London
Frida: The Making of an Icon
25 June 2026 - 3 January 2027
Tate Modern
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Untitled [Self-portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird], 1940. Oil on canvas mounted to board. Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art, 66.6. Harry Ransom Center.
This summer, Tate Modern will present the first major exhibition to explore how Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) became a global icon and a key influence on a generation of artists. Through the lens of the artists she impacted and her own extraordinary work, Frida: The Making of an Icon will trace Kahlo’s extraordinary rise from a relatively unknown painter to a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this landmark show will examine how Kahlo’s art and life have inspired generations of artists across diverse media, movements and communities around the world.
For the first time in the UK in over two decades, visitors will be able to experience the full breadth of Frida Kahlo’s evolution. Rarely seen self-portraits will be amongst over 30 works by Kahlo, exhibited alongside photographs and personal artefacts. Building on Tate Modern’s 2005 survey show, this exhibition goes further by demonstrating Frida’s impact on art history, presenting her work in dialogue with modern and contemporary artists from across the globe who have drawn influence from her aesthetic, identity and biography. Together they reveal how Kahlo’s story continues to be reimagined and reclaimed by new generations, cementing her place as one of the most influential figures in the history of art.
More www.tate.org.uk
Copyright Text: Tate Modern London
Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait
4 June - 6 September 2026
National Portrait Gallery
In celebration of the Hollywood star’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait explores the life, career and legacy of Marilyn Monroe through portraits created by some of the greatest photographers and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Bringing together works by Andy Warhol, Pauline Boty, Marlene Dumas, James Gill, Rosalyn Drexler and Audrey Flack, alongside over 20 era-defining photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Philippe Halsman, Bernard of Hollywood, André de Dienes, Eve Arnold, Inge Morath, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Milton Greene, Sam Shaw, Richard Avedon and George Barris, the exhibition foregrounds Monroe’s collaborative approach to image making and her creative agency.
The exhibition also includes personal belongings such as scripts and clothes to enrich understanding of the woman behind the image.
From the earliest ‘cheesecake’ pin-ups made when she was a young model named Norma-Jeane, to the most poignant final photographs taken on the beach in Santa Monica in 1962, Marilyn Monroe was one of the most photographed people in the world. A defining presence in popular culture, she captivated audiences with performances in much loved films such as Some Like it Hot.
In the 1950s and 60s, Marilyn Monroe’s popularity secured her starring roles in the work of artists including Richard Hamilton, Pauline Boty and Andy Warhol, whose ‘Marilyn’ portraits are among the most highly prized works of art in the world. She continues to fascinate artists, drawn to her iconic presence and fascinating life.
More www.npg.org.uk
Copyright Text: National Portrait Gallery
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
28 March – 8 November 2026
Victoria and Albert Museum
In March 2026, the V&A will open the first exhibition ever staged in the UK devoted to
Schiaparelli. Spanning the 1920s to the present day, the exhibition charts the history
and impact of one of the 20th century’s most innovative fashion designers, Elsa
Schiaparelli. The show will trace the origins of the house, from its first, paradigm-
shifting garments, through to its present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative
director, Daniel Roseberry.
Featuring new research undertaken by art and fashion curators focused on the creative
collaborations and output of founder Elsa Schiaparelli, the exhibition places her at the
nexus of innovation, a key figure within a stellar sphere of fashion, art and performance
which spanned the cities of Paris, London, and New York in the years between the two
world wars and up to her retirement in 1954. It will highlight the history of a female
entrepreneur and showcase her celebrated, yet little-seen garments from the history
of fashion. The exhibition will be the first of its kind to spotlight the London branch of
Schiaparelli, its dynamic and independent clients and the founder’s own involvement in
the satellite location.
Copyright Text: V&A
David Hockney
A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting
12th March – 23rd August 2026
At Serpentine North Gallery
Press View © Patricia Sigerist
Serpentine is honoured to present an exhibition of new and recent works by David Hockney at
Serpentine North from 12 March to 23 August 2026 . T he exhibition will showcase a series of
new paintings for Serpentine alongside the artist’s monumental frieze A Year in Normandie
(2020 - 2021), on view in London for the first time. Admission will be free to the exhibition
which marks the artist’s first presentation at Serpentine.
The exhibition unveils a new body of work by the celebrated British artist, comprising five still
life s alongside five portraits that depict members of the artist’s close circle, including his family
and carers. These paintings are united by their frontal composition and by the recurring motif of
a gingham tablecloth that provides the setting for each composition. In these new works Hockney
combines abstract and figurative modes of representation. For the artist, all figurative painting is inherently abstract, so long as it exists upon a flat surface. Accompanying the
exhibition, Serpentine will present a large -scale printed mural by David Hockney in the garden at Serpentine North . The work highlights a scene from A Year in Normandie’s spring cycle depicting
a tree house. The monumental digital print will be displayed at
the back of the North Gallery , echoing its creation in David Hockney ’s own garden in Normandy.
More www.serpentinegalleries.org
Copyright Text: Serpentine Galleries