London Art Guide January 2026.
- Rebecca Lethbridge
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
As we approach the middle of January 2026 it’s time to see what art exhibitions the New Year has to offer. From J.M.W Turner and Georgia O'Keffee to Jessica Rankin there is something for everyone. Why not plan an inspiring and nice day out in London with friends and family to visit both major and smaller galleries to see these artists' work?
Tate Modern: ‘Turner & Constable Rivals & Originals’ (Until 12th April 2026).
J.M.W. Turner and John Constable were two of Britain’s greatest landscape painters and fierce rivals, born just a year apart. Coming from very different backgrounds, both were driven to transform landscape painting, developing bold but contrasting styles—Turner with dramatic, light-filled scenes and Constable with deeply personal, natural views of familiar places.
This exhibition, marking 250 years since their births, explores their rivalry, lives, and lasting influence. Featuring over 170 works, including major masterpieces, it offers new insights into both artists through paintings, drawings, and personal materials[i].
Members of Tate Modern can enter for free. For non-members standard admission is £24, children aged 12-18 is £5, under 12s are free, 16–25-year-olds are £5.
White Cube: Jessica Rankin (28th January – 28th February 2026).
White Cube hosts a solo exhibition by New York–based artist Jessica Rankin, featuring new embroidered paintings and works on paper. Drawing on personal memory alongside references to politics, history, literature, and poetry, Rankin blends geometric and organic forms. Her compositions bring together paint marks, flowing gestures, and stitched lines, forming layered patterns that suggest expansive landscapes and cosmic spaces[ii].
Gerald Moore Gallery: ‘Georgia O’Keeffe: Memories of Drawings’ (15th January 2026 – 14th February 2026).
Georgia O’Keeffe was a major figure in 20th-century American art, celebrated for her unique blend of abstraction and representation. Her paintings of flowers, bones, landscapes, and city scenes captured her surroundings in new ways and helped break new ground for women artists.
Drawing was central to O’Keeffe’s practice and creative renewal. This exhibition features 21 photogravures of her drawings from 1915 to 1963, tracing key ideas and early abstract works that defined her development as a leading modern artist[iii].
The National Gallery: ‘By the Dawn’s Early Light’ (Until 15th February 2026).
‘By the Dawn’s Early Light’ is an exhibition about artist Edwin Austin Abbey, originally from Philadelphia in the US, who moved to the UK in 1878 and was based in Gloucestershire. Edwin Austin Abbey’s ‘The Hours’ is a monumental late-career work and his final major achievement, created as a ceiling mural for the Pennsylvania State Capitol. This piece was produced in his Gloucestershire studio during a period of American cultural ambition, before being shipped to the US. The painting depicts allegorical female figures representing the hours, arranged in a circular, celestial composition that transitions from day to night. Preparatory sketches show Abbey’s careful planning, and the work renews appreciation for this once-celebrated American artist[iv].
This exhibition is free to all visitors.
The National Gallery: ‘Wright of Derby: From the Shadows’ (Until 10th May 2026).
Joseph Wright of Derby was known for his dramatic use of light and shadow, especially in his ‘candlelight’ scenes. This exhibition brings together his most important works in this style, showing people gathered around scientific instruments, sculptures, animals, and natural objects, their faces lit amongst deep shadows to create a sense of drama.
While often linked to the Enlightenment and ideas of progress and discovery, the exhibition shows that Wright’s paintings also explore deeper and darker themes. Through his night scenes, he raises questions about curiosity, observation, morality, emotion, and the mystery of the natural world, offering a fuller and more complex understanding of his art and the time in which he worked[v].
Members of The National Gallery can enter for free. For non-members standard admission is £10 (off-peak, Sunday-Thursday) or £14 (Friday and Saturday).
The National Gallery: ‘Radical Harmony’ (Until 8th February 2026).
We now have a reminder about the ‘Radical Harmony’ Exhibition which I mentioned in my September Guide. The exhibition is currently still on display at The National Gallery until 8th February 2026, which is in collaboration with the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. This exhibition is the gallery’s first ever exhibition that is specifically dedicated to the Neo-Impressionists, which features work by artists Seurat, Van Gogh, Signac, Pissarro, and many more. Neo-impressionist artists typically paint lots of small dots, known as pointillism, which when viewed from a distance create ‘nuanced tones and an illusion of light’. Typically, the aim of their work was to capture what society was like during the late 19th-century through painting luminous landscapes, interior scenes and portraits, which often depicted the challenges many working class people faced against the industrial age. The majority of the works in the exhibition have been collected by Helene Kröller-Müller, who is considered to be ‘one of the first great women art patrons of the 20th century’, with the hope of them being accessible to the public[vi].
Members of The National Gallery can enter for free. For non-members standard admission is £20 (off-peak, Sunday-Thursday) or £27 (Friday and Saturday).
Royal Academy of Arts: ‘Kerry James Marshall: The Histories’ (Until 18th January 2026).
Next up is a reminder about the ‘Kerry James Marshall: The Histories’ exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. This exhibition is open from 20th September 2025 until 18th January 2026. Explore the work of African American artist Kerry James Marshall who is known for his vibrant large-scale paintings which focus on ‘Black figures and histories long excluded from Western art’. His work is embedded with connections to science fiction, civil rights, art history, comics and personal memory, and often invites the viewer to consider what the past was like and also consider a hopeful future. This exhibition, exhibiting 70 works, is the largest exhibition showcasing Marshall’s work that has ever taken place in Europe[vii].
Tate Modern: ‘Theatre Picasso’ (Until 12th April 2026).
We also have the ‘Theatre Picasso’ exhibition at Tate Modern. This exhibition, curated by contemporary artist Wu Tsang and curator Enrique Fuenteblance, celebrates 100 years of his famous painting ‘The Three Dancers’. Picasso was always intrigued by performers and one’s ability to transform. This exhibition showcases 45 of Picasso’s work, including paintings, textiles, sculpture, works on paper, and some works that have never been seen before in the UK. Picasso created a public image of himself as both a famous artist and an outsider. This can be understood through the idea of performativity—how actions and words shape identity. He was always interested in different ways of living and the tension between mainstream culture and the avant-garde. This image stayed with him throughout his life and still influences how we think about artists today[viii].
I hope you enjoyed this London Art Guide – Stay Tuned for more!
References:
[i] Tate. (n.d.). Turner & Constable | Tate Britain. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/turner-and-constable
[ii] Jessica Rankin, Mason’s Yard (2026) | White Cube. (2025, December 18). White Cube. https://www.whitecube.com/gallery-exhibitions/jessica-rankin-masons-yard-2026
[iii] Georgia O’Keeffe: Memories of Drawings. (n.d.). https://www.newexhibitions.com/e/67771
[iv] The National Gallery, London. (n.d.). Edwin Austin Abbey: By the Dawn’s Early Light | Exhibitions | National Gallery, London. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/edwin-austin-abbey-by-the-dawn-s-early-light
[v] The National Gallery, London. (n.d.-b). Wright of Derby: From the Shadows | Exhibitions | National Gallery, London. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/wright-of-derby-from-the-shadows
[vi] The National Gallery, London. “Radical Harmony: Neo-Impressionists | Exhibitions | National Gallery, London,” n.d. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/radical-harmony-neo-impressionists.
[vii] Art Fund. “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,” September 20, 2025. https://www.artfund.org/explore/exhibitions/2025/09/20/kerry-james-marshall-the-histories.
[viii] Tate. “Theatre Picasso | Tate Modern,” n.d. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/theatre-picasso.
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