As we recover from the long weekend and head into summer, here’s a selection of ten excellent exhibitions to fill your days with.
Postwar Modern – New Art in Britain 1945-1965
Barbican Arts Centre
Standard: £18 | Concessions: £13
Postwar Modern explores the art produced in Britain in the wake of a cataclysmic war. Certainty was gone, and the aftershocks continued, but there was also hope for a better tomorrow. These conditions gave rise to an incredible richness of imagery, forms and materials in the years that followed.
The world of Stonehenge
British Museum, Bloomsbury
Adult: £22 | Concessions: £20 | Children: Free
In this special exhibition, the British Museum will reveal the secrets of Stonehenge, shining a light on its purpose, cultural power and the people that created it.
Following the story of Britain and Europe from 4000 to 1000 BC, you’ll learn about the restless and highly connected age of Stonehenge – a period of immense transformation and radical ideas that changed society forever.
Time Lords to Top of the Pops
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith
Free
In collaboration with BBC History, a collection of photographs taken behind-the-scenes of the most iconic BBC programmes made in our original building, from Doctor Who and Hancock’s Half Hour to Blue Peter and Top of the Pops.
Maurice Broomfield: Industrial Sublime
Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington
Free
Maurice Broomfield’s dramatic photographs captured factories and their workers in an era of rapid transition, depicting the remnants of the industrial revolution alongside emerging technologies.
Raphael
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
Adult: £26 | Concessions: £24 | Children: Free
This exhibition, one of the first ever to explore Raphael’s complete career, looks at his celebrated paintings and drawings as well as his work in architecture, poetry, and design for sculpture, tapestry and prints.
With loans from the Louvre, National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Prado Museum, Uffizi Museum and the Vatican Museum this is an unprecedented opportunity to see the breadth of Raphael’s skill, creativity, and ingenuity.
Off the Rails: The Line that never was
Elstree and Borehamwood Museum, Borehamwood
Free
An exhibition exploring the Elstree Extension through the Northern Heights that was suspended during World War 2, and never restarted. Come and see the scale model of the Tube line and how it would have looked if it had been completed.
150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk
Fashion and Textile Museum, Bermondsey
Adult: £12 | Concessions: £11 | Student: £10 | Children (<12): Free
A retrospective exploring the often-surprising history of one of the UK’s oldest and most revered applied arts organisations. Presenting textiles from the Royal School of Needlework’s own 5,000-piece archive, alongside examples from museums and collections across the UK, this in-depth retrospective will display the often surprising history of one of the UK’s oldest and most revered applied arts organisations.
The Humour of William Heath Robinson
Heath Robinson Museum, Pinner
Adult: £6 | Concessions: £4 | Children & Students: Free
To mark the 150th anniversary of Heath Robinson’s birth, an exhibition of a selection of his cartoons representing the wide range of his subjects and spanning his humorous output from 1905 to 1943.
Canaletto’s Venice Revisited
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Adult: £10 | Children (4-15): £5 | Concessions: £6.50 | Blue Light card: Free
This major exhibition will display the complete set of 24 Venetian views painted by Canaletto in the 1730s.The works, from the world famous collection at Woburn Abbey, form the largest single commission the Italian artist ever received. Canaletto’s Venice Revisited will reassess Canaletto at the height of his career, looking beyond the broad views he is famous for to also closely examine the features that bring his Venice to life.
Book here
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Exhibition
Stanley Gibbons, Strand
Free
(NB: exhibition open 6th to 25th June)
The exhibition offers an introductory telling of the story of her majesty’s reign through stamps. Exhibits will include the three main portraits used by Royal Mail as well as a selection of Omnibus editions, Jubilee series and a collection of the ever-popular errors.
No mention here of the Luther Arkwright retrospective exhibition at the London Cartoon Museum – starting 15th June for 4 months.
This is a choice pick of the top 10 exhibitions each month, not every single exhibition in London. For the full list though, click “what’s on in London” menu option at the top of the page.