Top art exhibitions in London

Feast your eyes on one of the greatest treasures of the Renaissance, the Raphael Cartoons at the V&A's Raphael Court. View all seven of the full-scale designs for tapestry painted by Raphael (1483 – 1520). Raphael Court, home to the Cartoons, reopens following a nine-month refurbishment to mark the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death. From 14 Nov

See all three versions of the famous Armada Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, as Queen's House Greenwich brings the elaborate works together for the first time. Faces of a Queen explores how the works mark the failed attempt of the Spanish Armada to invade England in 1588, and examines how each of the portraits differs. Ongoing 

Postponed from summer for the first time in history, the Royal Academy of Arts' Summer Exhibition 2020 brings together artworks from big names and emerging stars. You can view works by artists including Tracey Emin, Ai Weiwei and Gillian Wearing, or treat yourself to your very own artwork to take home. 6 Oct-3 Jan

Admire art-loving King George IV’s collection of some of the best paintings, objects and furniture of his day at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. George IV: Art and Spectacle includes Flemish masterpieces, 18th-century works portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds and more treasures from the Royal Collection. Until 11 Oct

See an exhibition by Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen at the Tate. McQueen invited every Year 3 pupil in London to have their photograph taken by a team of Tate photographers, and the results are now on display for all to see. Until 31 Jan

Explore our relationships with trees and forests and how they’ve influenced some of the most compelling contemporary artists of our time by visiting returning exhibition Among the Trees at the Hayward Gallery. Booking until 31 Oct 

From September, look out for outdoor exhibition Everyday Heroes at the Hayward Gallery, which celebrates key workers who have kept the country running during the coronavirus pandemic, with a vivid series of art and poetry commissions. Until Nov

Modern art doesn't get much more iconic than Andy Warhol's vibrant pop-art prints. Tate Modern takes you through a journey of the artist’s works – including the iconic Campbell’s soup cans and Marilyn Monroe images – as it reflects on his personal story during times of social, political and technological change. Until 15 Nov

Visit the National Gallery for a groundbreaking exhibition of Titian’s works. The 16th-century painter is put in focus with Titian: Love, Desire, Death, showcasing six paintings based on myths and legends from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that are reunited for the first time in more than 400 years. Until 17 Jan

Embark on a paper trail of Pablo Picasso’s works with a 40-minute video tour of the Royal Academy of Arts’ recent exhibition Picasso and Paper. Spot some of the 300 works, including studies for Guernica, collages and cut-outs from the artist’s 80-year career.

The National Portrait Gallery’s annual BP Portrait Award exhibition moves online this year, due to the gallery’s three-year refurbishment. Move yourself through the gallery, stopping to see the portraits, which were selected from nearly 2,000 entries from across the world.

Explore the lives of five pioneering black British women who have overcome adversity to be leaders in their fields and in the public realm, with Stories of Black Leadership II: Breaking Barriers. This online exhibition is made up of a series of photo portraits by award-winning photographer Joy Gregory and is presented by Black Cultural Archives. 

Be transported back to London in the 1970s, as you discover what life was like for black youths living in a hostel, The Black House, in Holloway Road. Colin Jones’ photographs for this Michael Hoppen Gallery online exhibition create a snapshot of social history from the time, following the men who lived going about their everyday lives.

Seek out secret spots in the City of London with a series of photography exhibitions as part of The Hidden City by Emile Holba. The 2019 winner of the British Journal of Photography Portrait of Britain Awards delves into untold stories of the Culture Mile, the peculiarities of Barts Pathology Museum and goes behind the scenes at the Museum of London.

Fancy a trip along the Thames without moving an inch? Spot the Illuminated River art installations across four London bridges with a virtual Google Arts & Culture tour. Switch between London Bridge, Canon Street Railway Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Millennium Bridge using a nifty 360-degree tool.

If you're in London, why not see it for real with a walk along the Thames.

The Courtauld Gallery’s doors may be closed, but you can still see its masterpieces up close on a virtual tour around seven rooms that house works by Édouard Manet and Vincent van Gogh. Also browse its online exhibition, Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday, which celebrates moments of everyday life, from joy to despair.