Major museums worldwide have announced their flagship exhibitions for 2026, featuring a diverse array of artists and historical periods. Highlights include a Frida Kahlo retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, exploring her rise to icon status; a survey of Ovid's influence on art from Caravaggio to Louise Bourgeois at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum; a centennial exhibition for Mary Cassatt at the National Gallery of Art; and the largest career survey to date for Tracey Emin at Tate Modern. Other key shows feature Carol Bove at the Guggenheim Museum, Korean national treasures at the Art Institute of Chicago, and exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Louvre.
These exhibitions signal a year of significant blockbuster programming and scholarly deep dives, drawing international audiences. They underscore major anniversaries, like the centennial of Mary Cassatt's death, and provide platforms for contemporary artists like Tracey Emin and Carol Bove to receive definitive institutional recognition. The global scope, from Amsterdam to Chicago to Seoul, reflects the interconnected nature of the art world and the ongoing public appetite for both historical masterpieces and defining contemporary voices.