: London

Nam June Paik | Tate Modern

Until 9th February 2020

Over 200 works spanning a five-decade career showcase the brilliance of the South Korean artist who pioneered the use of TV and video in art.

 

Dora Maar | Tate Modern

From 20th November 2019 to 15th March 2020

The largest-ever UK retrospective of the celebrated photographer, painter, and poet brings together her surrealist photomontages, commercial work and documentary projects.

 

Mark Leckey: O' Magic Power of Bleakness| Tate Britain

Until 5th January 2020

Step into a life-size replica of a motorway bridge on the M53 on the Wirral, Merseyside, which acts as the setting for a folklore-inspired audio play.

 

Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils

Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils c.1826

William Blake (1757–1827)

Tate

William Blake | Tate Britain

Until 2nd February 2020

The radical and rebellious visionary is represented by over 300 original works, including an immersive recreation of the small domestic room in which Blake showed his art in 1809.

 

Gauguin Portraits | The National Gallery

Until 26th January 2020

The first-ever exhibition devoted to Gauguin's portraits, encompassing his early years through to his later life in French Polynesia. 

 

The Mud Bath

The Mud Bath 1914

David Bomberg (1890–1957)

Tate

Young Bomberg and the Old Masters | The National Gallery

27th November 2019 to 1st March 2020

From Botticelli to Michelangelo, see how the audacious artist David Bomberg drew inspiration from the paintings he most admired.

 

What Remains | Imperial War Museum London

Until 5th January 2020

Artist Piers Secunda explores why cultural heritage is attacked during war and the ways we save, protect and restore what is targeted.

 

Man's Head (Self Portrait I)

Man's Head (Self Portrait I) 1963

Lucian Freud (1922–2011)

The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits | Royal Academy of Arts

Until 26th January 2020

Discover how the modern master consistently turned his unflinching eye on himself through more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings.

 

Eco-Visionaries| Royal Academy of Arts

23rd November 2019 to 23rd February 2020

See how the most urgent environmental issues of our times are being confronted by artists, architects and designers, with works from Olafur Eliasson, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Virgil Abloh.

 

Belshazzar's Feast

Belshazzar's Feast about 1636-8

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)

The National Gallery, London

Rembrandt's Light | Dulwich Picture Gallery

Until 2nd February 2020

Major international loans from The Louvre and Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum are among a selection of the Dutch master's greatest paintings exploring his deft use of light.

 

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things | Victoria and Albert Museum

Until 8th March 2020

Take a trip through the looking glass into the fantastical and immersive worlds created by photographer Tim Walker.

 

Celebrating Ellen Hutchins | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Until 22nd November 2019

The story of Ireland's first female botanist is told through her beautiful drawings of seaweeds, her letters, and her plant finds.

 

Kirsten Schmidt | William Morris Gallery

Until 26th January 2020

Printmaker Kirsten Schmidt responds to green spaces in the Waltham Forest, inspired by our connection to nature surrounding urban spaces.

 

Pioneers: William Morris and the Bauhaus | William Morris Gallery

Until 26th January 2020

The first exhibition in the UK to delve into the relationship between the English Arts and Crafts movement and the Bauhaus, the ground-breaking German art school.

 

Two Last Nights! Show Business in Georgian Britain | The Foundling Museum

Until 5th January 2020

The stage is set for a show which delves into the mechanics of theatre and concert-going in eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain.

 

Buddhism | British Library

Until 23rd February 2020

Encounter the outstanding beauty of Buddhist manuscripts and artworks in the largest exhibition of its kind ever held at the British Library.

 

Blue Silk Dress (Jane Morris)

Blue Silk Dress (Jane Morris) 1868

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)

Society of Antiquaries of London

Pre-Raphaelite Sisters | National Portrait Gallery

Until 26th January 2020

This major show highlights the oft-overlooked contribution of 12 women to this iconic artistic movement as models, artists, makers, partners and poets.

 

Elizabeth Peyton: Aire and Angels | National Portrait Gallery

Until 5th January 2020

Captured from life, memory, literature and imagination, the portraits of Elizabeth Peyton demonstrate an intensely personal and expansive understanding of the genre.

 

England: Midlands and East

Birmingham

Head of J. Y. M.

Head of J. Y. M. 1973

Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)

Sheffield Museums

Thoughts on Portraiture | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Until 18th November 2019

Picasso, Auerbach and Bomberg are among some of those represented in this reflection on portraiture in art.

 

Dressed to the Nines | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

From 7th December 2019 to 4th September 2020

See the garments, accessories and outfits essential to a fashion-forward night out from around 1850 to the present day.

 

Joseph and the Suitors

Joseph and the Suitors (recto) c.1515–1520

Jan de Beer (c.1475–1528)

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Truly Bright and Memorable: Jan de Beer's Renaissance Altarpieces | The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Until 19th January 2020

Dazzling devotional paintings by Antwerp's Jan de Beer, focussing on the Barber's own double-sided altarpiece featuring The Nativity and the apocryphal tale of Joseph and the Suitors.

 

The Printed Word: Image, Text and Meaning | The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Until 26th January 2020

European prints made for periodicals and posters reveal how text has been used as a compositional element from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.

 

Amalia Pica: Private and Confidential | The New Art Gallery Walsall

Until 2nd February 2020

The artist's experience of obtaining British citizenship frames this series of works, which parody and subvert bureaucratic systems.

 

Arpita Shah, Maryam Wahid, Nilupa Yasmin | The New Art Gallery Walsall

From 15th November 2019 to 19th April 2020

Three photographers present work centred around portraiture, culture and female identity in collaboration with their families and communities, both in the UK and Pakistan.

 

Cambridge

Rembrandt and the Nude | The Fitzwilliam Museum

Until 23rd February 2020                 

An exhibition highlighting the beauty and power of Rembrandt's treatment of the female form, often depicted naturalistically and in informal poses.

 

Music

Music 1895

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Seeing Sound: Music, imagery and inspiration | The Fitzwilliam Museum

Until 12th January 2020

Bringing together a remarkable range of artworks and musical manuscripts that display how artists and composers have engaged in a dialogue between sight and sound.

 

Leicester

Open 30: The People's Exhibition | New Walk Museum & Art Gallery

From 14th December 2019 to 25th January 2020

The longstanding 'Open' exhibition celebrates its 30th year, with painting, prints, textiles and sculpture made by artists and makers across the East Midlands.

 

Norwich

Alder Carr, Norwich

Alder Carr, Norwich c.1839–1842

John Sell Cotman (1782–1842)

Norfolk Museums Service

John Sell Cotman in Norwich and London | Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery

Until 19th January 2020

The last two decades of the skilful watercolourist's life are revealed in his landscapes and rarely seen drawings.

 

England: North

Liverpool

Jacqui Hallum | Walker Art Gallery

Until 1st March 2020

The winner of the John Moores Painting Prize 2018 showcases her latest work, with imagery sourced from medieval woodcuts, leaded glass windows, Art Nouveau children's book illustrations and tarot cards.

 

Politics on Pots | Walker Art Gallery

Until 31st December 2019

Designer Harriet Coles brings politics to the dinner table with a range of household china called 'Brexitware', shown alongside printed earthenware from the gallery's historic collections.

 

Manchester

Cézanne at the Whitworth | The Whitworth

Until 1st March 2020

See an extraordinary collection of Cézanne's drawings, gifted and placed on long-term loan by gallerist, collector, and author Karsten Schubert.

 

Elizabeth Price: A LONG MEMORY | The Whitworth

Until 1st March 2020

New and acclaimed works explore Price's pre-occupations of technology, history, politics and pop music.

 

Halima Cassell: Eclectica – Global Inspirations | Manchester Art Gallery

Until 5th January 2020

Influences from geometry, architecture, natural forms and foreign travel, all come together in the work of ceramist and sculptor Halima Cassell.

 

Sheffield

David Blunkett

David Blunkett 2003

Lorna May Wadsworth (b.1979)

Parliamentary Art Collection

GAZE: A Retrospective of Portraits by Lorna May Wadsworth | Graves Gallery

From 9th November 2019 to 15th February 2020

Come face-to-face with an array of famous sitters by the acclaimed painter, including actors Michael Sheen and Derek Jacobi, author Neil Gaiman, and politicians David Blunkett and Tony Blair.

 

'Coal', A Celebration

'Coal', A Celebration 1993

Joe Scarborough (b.1938)

Sheffield Hallam University

Joe Scarborough: Life in the Big Village| Weston Park Museum

Until 24th November 2019

Charming and affectionate everyday scenes of Yorkshire are the hallmark of Joe Scarborough, one of Sheffield's best-loved artists.

 

Wakefield

David Smith: Sculpture 1932–1965 | Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Until 5th January 2020

This landmark exhibition charts the development of Smith's unique visual language, from early constructions combining wood with mussel and clam shells to his large-scale steel sculptures.

 

Holly Hendry | Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Until 19th April 2020

A new kinetic sculpture installation animates The Weston Gallery in an exhibition titled 'The Dump is Full of Images'.

 

The Saint

The Saint 1948

Alan Davie (1920–2014)

National Galleries of Scotland

Alan Davie & David Hockney: Early Works | The Hepworth Wakefield

Until 19th January 2020

This exhibition assembles around 45 paintings and works on paper by the key post-war British painters, many of which have not been seen publicly for decades.

 

York

Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin

Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin

Dieric Bouts the elder (c.1415–1475) (studio of)

The Bowes Museum

Making a Masterpiece: Bouts and Beyond | York Art Gallery

Until 26th January 2020

Taking inspiration from the Dieric Bouts workshop painting, Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin, this exhibition of Dutch and Flemish art explores images from the northern Renaissance to the present day.

 

England: South

Brighton

Floating Worlds: Japanese Woodcuts | Brighton Museum

Until 12th January 2020

Enjoy a journey through Japan as depicted in Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, a style from the Edo period meaning 'pictures of the floating world'.

 

Bristol

Do you believe in magic? | Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Until 19th April 2020

An enchanting exhibition of over 200 fascinating objects and stories that reveal how magic has been used to heal, hunt and harm across the world.

 

Chichester

Aunt Gurdi Burning

Aunt Gurdi Burning 1995

Jann Haworth (b.1942)

CW+

Jann Haworth: Close Up | Pallant House Gallery

From 2nd November 2019 to 23rd February 2020

The first chance in the UK to see American Pop artist Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake's mural Work in Progress, alongside Haworth's works dating from the 1960s to the present day.

 

Abstract Composition

Abstract Composition c.1915

Jessica Dismorr (1885–1939)

Tate

Radical Women: Jessica Dismorr and her Contemporaries | Pallant House Gallery

From 2nd November 2019 to 23rd February 2020

Discover how Dismorr and fellow members of the Rhythm group, Anne Estelle Rice, Ethel Wright, and Helen Saunders, engaged with modernist literature and radical politics through their art.

 

Cookham

Swan Upping at Cookham

Swan Upping at Cookham 1915–19

Stanley Spencer (1891–1959)

Tate

Painting by the Thames Swan Upping at Cookham | Stanley Spencer Gallery

From 7th November 2019 to 22nd March 2020

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the completion of one of the artist's most famous paintings, Swan Upping at Cookham, which is on loan to the gallery from Tate.

 

Eastbourne

Crosscut Rip Cut Column

Crosscut Rip Cut Column 2000

David Nash (b.1945)

Government Art Collection

David Nash: 200 Seasons | Towner Art Gallery

Until 2nd February 2020

A major survey of Nash's career from the late 1960s to the present day, exploring his unique contribution to British sculpture and the Land Art movement.

 

BRINK: Caroline Lucas curates the Towner Collection | Towner Art Gallery

From 23rd November 2019 to 10th May 2020

The Green Party MP selects from the collection's works, with choices reflecting her passions and interests, from her environmental work to issues of climate change and effects on our landscape.

 

Oxford

Monument

Monument 1976

Philip Guston (1913–1980)

Tate

Philip Guston: Locating the Image | Ashmolean Museum

From 23rd November 2019 to 8th March 2020

The acclaimed American artist Philip Guston has his first solo exhibition in Oxford, with works revealing the inspiration he drew from historical art and literature.

 

Cai Guo-Qiang: Gunpowder Art | Ashmolean Museum

Until 19th April 2020

Best-known for his gunpowder explosion events, see the significance behind the artist's materials, and how he adapts them to explore his own central themes of creation, destruction and chance.

 

Southampton

Beyond the Brotherhood: The Pre-Raphaelite Legacy | Southampton City Art Gallery

Until 1st February 2020

Follow the Pre-Raphaelite thread from its inception into the twenty-first century, and the movement's influence on artistic developments including realism, aestheticism, symbolism and art nouveau.

 

St Ives

Otobong Nkanga: From Where I Stand | Tate St Ives

Until 5th January 2020

The first UK museum show of the artist whose practice spans tapestry, drawing, photography, installation, video and performance.

 

Naum Gabo | Tate St Ives

From 25th January to 3rd May 2020

An extensive presentation of the constructivist artist's work, embodying his principle that authentically modern art should engage with and reflect the modern age.

 

Northern Ireland

Belfast

Temporary/Permanent | Ulster Museum

Until 10th November 2020

A photographic display to mark the 50th anniversary of the erection of the first Belfast peace wall, featuring photographs taken by Frankie Quinn over a period of 25 years.

 

Masterpieces of Dutch Landscape from the National Gallery of Ireland | Ulster Museum

Until 26th January 2020

Showcasing four outstanding examples of Dutch seventeenth-century landscape, including Hendrick Avercamp's Scene on the Ice, alongside related works from the Ulster Museum collection.

 

As Many Reps As Possible | Naughton Gallery at Queen's University Belfast

Until 1st December 2019

The worlds of sport and art collide, with works tackling issues around gender, sexuality, religion, class, politics, and diversity, all within a sports context.

 

Scotland

Aberdeen

Martin Parr: Think of Scotland | Aberdeen Art Gallery

From 2nd November 2019 to 23rd February 2020

The world-renowned photographer has been visiting Scotland for over 25 years, taking pictures the length and breadth of the country, with his characteristic twist, of course.

 

Cartomania: A Victorian Photographic Phenomenon | Aberdeen Maritime Museum

From 30th November 2019 to 11th April 2020

Relive the 'carte de visite' craze, the first form of affordable mass-produced photography popular with the public and royalty alike.

 

Edinburgh

Chinese Oracle Bones | National Museum of Scotland

Until 29th March 2020

A fortune in ancient divination tools, originally used as instruments to obtain guidance and divine insight from ancestors and deities.

 

The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1550–1750 | National Museum of Scotland

Until 26th January 2020

Take time to see the history of early British clockmaking, including exquisitely decorated pieces from the seventeenth century.

 

Sleeping

Sleeping 1986

Paula Figueiroa Rego (1935–2022)

Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

Paula Rego: Obedience and Defiance | The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

From 23rd November 2019 to 19th April 2020

An ambitious retrospective of the Portuguese artist's work that resonates strongly with contemporary feminist and political issues.

 

BP Portrait Award 2019 | Scottish National Portrait Gallery

From 7th December 2019 to 22nd March 2020

The most prestigious portrait painting competition in the world was this year won by Brighton-based artist Charlie Schaffer, for Imara in her Winter Coat, a portrait of his close friend.

  

Glasgow

Fiona Tan: Disorient | Gallery of Modern Art

Until 26th January 2020

An impressive two-screen video installation fills Gallery 1, combining a fictional staged scene, documentary footage, and spoken word to explore complex historical identities.

 

Linda McCartney Retrospective | Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Until 12th January 2020

A major photographic exhibition, curated by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, capturing iconic names and moments in music from the 1960s along with more intimate and emotional later works.

 

Alex Impey | Hunterian Art Gallery

From 15th November 2019 to 23rd February 2020

This solo show from the Glasgow-based artist features new sculptural works created from researching 'sacrificial' methods and structures in various forms of knowledge production.

 

Perth

ICONS II: Bellany  | Perth Museum and Art Gallery 

Venue: Perth Museum and Art Gallery

From 16th November 2019 to 31st May 2020

An exhibition celebrating the life of one of the most prolific and acclaimed Scottish artists of his generation, John Bellany. The exhibition brings together works from the artist's long career including The Boat Builders, The Bellany Family and Fishing Boat Poseidon in Harbour.

Wales

Aberystwyth

RECORD: Folk, Protest & Pop | The National Library of Wales

Until 1st February 2020

Hear how Wales' rich musical tradition began and developed over the centuries, from the crwth to Catatonia.

 

Flora McLachlan: Yng Nghoedwigoedd y Nos / In the Forests of the Night | Aberystwyth University School of Art Gallery

Until 22nd November 2019

Etchings and lithographs take us into the briar wood of the imagination, through its wild wastes on a quest for a glimpse of the elusive white hart.

 

Stuart Pearson Wright: Halfboy | Aberystwyth University School of Art Gallery

Until 22nd November 2019

Drawn from photographs and personal memories, this series of candid paintings chart the artist's attempt to reconstruct his childhood.

 

Caernarfon

Merched Chwarel Exhibition | National Slate Museum

Until 7th January 2020

Merched Chwarel is a group of four artists: Marged Pendrell, Jŵls Williams, Lisa Hudson and Lindsey Colbourne, whose work is connected to the quarries of North Wales where they each live and work.

 

Cardiff

The Fortress of Königstein from the North

The Fortress of Königstein from the North c.1756–1758

Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780)

The National Gallery, London

Imagine a Castle: Paintings from The National Gallery, London | National Museum Cardiff

From 28th January 2020 to 10th May 2020

See Bernardo Bellotto's The Fortress of Königstein from the North, plus five other of The National Gallery's European Old Master paintings featuring castles.

 

ARTIST ROOMS: August Sander | National Museum Cardiff

Until 1st March 2020

Over 80 photographs taken from Sander's project People of the Twentieth Century, which classifies individuals and groups of people according to profession and social class.

Alec Mackenzie, Project Officer at Art UK