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Our pick of the best exhibitions to see in London's galleries and museums opening in April 2025, plus a couple of cheeky additions outside the M25
Going Dutch: Wellington’s Dutch Masterpieces at Apsley House
Apsley House, the place with the address Number 1, London has had a major rehang. It offers a fresh perspective on the 1st Duke of Wellington - not just as a military man but as a sophisticated collector of Dutch art. It highlights the Duke’s keen eye for genre scenes and landscapes, acquired after his Waterloo victory. These masterpieces, celebrated for their realism and hidden symbolism, reflect 19th-century England’s fascination with Dutch art.
Wellington's Dutch Masterpieces at Apsley House. 2 April - December, £11.
In the undergrowth: Tuesday Riddell at Messums, Cork Street
Descend to the forest floor and into the black-and-gold nature-inspired world of Tuesday Riddell. The focus of Through the Brambles is on the cycle of nature and how we often pass it without paying much attention. The traditional lacquer technique of Japanning gives these works a shimmering glow, and you can't help but admire the skill involved in constructing these wildly enchanting landscapes.
Tuesday Riddell: 'Through the Brambles' at Messums, Cork Street. 2 April - 3 May, free.
Saving ourselves: Fixing Our Broken Planet at Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum has opened its first new permanent gallery in nine years, Fixing Our Broken Planet. As the name suggests it's about how we can combat climate change, a key issue facing the planet today. The gallery pulls together pioneering research from the Museum's world-leading scientists with advice from environmentalists and young change-makers on how to better care for the planet and its future.
Fixing Our Broken Planet at Natural History Museum. Opens 3 April, free.
Tree-mendous: Giuseppe Penone at Serpentine Galleries
We first came across Giuseppe Penone through his phenomenal works in which a tree is cast in bronze and broken into pieces. This theme of recreating and reconnecting with nature runs through his most comprehensive institutional exhibition in the UK, at Serpentine Galleries. Find yourself surrounded by laurel leaves, see an imprint of the artist breathing into a pile of leaves, and immerse yourself in the arboreal, both inside and outside the gallery.
Giuseppe Penone: Thoughts in the Roots at Serpentine South. 3 April - 7 September, free.
Mudlarking: Secrets of the Thames at London Museum, Docklands
What can you find in the mud when the Thames is at its lowest? This exhibition unveils remarkable discoveries from the Thames foreshore, a rich archaeological site preserving thousands of years of London's history. Visitors can explore rare finds, including a Tudor wool cap, a medieval gold ring, a pair of false teeth and a Viking-era dagger among 350 objects. Each object reveals its own story covering love, faith, migration and everyday life along the Thames. Read our full preview for more details.
Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London's lost treasures at London Museum, Docklands. 4 April - 1 March 2026, £16.
Victorian paintings: Evelyn De Morgan at Guildhall Art Gallery
Evelyn De Morgan's richly coloured canvases, featuring beautifully draped figures laden with messages of feminism, spirituality and the rejection of war and material wealth are on display in this major exhibition on this female Victorian painter often associated with the Pre-Raphaelite painters. We see her early life works, recently restored paintings, replicas of works destroyed in a fire, and ceramics by her husband William De Morgan.
Evelyn De Morgan: The Modern Painter in Victorian London at Guildhall Art Gallery. 4 April - 4 January 2026, pay what you can.
Top cats: Cats in Cartoons at The Cartoon Museum
Who doesn't love cats? Well maybe those who are allergic, don't want their furniture scratched up and random objects knocked off tables. Nonetheless, felines still have a loyal following — including in animation, from Bagpuss to Garfield. Featuring over 100 cartoons this is a collection of the greatest cats to grace British comics, newspapers and magazines to explore why people love cats so much and what they tell us about life.
Cats in Cartoons at The Cartoon Museum. 5 April - 7 September, £12.
Viral designs: Morris Mania at William Morris Gallery
On shoes, shower curtains, phone cases — and a couple of reusable coffee cups we own — you'll find William Morris' prints. It's been 125 years since the Arts and Crafts pioneer's death, yet his designs are only growing in popularity. Morris Mania considers his continued virility and the ongoing impact of Britain's most iconic designer in an increasingly cluttered and commodified world.
Morris Mania at William Morris Gallery. 5 April - 21 September, suggested donation £5.
Bling-tastic: Cartier at V&A
Prepare to be dazzled as the V&A brings together more than 350 objects to chart the evolution of Cartier's legacy of art, design and craftsmanship since the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition tells the story of the Cartier brothers, how they grew the business and the talent behind these exquisite designs. There is, of course, plenty of sparkling jewellery, worn by royals through to Rihanna.
Cartier at V&A. 12 April - 16 November, £27.
Strong roots: The Power of Trees at Kew Gardens
Do we ever stop to admire the trees that grow around us, wonder what's going on beneath their trunks? Kew Gardens wants us to embrace our inner tree-hugger and see how artists have drawn inspiration from our leafy brethren. There are 20 botanical illustrations, plus Eija-Liisa Ahtila's Horizontal tree — a video of a 30-metre-tall spruce in Finland's boreal forest. Complete with the sounds of a creaking trunk and birdsong, this is a living portrait of an ancient being.
The Power of Trees at Kew Gardens. 12 April - 14 September, £22 (includes admission to the gardens).
Stunning images: Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House
Immerse yourself in breathtaking landscapes, vibrant street scenes and powerful documentary images, as the annual Sony World Photography Awards returns to Somerset House. It's a chance to see the some of the world's best photography, submitted by both professionals and amateurs, with over 419,000 images from over 200 countries and territories. We go every year and the quality and diversity is always impressive — all photography lovers will want to check this one out.
Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition 2025 at Somerset House. 17 Apr - 5 May, £17.50.
Feathers and fur: Turner's Kingdom at Turner’s House
We all know JMW Turner as one of Britain's greatest landscape artists but did you know he also painted animals? A menagerie of birds, fish and animals — from domestic pets to wildlife seen in the countryside — are displayed within the intimate, domestic space of his former house, now a museum in Twickenham. Coinciding with what would have been Tuner's 250th birthday it's a chance to see another side to one of Britain's best loved painters.
Turner’s Kingdom: Beauty, Birds and Beasts at Turner's House. 23 April - 26 October, £12.
Short run event
Now Play This at Somerset House (11-13 April, £10+), the UK's leading festival of innovative and experimental games which returns for its 11th year as part of the wider London Games Festival. Highlights include an interactive dance performance, make-your-own-game workshops and award-winning game makers taking players on a trail around Somerset House. This year's theme explores community and identity through creativity and play, and incorporates workshops, talks, participatory performances, site-specific interventions and online content. We've been several years on the trot and we love the lo-fi vibes. Always a lot of fun.
Exhibitions outside London
Jyll Bradley's sculptures are all about light; we've seen several of her pieces in public spaces in London and they are magical. Now she's got a show of works both outside and inside a museum with her exhibition at The Box in Plymouth (5 April - 2 November, free). A new sculpture titled Running and Returning has been created using light-reactive materials and is the first freestanding sculpture by Bradley intended for an indoor setting.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of our favourite places to spend a sunny day and Laura Ellen Bacon (5 April - 7 September, £11, includes access to the whole site) has created an immersive, large-scale willow installation winding through the 18th-century chapel here. 80 bundles of Somerset willow make up the work, and at the end of the exhibition the sculpture will be dismantled, with the material reused in the landscape to create wildlife habitats.
