From major retrospectives to bold new commissions, these are the must-see shows defining autumn 2025, hand-picked by our editors.
1. Kerry James Marshall: The Histories
Kerry James Marshall: The Histories (Royal Academy, until 18 January 2026) is the largest exhibition of the American artist’s work ever shown outside the US. Marshall’s bold, vivid paintings centre Black life and history, building upon the Western tradition of portraiture to include those once left out. Ambitious and triumphant, this is one of the season’s unmissable shows.
See also: Kerry James Marshall: Writing a New History
2. Wayne Thiebaud. American Still Life
Another great American painter, Wayne Thiebaud: American Still Life (The Courtauld, until 19 January 2026) is the first major UK exhibition dedicated to the pop pioneer. Thiebaud’s bright, textured paintings of pies, gumball machines and diner counters turn everyday objects into something luminous and full of feeling, and distinctly American.
See also: 8 Artworks to Inspire You to Cook
3. Lee Miller
Building on the momentum of last year’s celebrations of Surrealism’s centenary, Lee Miller (Tate Britain, until 15 February 2026) is the most extensive retrospective of the photographer’s work ever staged in the UK with around 250 works on display. Miller’s remarkable career took her from model to Surrealist artist to war correspondent, capturing everything from Parisian avant-garde circles to the battlefields of Europe.
4. Theatre Picasso
Over at Tate Modern, Theatre Picasso (until 12 April 2026) marks the centenary of Picasso’s The Three Dancers with a unique exhibition exploring the artist’s fascination with performers. Staged by contemporary artist Wu Tsang and curator Enrique Fuenteblanca, the show presents over 45 works, including paintings, sculpture, and textiles.
5. Radical Harmony: Neo-Impressionists
Radical Harmony: Neo-Impressionists (National Gallery, until 8 February 2026) brings together one of the world’s most important collections of Neo-Impressionist art. Most of the paintings exhibited were collected by Helene Kröller-Müller, one of the first major female art patrons of the 20th century. The show features some of pointillism’s greatest exponents, including Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Anna Boch and Henri-Edmond Cross, active in late 19th-century Europe.
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6. Marie Antoinette Style
Marie Antoinette Style (V&A South Kensington, until 22 March 2026) is the first UK exhibition dedicated to the French queen and her lasting impact on fashion and design. Featuring around 250 objects, including rare loans from Versailles, the show presents personal items such as her silk slippers and jewels alongside contemporary couture by Dior, Chanel, and Vivienne Westwood to explore how her style has been reinterpreted over time.
See also: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun's Portraits of Marie Antoinette
7. Peter Doig: House of Music
Peter Doig: House of Music (Serpentine, until 8 February 2026) presents new paintings by British artist Peter Doig, who has worked between London and Trinidad for much of his career. The exhibition pairs recent canvases with a rare analogue sound system playing music from Doig’s own collection. Conceived as a multi-sensory experience, it traces the influence of music, film and shared listening in his practice: dancers, musicians and musical spaces appear across the paintings, shown alongside an extensive archive of vinyl and cassette recordings.
8. Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures
Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures (Southbank Centre, until 11 January 2026) is a major exhibition by the pioneering London-based duo, featuring over 60 large-scale installations that document modern life, from newspaper headlines to overheard conversations. The show traces their evolution over the past 25 years, debuting two new works from 2025’s Screw Pictures alongside key series created since 2000.
See also: The 11 Most Expensive Photographers
9. Mona Hatoum
Mona Hatoum | Encounters: Giacometti (Barbican, until 11 January 2026) brings together works by contemporary artist Mona Hatoum with sculptures by Alberto Giacometti. Hatoum's work, which explores issues of displacement, marginalisation, and social control, is paired with her selection of Giacometti’s iconic 20th-century sculptures of the human form.
10. Sean Scully: Mirroring
Another dialogue exhibition, Sean Scully: Mirroring (Estorick Collection, until 23 November 2025) pairs work by Irish-born artist Sean Scully with etchings and drawings by Italian master Giorgio Morandi. The exhibition features 20 works by Scully from 1964 to the present alongside a dozen Morandi pieces, highlighting Scully’s progression from early representation to abstraction and back to figuration, echoing Morandi’s own artistic journey. Also at the Estorick, Ketty La Rocca: you you (until 21 December 2025) is the first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Italian conceptual and feminist artist Ketty La Rocca (1938–1976).
