World-class art is everywhere you look when it comes to a trip to the capital.
Seeking out an iconic work or want to find the next big thing in the art world? It’s all on your doorstep in London.
This is all thanks to the city’s superb selection of galleries, home to centuries of world-class artworks, from Leonardos to Warhols, Turners to Turner Prize winners.
So if you’re looking for a serious art fix in London, these are the art galleries you need to have on your list.
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The National Gallery is the first place to go if you want to see work by some of the most famous artists from history. Nearly seven hundred years of work from the world’s greatest artists can be found here, including Leonardo, Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Vermeer, Rubens – seriously we could go on for a while. A wander from the The Wilton Diptych in the 14th century galleries to Pablo Picasso’s early works is both an intensely pleasant afternoon and a pretty consummate art history lesson.
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Another great one for name-dropping, but also for keeping your finger on the pulse. Tate Modern showcases work from 1900 onwards, which means modernist pioneers mix with work that’s happening right now. The addition of the Herzog de Meuron-designed building has made it both bigger and better, but the grand old Turbine Hall still has the power to strike awe into visitors, particularly when hosting one of its signature epic installations.
Nice view: The redesign took three years to complete Picture: Alex Lentati
Alex Lentati
You can see artists from all around the world in London, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about us Brits. Tate Britain is similarly era-spanning to its younger sister gallery, but focuses on homegrown talent. This means you can see works by the likes of landscape master Turner, members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, 20th century painters Freud and Bacon, as well as Turner Prize winners and nominees.
Rory Mulvey
It’s one of the country’s most celebrated gallery spaces, which is no small achievement seeing as that’s the Royal Academy’s side gig. The 250 year old RA started out as and continues to be a functioning art school, but is known to most for its world-class exhibitions. It doesn’t have its collection on permanent display, so puts all its oomph into blockbuster shows, ranging in recent years from an Ai Weiwei show to an exploration of abstract expressionism. And of course, the famous open submission Summer Exhibition is never one to miss.
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery
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London’s West End is pretty good for celeb spotting, but the easiest place to do this is probably at the National Portrait Gallery. It’s home to kings, queens, cultural juggernauts and sporting heroes – all in portrait form, of course – with a collection spanning over five hundred years of painting history.
After a three year, £41.3 million redevelopment The National Portrait Gallery reopened in June to rave reviews: “We’re seeing this great and, yes, complicated collection in a new light. And the new hang is beautifully judged,” said The Standard.
The gallery has shifted its focus to better present modern Britain: “We serve Britain, we’re funded in part by the British people, and we also serve an international audience; it’s our duty to represent that. And that includes diversifying the collection in all senses, and achieving gender balance,” said director Nicholas Cullinan.
St. Martin’s Place, Covent Garden, WC2H 0HE, npg.org.uk
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As part of one of the biggest arts centres in Europe, the Barbican’s art gallery is known for pushing the boundaries with brilliant shows. As well as this kudos, it has a reputation for bringing artists and subjects on the outskirts of modern art history to a wider audience through incisive exhibitions. Recent shows have included retrospectives on Carolee Schneemann, Dorothea Lange, Lee Krasner, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The Wallace Collection
Not so much a gallery as an art-filled time portal, this considerable collection of 18th and 19th century fine art and design at Hertford House is the work of Sir Richard Wallace and his ancestors. Paintings in the collection include works by Rembrandt, Fragonard, Rubens, Canaletto, Velazquez and the wonderful Laughing Cavalier by Franz Hals.
The South London Gallery, which was founded in 1891, has now evolved into one of London’s most forward looking and exciting gallery spaces. Made up of two sites – their main building and Peckham’s converted fire station, which was annexed in 2018 – the contemporary gallery is dedicated to presenting new work from both established and lesser-known British and international artists.
South London Gallery also happens to have a wonderful café attached (which is open to 6pm most evenings), as well as a serene garden, which was designed by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and which is open on the weekends.
A little bit of history for you here: Dulwich Picture Gallery is the world’s very first purpose-built public art gallery. Sir John Soane was the legendary architect who worked on it, designing it in a groundbreaking way that allowed oodles of natural light into the exhibition space. Under its roof you’ll find works by Old Masters of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Rembrandt, Murillo, Van Dyck, Poussin, Gainsborough and Constable.
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Art fans were a very happy bunch when the Hayward Gallery reopened its doors in early 2018 after two years off, and were even happier when things kicked off with an exhibition by large scale photographer Andreas Gursky. The Brutalist building focuses largely on contemporary art with the occasional nod to its modernist roots, and its exhibition programme is diverse as group shows on gender identity and retrospectives on major artists like Bridget Riley.
2007 John Offenbach
With its Serpentine Pavilion created by a different architect or designer each year, this is a gallery that has a tendency to extend its love for contemporary art outside its walls and into the surrounding park. The rolling exhibition programme always features a huge range of some of the most cutting edge names in contemporary art, showcasing work across all disciplines from video art to architecture.
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For many years the East End has been a hub for artists and Whitechapel Gallery has been there for over a hundred of them. Its focus, however, is largely on what’s happening now and next. Although it’s not averse to a 20th century artists’ retrospective, its links with London’s working artist community is strong and ongoing, so it’s a great place to find work by new artists on their way to becoming household names.
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Everyone recognises the name of this groundbreaking London gallery, which is responsible for launching the careers of many young artists. The Saatchi Gallery is probably best known for its role of buying up a load of the YBA’s (Young British Artists) work in the Nineties – but it’s still captivating London’s art lovers with challenging contemporary art exhibitions to this day.
The Photographers’ Gallery
The Photographers’ Gallery at 16-18 Ramillies Street 2012/Kate Elliott, Courtesy of The Photographers’ Gallery
If you’re looking for some cultural respite from the retail cacophony on Oxford Street, it doesn’t get much better than a trip to the Photographers’ Gallery. If you’re a dab hand with the ‘gram, then a trip to the biggest gallery in the UK dedicated to photography is highly recommended with exhibitions showcasing contemporary developments and explorations of the medium’s past.
Located just off Regent Street, Hauser & Wirth is one of Central London’s coolest exhibition spaces. The gallery’s next exhibition, opening on February 1, is by contemporary artist Günther Förg Tupfenbilder. Highly-acclaimed, but not yet a household name, he makes thought-provoking and visually exciting conceptual work. Recent London exhibitions include painter Amy Sherald (best known here for her official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama), influential sculptor Larry Bell and Venezuelan-born American painter Luchita Hurtado.
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)
Despite being located just off The Mall, the ICA has carved out a spot for itself as a home for London’s radical art and culture. As well as putting on exhibitions, it has a packed evening events schedule which includes parties, film screenings, talks, book launches, workshops and alternative performances that you’d be hard pressed to find at many other galleries this central in London.
The Mall, St. James’s, London SW1Y 5AH, ica.art
Since its foundation in 1993, the White Cube has gone from being the small spot in Hoxton that launched the career of half a dozen of the YBA set, to a major blue chip gallery with spaces all over the world, representing big name international artists including Michael Armitage, Tracey Emin and Anselm Kiefer. The Bermondsey space – absolutely a set of white cubes, with polished concrete floors – is so swish that it feels like a public museum, just without the cafe. Recent artists shown both here and in the St James space at Mason’s Yard, have included Bram Bogart, David Altmejd, Liu Wei and Rachel Kneebone.
Isaac Julien, The Lady of the Lake (Lessons of the Hour), 2019
Isaac Julien. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
This Islington spot, opened by art dealer Victoria Miro in 1985, benefits from her immaculate taste, with exhibitions coming from celebrated artists such as Grayson Perry and Idris Khan, Francesca Woodman, Alice Neel (soon to be the subject of a major show at the Barbican), Yayoi Kusama and Isaac Julien (soon to be the subject of, erm, a major show at Tate Britain). Miro would often discover artists at the Royal College of Art and apparently moved into the area shortly after the White Cube made it hip, definitely bringing a touch of class.
Untitled (NRAL 2 from Ray’s a Laugh) , 1994, Richard Billingham
© Richard Billingham / Courtesy Centre for British Photography, London
This brand new three floor and 8,000 square feet space is set to be the go-to London destination for photography made in Britain. Drawing on the Hyman Collection, a privately owned collection now made available to the public, current exhibitions include an exploration of British homes in the 20th century, and Headstrong: Women and Empowerment, which has been curated by advocacy group Fast Forward: Women in Photography.