"The National Portrait Gallery has been on an absolute roll over the last couple of years, not only opening its swanky new £35 million Blavatnik Wing back in summer 2023, but curating some truly unmissable temporary exhibitions since. And now, following on from last year's fabulous Francis Bacon show, and this year's brilliant offerings on 80s pop culture bible The Face Magazine and British painter Jenny Saville, the Trafalgar Square gallery has announced yet more bangers for its 2026 season."
"The year kicks off with the already-announced Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting (Feb 12-May 3), the first major UK exhibition focusing on the celebrated British portrait artist's works on paper. Encompassing drawings in pencil, pen, ink and charcoal, as well as etchings and a small selection of paintings that reveal the dialogue between Freud's practice on paper and canvas, the exhibition will feature a selection of recent acquisitions including an etched portrait of his daughter, the fashion designer Bella Freud."
"Next up in the gallery's 2026 schedule is the first major UK exhibition on Catherine Opie, the American photographer best known for her stylised, painterly portraits of queer communities that explore themes of belonging and identity. Catherine Opie: To Be Seen (Mar 5-May 31) will span the Ohio-born artist's three-decade career, from her first major series Being and Having (1991) to later photographs of children, surfers, high school footballers and political crowds and her self-portraits."
The National Portrait Gallery opened the £35 million Blavatnik Wing in summer 2023 and continues to mount high-profile temporary exhibitions. The 2026 programme begins with Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting (Feb 12–May 3), a major UK show of drawings, etchings and select paintings including recent acquisitions such as an etched portrait of Bella Freud. Catherine Opie: To Be Seen (Mar 5–May 31) surveys the Ohio-born photographer's three-decade career and explores belonging and identity through portraits of queer communities, children, surfers, athletes, crowds and self-portraits. A Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait blockbuster is scheduled for summer.
Read at Time Out London
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