London exhibitions to visit - September 2026

The best London exhibitions to visit this month

There are some exciting new openings this month as museums launch their autumn schedules including the British Museum's sell out Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.

Don't worry if you didn't get tickets or don't have time to see these shows, we have the accompanying exhibition catalogues, so you can enjoy the works and the themes explored in the shows from the comfort of your home.

1) James McNeill Whistler
Runs until 27 September at Tate Britain
Tickets from £24 (concessions available).

This show is a rare chance to explore the full range of Whistler’s work. Visitors can see his paintings, drawings, prints and designs, including the iconic Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (known as Whistler's Mother) borrowed from the Musée d'Orsay and the largest ever the largest-ever assembly of Whistler’s celebrated Nocturnes.

Nocturne: Blue and Silver – Chelsea 1871. Oil on mahogany panel, 50.2 x 60.8 cm.
Tate, London

The exhibition catalogue

Edited by the curator of British Art at the Tate Britain, Carol Jacobi, the official exhibition publication offers a broad and comprehensive exploration of the artist's work.

Richly illustrated throughout, the catalogue features a comprehensive range of Whistler’s world-famous paintings alongside rarely seen works including his sensitive portraits, his atmospheric nocturnes and previously unseen sketchbooks. 

Also included are contributions from a score of researchers and scholars exploring different aspects of Whistler’s life and work including his printmaking and painting techniques, and his role in shaping modern artistic identity and self-promotion and his his revolutionary approach to interior and exhibition design.

The catalogue is available for sale at Museum Bookstore.

2) Henry Moore: Monumental Nature at Kew Gardens

Running until 31 January 2027
Price included with entry to the gardens

Moore believed that varied landscapes were the ideal setting to showcase his pieces. The Kew exhibition is the perfect opportunity to see his work where he felt it belongs.

This is  the largest outdoor exhibition of Moore’s work ever presented, here is a show that will reward repeat visits as the seasons change.

Each sculpture has been carefully positioned to respond to that specific area of landscape. The sculptures featured include some of Moore’s most iconic bronze pieces, such as Large Two Forms, Sheep Piece, Oval with Points, Locking Piece and Reclining Woman: Elbow.  

30 sculptures are set throughout Kew Gardens. These are paired with a display of  some 70 works on paper, models, and smaller pieces in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. 

The exhibition catalogue

Published by Kew Gardens and edited by Lauri Bruni, the catalogue is a fitting companion to the landmark exhibition.

Through some 100 reproductions and insightful essays, the publication explores how nature shaped the imagination of one of Britain’s greatest sculptors – from the curves of bones and stones to the quiet power of the landscape.

Eight essays from a diverse panel of curators and horticulturists explore themes such as the foundational relationship between Moore and nature; the synergies between botanical illustration and Moore’s work and Moore's fascination with he artistry of nature at a microscopic level.

Available to purchase at Museum Bookstore.

3) The Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum

10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027
Admission £33 (concessions available)
Sold out until 31 December. Ticket sales reopen later this year.

The biggest exhibition opening this month and one of the most anticipated cultural moments of the year, the Bayeux Tapestry will be on display at the British Museum.

Guy of Ponthieu captures Harold after his landing in Normandy. Photo © La Fabrique de patrimoines en Normandie / Antoine Cazin.

The 70-metre-long cloth has not been seen in England since it was created some 900 years ago. One of the wonders of the medieval world, the Tapestry offers a vision of life in 11th-century England both before and after the Conquest, from castles, warfare and ships to clothing, food and furniture.

The exhibition is sold out until the end of December and was so popular that it generated 9 hour online queues on the day tickets were launched. If you missed out on this round, there will be two other releases in October and January for the remainder of the tapestry’s historic stay in Britain, which runs until July 2027.  

The exhibition catalogues

Foldout edition

This 62 page book presents features a continuous full-colour fold-out reproduction of the Tapestry from start to finish in a concertina format. Recommended for anyone wanting a visual scroll of the artwork itself.

4) Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A
Runs to 8 November
Admission from £28 (concessions available)

You have a few weeks left to catch the first exhibition ever staged in the UK devoted to the surrealist fashion designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. This lavish show traces the origins of Schiaparelli in the 1920s through to its present-day incarnation.

'Elsa Schiaparelli designed clothes to be witty, not just pretty, and that lively spirit runs through this show. A shoe becomes a hat, bones grow on the outside of a dress, a telephone dial becomes a compact mirror' - The Guardian

There are some 400 objects on display: including 100 ensembles and 50 artworks (by artists including Salvador Dalí, Picasso and Man Ray), as well as accessories, jewellery, photographs, perfumes and buttons,. Highlights include the 1938 “Bare Bones’ Skeleton dress, the shoe hat and the 2021 lung dress designed by the existing Creative Director, Daniel Roseberry.

Exhibition catalogue