The Courtauld Gallery Unveils Ambitious 2026 Exhibition Programme

London’s prestigious Courtauld Gallery has announced an impressive lineup of exhibitions for 2026, featuring three major shows that promise to attract art lovers from around the world to the capital.

The year will begin with a groundbreaking exhibition dedicated to Georges Seurat’s seascapes, opening February 13. “Seurat and the Sea” marks the first UK exhibition devoted to the French Post-Impressionist master in nearly three decades, bringing together 27 exceptional paintings, oil sketches and drawings that showcase his revolutionary Neo-Impressionist technique through maritime subjects.

The exhibition will feature works created during Seurat’s five summers spent along the northern French coast between 1885 and 1890, where he painted in port towns including Honfleur, Port-en-Bessin and Gravelines. The Courtauld holds the UK’s largest collection of Seurat’s works, making it the natural home for this rare opportunity to see the artist’s seascapes united in one location.

Summer will bring “Hepworth in Colour” (June 12 – September 6), the first exhibition to explore Barbara Hepworth’s lifelong fascination with color in sculpture. The show will unite approximately 20 of her most significant colored sculptures with 30 important drawings, highlighting an often-overlooked aspect of the celebrated British sculptor’s work. Many of the featured pieces from the 1940s – wood and stone carvings with vivid blues and yellows painted into hollows and curves – have never been shown together before.

The autumn programme features the European debut of New York-based painter Salman Toor with “Someone Like You” (October 2, 2026 – January 10, 2027). The Pakistani-born artist’s intimate paintings capture moments of love, friendship, solitude and alienation within queer and immigrant communities. The exhibition will include around 20 of his most significant canvases alongside a complementary display of drawings.

Beyond the major exhibitions, 2026 will see several notable displays in the gallery’s specialized spaces. The Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery will showcase landscape watercolors by British women artists working between 1760-1860, shedding light on largely overlooked contributors to the art world. A separate display will celebrate Studio Prints, the legendary London printmaking workshop that collaborated with artists including Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Paula Rego.

The Courtauld continues to demonstrate its commitment to both historical scholarship and contemporary relevance, with exhibitions that span from medieval wall paintings conservation to cutting-edge contemporary art. The gallery’s location in Somerset House makes it easily accessible to visitors exploring central London’s cultural offerings.

Currently on display until June 28, 2026, “The Barber in London” presents highlights from Birmingham’s Barber Institute, featuring masterpieces by Rossetti, Turner and Degas. Two new site-specific commissions by artist Rachel Jones will also be freely accessible in the gallery’s entrance areas.

The ambitious 2026 programme reinforces The Courtauld’s position as one of London’s premier art destinations, offering both art historians and casual visitors opportunities to encounter rare works and fresh perspectives on familiar masters.

Booking ahead is essential!