27 Best Museums in the World for Art, History, and Cultural Wonders

This article from Travel + Leisure lists 27 of the best museums in the world, covering art, history, science, and culture. Featured institutions include the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Vatican Museums, the National Museum of China in Beijing, the National Gallery and Tate Modern in London, the Natural History Museum in London, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Miraikan in Tokyo. The piece highlights iconic artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling, as well as notable architectural features like I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre.

Brancusi

The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, in cooperation with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has opened the first major exhibition of sculptor Constantin Brancusi in Germany in over 50 years. Featuring more than 150 works—including sculptures, photographs, drawings, films, and archival materials—the show presents key pieces such as "The Kiss," "Bird in Space," "Sleeping Muse," and "Endless Column," alongside a partial reconstruction of Brancusi's legendary studio, shown outside Paris for the first time since its bequest to the French state in 1957.

Art Fund launches UK-wide touring programme

Art Fund has launched a UK-wide touring programme called Going Places, backed by £5.36 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Julia Rausing Trust. The first exhibition, *Making Her Mark: A Celebration of Women in Art*, opened at Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance, featuring over 60 works from three museum collections alongside community responses. It will travel to Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum and Kirkcaldy Gallery through 2027. The programme plans 12 major touring shows over five years, with six already scheduled, including exhibitions on green spaces, journeys, radical living, art and nature, and community making.

Zurbarán at the National Gallery - an unmissable show of baroque genius

The National Gallery in London presents a landmark exhibition of Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), the first major retrospective of the Spanish Baroque master in Britain. In collaboration with the Louvre and the Art Institute of Chicago, the gallery has assembled over 40 works from institutions worldwide, including Seville and San Diego. The show features Zurbarán's electrifying religious paintings and radiant still lifes, displayed in darkened galleries that echo the chiaroscuro of his compositions. Highlights include the shattering *The Crucifixion* (1627) and *Saint Peter Nolasco's Vision of Saint Peter the Apostle* (1629), which demonstrate his hyper-real, sculptural approach to sacred subjects.

When Fashion Meets the Body, Can a Whole Museum Come Alive?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will open its latest fashion exhibition, "Costume Art," in a new gallery space adjacent to the Great Hall, formerly the museum's gift shop. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show features 400 objects from the permanent collection, organized thematically around the dressed body—exploring the naked, classical, anatomical, and mortal body—rather than chronologically. The exhibition aims to connect artistic representations of the body with fashion as an embodied art form.

Cole evolution featured in inaugural exhibition

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, has opened a new exhibition titled “Thomas Cole: An American Visionary,” which marks the debut of the Richard Sharp Gallery in the historic 1815 Main House. The exhibition features 16 original paintings by Thomas Cole, along with drawings, sketches, and studio objects that trace the artist’s development and influence. It explores Cole’s evolution into an internationally recognized artist, his connection to the Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley, and his role in shaping a visual identity for the young United States, while also highlighting his mentorship of Frederic Church. The gallery was funded and inspired by collector Richard “Rick” Sharp, who donated the centerpiece work “Diagram of Contrasts” to the site’s permanent collection.

Francis Alÿs at MAMU: A Global Portrait of Childhood Through Play

The Banco de la República has opened a new exhibition at the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU) in Bogotá titled "Francis Alÿs, juegxs de niñxs 1999–2025." Featuring 27 video works from the Belgian-born, Mexico-based artist's long-running series documenting children's games worldwide, the show opened on April 23 at El Parqueadero and the second floor of MAMU. Curated by Cuauhtémoc Medina and Virginia Roy, the exhibition includes footage from Afghanistan, India, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Colombia, where a new work filmed in the Amazon with the Arara community is featured.

The Female Artists To See at This Year's Venice Biennale

The 61st Venice Biennale returns amid controversy, including calls to exclude Israel, scrutiny over Russia's participation, and the reinstatement of Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi. Despite the political tensions, the exhibition will feature a strong lineup of female artists, from established names like Marina Abramović and Jenny Saville to emerging voices such as Maja Malou Lyse, who becomes the youngest artist to represent Denmark. The 2026 edition also introduces dedicated spaces for Black and Indigenous artists for the first time, with works exploring themes from male fertility to patriarchal violence and resilience.

New Perspectives: "Roy Lichtenstein in the Studio"

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center have jointly opened "Roy Lichtenstein in the Studio," a landmark two-venue exhibition celebrating the pop artist's centennial. Organized by curators Dr. Catherine Craft, Ade Omotosho, and Dr. Emily Friedman, the show features over 50 works gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, which is closing its operations. The exhibition marks the first collaboration between the neighboring institutions since "Matisse as Sculptor" nearly 20 years ago, and includes prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures that establish Dallas as a study center for Lichtenstein's work.

Review: Manet-Morisot exhibition is a deep dive into artistic ways of seeing, making

The Cleveland Museum of Art's spring exhibition examines the artistic relationship between 19th-century French Impressionist painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, showcasing 36 paintings and seven works on paper. Organized by curator Emily Beeny of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the show is the first to closely analyze how the two artists influenced each other, correcting the historical record that long positioned Manet as the dominant figure while undervaluing Morisot's contributions. Through side-by-side juxtapositions, the exhibition reveals that Manet may have taken more from Morisot than she from him, highlighting their collaborative and competitive dialogue over 15 years.

Scene Calendar: Harn exhibit on Florida, 'Million Dollar Quarter' at Hipp

The article is a scene calendar listing upcoming events in the Gainesville, Florida area, including art exhibitions and a theatrical production. Key visual art events include the Santa Fe College Student Juried Art Exhibition, the Santa Fe Springs Plein Air Paintout, the Gainesville Fine Arts Association's 'NEXT: High School and College Juried Exhibition', and the Harn Museum of Art's exhibition 'Florida in the Frame: A Century of Artists’ Reflections on the Sunshine State', which features works by Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Florida Highwaymen painters. The calendar also lists non-visual-art events such as the Levitt AMP Alachua Music Series and the Hippodrome Theatre's production of 'Million Dollar Quartet'.

Bizarre robot dogs sporting Musk, Zuckerberg heads torment visitors in Berlin museum — as part of creepy influencer exhibit

A pack of robot dogs fitted with hyper-realistic silicone heads of tech billionaires and cultural icons—including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol—is now on display at the New National Gallery in Berlin as part of the traveling interactive exhibit "Regular Animals." Created by American artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), the cyborg canines wander aimlessly and defecate AI-generated images in the style of the celebrity head they wear. The exhibit previously appeared in Miami and San Francisco.

Zurbarán at the National Gallery is more agony than ecstasy

The article reviews the exhibition 'Zurbarán' at the National Gallery in London, arguing that the show fails to capture the spiritual intensity and emotional power of the Spanish Baroque painter's work. It criticizes the curatorial choices, suggesting the display feels flat and lacks the ecstatic religious fervor that defines Zurbarán's best paintings, leaving viewers with a sense of agony rather than transcendence.

In Pictures: Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline open Monaco Art Week 2026

Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Hanover opened the 8th edition of Monaco Art Week on Monday evening at the New National Museum of Monaco. The event, running until May 1, transforms the Principality into an open-air art trail with fourteen participating venues, including Artcurial, Sotheby's, Almine Rech Gallery, and the Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, spread across La Condamine, Monte-Carlo, and Larvotto. The royal siblings toured the current exhibition "The Feeling of Nature," which explores works from Nicolas Poussin to contemporary art, featuring painting, sculpture, jewellery, and design. The week will culminate with the opening of the Art Monte-Carlo fair at the Grimaldi Forum, marking its 10th edition under the artistic direction of Stefano Rabolli Pansera.

Music & Maker's Night with “Get Surreal (A Surreal Lens)” Tour, May 14

The Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, is hosting a Music & Maker's Night on May 14, featuring a guided tour of the exhibition "Get Surreal (A Surreal Lens)" led by Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson. The event includes an art-making activity and live music in the museum's Quad City Bank & Trust Grand Lobby. The exhibition explores how photographers from the earliest days of the medium have used techniques like montage, double exposure, and digital manipulation to distort reality and create dreamlike imagery, featuring works by artists such as Alan Cohen, György Kepes, Olivia Parker, and Emmet Gowin.

Why Jaume Plensa’s New Exhibition at Denver Botanic Gardens Is a Must-See This Summer

Spanish artist Jaume Plensa has opened a major exhibition at the Denver Botanic Gardens, titled *Jaume Plensa: A New Humanism*, which includes both outdoor sculptures and indoor gallery works. The show features iconic pieces like the 11-foot-tall steel sphere "Self-Portrait with Music" and a retrospective spanning from 2002 to the present, including portrait heads, a door inscribed with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and letter-based sculptures. Plensa describes the hybrid setting as a first for him, where children interact freely with the art.

Bold Solos, Global Dialogues: Inside Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 will return to The Shed from May 13–17, featuring an expansive program of solo, dual, and curated presentations. The fair brings together 33 New York galleries alongside international exhibitors, with strong solo booths by Virginia Jaramillo (Hales), Akinsanya Kambon (Ortuzar and Marc Selwyn Fine Art), and Kelly Sinnapah Mary (James Cohan). Dual presentations include mor charpentier pairing Anas Albraehe and Nohemí Pérez, and Nara Roesler showing Jonathas de Andrade with Marcelo Silveira. Blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian will present works by major artists including Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, and Nan Goldin. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, highlights 11 emerging galleries with solo presentations by Antoni Miralda, Seba Calfuqueo, Reika Takebayashi, and Aki Goto.

Robert Longo: Angels of the Maelstrom | Pace Gallery | Art in Tokyo

Robert Longo, the New York-based artist known for monumental charcoal drawings, returns to Japan after thirty years with the solo exhibition 'Angels of the Maelstrom' at Pace Gallery Tokyo, on view until June 17. The show presents recent drawings and sculptures that juxtapose allegorical images of crashing waves, whales, tigers, and peonies with portraits of 20th-century American icons, centered on a large-scale depiction of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani titled *Untitled (American Samurai)*, which Longo frames as a symbol of cultural convergence.

the eight Impressionist exhibitions

Between 1874 and 1886, a group of avant-garde artists in Paris—including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot—organized eight independent exhibitions as a rebellion against the government-sponsored Salon. Rejected by the Salon's conservative jury, which favored academic standards, these artists pooled resources to stage their own shows, initially held at photographer Nadar's atelier on the boulevard des Capucines. The exhibitions had fluctuating lineups and varied titles, and the term "Impressionist" was only applied retrospectively by art historians in the 20th century.

New Chihuly exhibit to open Saturday at Frederik Meijer Gardens

A new exhibition of glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly opens Saturday at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the third time the venue has hosted Chihuly's work, with pieces installed across 12 outdoor locations on the 158-acre campus, plus an indoor gallery show titled "CHIHULY: Radiant Forms" requiring a separate ticket. The outdoor exhibit is included with general admission and runs from May 2 to November 1, 2026.

Vancouver exhibition explores global climate futures through art

The Vancouver Art Gallery, in partnership with Canada's National Observer, will open "Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change" on May 10, 2026. The exhibition, co-created by publisher Linda Solomon Wood and curator Eva Respini, features over 35 international artists including Ed Burtynsky, Huma Bhabha, Jean Shin, Clarissa Tossin, and Josh Kline. Works explore climate change through photography, sculpture, installation, and film, avoiding a doom-and-gloom tone in favor of poetic and thought-provoking approaches.

How ‘Continnum’ reimagines art in domestic spaces

The exhibition 'Continuum,' curated by artist-curator Gauri Minocha at The Art Hub Gallery in Gurugram, presents over 100 artworks by South Asian artists within a refurbished house turned home gallery. Works are displayed across rooms, hallways, stairways, and terraces, moving away from the traditional white cube model to allow viewers to experience art in a domestic setting. The show spans from the 1950s to 2026, featuring modern masters like Ram Kumar, Jamini Roy, and Rubin Mondal, with each room defined by a distinct color palette and mood.

Maine art galleries showcase dozens of artists in summer shows

A roundup of summer art exhibitions across Maine highlights dozens of artists showing at galleries and pop-up spaces from Rockport to Portland. Notable shows include Alexandre Gallery's pop-up featuring charcoal works by the late Cooper Union-trained artist Emily Nelligan, who spent decades depicting Cranberry Island; Karma's annual summer pop-up at artist Ann Craven's deconsecrated church in Thomaston; and solo exhibitions at Caldbeck Gallery, Courthouse Gallery, and Cove Street Arts. Other venues such as Carver Hill Gallery, Corey Daniels Gallery, Dowling Walsh, and Moss Galleries present group and solo shows spanning landscape painting, mythical imagery, and works addressing social resistance.

Inuk artist launches first solo exhibition in U.K. gallery

Inuk artist Laakkuluk Williamson has opened her first solo exhibition, titled *Nuliaminik Neqilik*, at Mimosa House gallery in London. The show draws on a Greenlandic tale of a cannibal and his seventh wife, Masaannaaq, as a metaphor for Inuit resistance against colonial powers. It features beadwork, photography, film, vocal performances, and enlarged replicas of historic Inuit objects from the British Museum. The exhibition opened with an immersive performance at the British Museum and was curated by fellow Inuk artist Taqrilik Partridge. After its London run, the show will travel to the Nuuk Art Museum in Greenland and then to Ottawa.

At the Venice Biennale, Canada’s entry blooms with unease

Montreal artist Abbas Akhavan's installation "Entre chien et loup" transforms the Canadian pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale into a living climate system, featuring a humid, Amazon-like environment with a pond of Victoria water lilies. The seeds were sourced from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and germinated at the Orto Botanico di Padova, with the lilies growing and blooming over the course of the biennale.

Art Market Auctions Recovered Late 2025, But Not A "Comeback" – Citi Wealth

Citi Wealth's report, "State of the Art Market 2026: Don’t Call It A Comeback," finds that the global art market entered 2026 with renewed optimism, but confidence is highly selective and concentrated at the high and accessible ends. The November 2025 Modern and Contemporary Art auctions in New York surged 77% year-on-year to $2.2 billion, driven by the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection. However, numerous galleries closed in 2025, including BLUM gallery and Venus Over Manhattan, and traditional hubs like London and New York face slow growth while emerging regions gain influence.

Full extent of Stephen Friedman Gallery's £7.8m debt revealed in filings

Administrators' filings for Stephen Friedman Gallery reveal a total debt of £7.8 million following its closure in February. Three prominent artists—Alexandre Diop, Deborah Roberts, and Kehinde Wiley—are among the unsecured creditors owed a combined £795,000, expected to recover only eight to nine pence per pound. The largest secured creditor is Coutts & Company, owed £3.1 million, followed by Pentland Group with £1.4 million outstanding. The gallery also owes £505,113 to the Pollen Estate for its Cork Street lease, £550,000 to HMRC, and significant sums to shipping and storage firms, including Crozier (£256,470) and Gander & White (£86,772). Art fairs Frieze and Art Basel Qatar are owed £71,227 and £18,763 respectively.

7 artists to have on your radar at Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026

Gallery Weekend Berlin returns for its 22nd edition from May 1 to 3, 2026, featuring 50 galleries across 66 locations throughout the city. The event showcases both established and emerging artists from over 30 countries, with highlights including Martine Syms's pop-up boutique at Sprüth Magers, Göksu Kunak's performance-based exhibition at Ebensperger, and a new sector called Perspectives featuring James Turrell. Other notable presentations include Wynnie Mynerva's exploration of love and colonialism at Société, Monty Richthofen's city-wide performance at Dittrich & Schlechtriem, and Hanna Stiegeler's intimate screenprinted canvases at Sweetwater.

What not to miss from the new edition of The Phair, the photography fair in Turin

Cosa non perdere della nuova edizione di The Phair, la fiera della fotografia di Torino

The seventh edition of The Phair, a photography fair in Turin, Italy, opened on Thursday, May 21, at the Sala Fucine of the Officine Grandi Riparazioni. Founded by Roberto Casiraghi and Paola Rampini, the fair features 42 national and international galleries. Highlights include a surprising automotive partnership at the entrance, and standout presentations from Red Lab Gallery (Ezio D’Agostino and Carlotta Valente), Alberto Damian Gallery (Paolo Gioli), Roccavintage (Costanza Gastaldi), Tucci Russo (Giulio Paolini), Raw Messina (Kri Babusci), and Galleria Umberto Benappi (Ugo Mulas). Other notable artists include Arnulf Rainer, Anton Corbijn, Luigi Ontani, and Simon Starling.

La sede ad Albisola della Galleria Raffaella Cortese è più “un pensatoio che spazio espositivo”: la storia e le collaborazioni con gallerie d’arte emergente

Raffaella Cortese opened a small 12-square-meter space in Albisola Superiore, Italy, in June 2022, described as "more a think tank than an exhibition space." The venue, located near the Ligurian sea, honors the town's legacy as a center for contemporary ceramics from the 1950s to the 1970s, hosting artists like Lucio Fontana and Asger Jorn. The space alternates works from Cortese's Milan gallery with collaborations from emerging galleries, such as Fanta-MLN of Milan (presenting Noah Barker's installation "lux principum" in 2023) and Gian Marco Casini Gallery of Livorno (featuring Clarissa Baldassarri's "Exposure value" in 2024). A future collaboration with Triangolo gallery of Cremona is scheduled for May–September 2026, showcasing Nicole Colombo's sculpture "Rosario (to the moon and back)."