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Our pick of the best exhibitions to see in London's galleries and museums opening in November and December 2025, plus a couple of cheeky additions from outside the M25
Blasts from the past: The Long Now at Saatchi Gallery
Saatchi Gallery is turning 40 and to celebrate the occasion it's compiling a greatest hits of artworks that have been shown at the gallery. Richard Wilson's space filled with sump oil that gives the slick surface an illusory effect is back. Conrad Shawcross suspends a car from the ceiling, Jenny Saville has a large-scale confrontational nude of a transgender person, and Rafael Gómezbarros's giant ants cover the walls. It's one hell of a best-of exhibition.
The Long Now: Saatchi Gallery at 40 at Saatchi Gallery. 5 November 2025-1 March 2026, £15.
Let there be light: Wright of Derby and Edwin Austin Abbey at The National Gallery
We get two new exhibitions at The National Gallery this month. Joseph Wright of Derby was a master of capturing the light and shadow in paintings, often with multiple figures present watching a scene unfold in candlelight. The National Gallery has brought together his candlelight paintings, prints and works on paper to celebrate a painter who captured the spirit of the Industrial Revolution. Edwin Austen Abbey became better known in the US than his native UK, largely for painting a mural for the ceiling of the Representatives Chamber in the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Here's our chance to see his study for this grand commission up close, and on loan from the States.
Wright of Derby: From the Shadows at The National Gallery, Sunley Room. 7 November 2025-10 May 2026, £12.
Edwin Austin Abbey: By the Dawn’s Early Light at The National Gallery, Room 1. 20 November 2025-15 February 2026, free.
New beginnings: David Hockney at Annely Juda Fine Art
After 35 years, Mayfair gallery Annely Juda has moved to new digs nearby on Hanover Square. To launch the new space, they're hosting a show of their, and arguably Britain's, most celebrated artist, David Hockney. It includes works he's created over the last six months including a pair of chairs and scenes of the night sky, both in paintings and iPad prints. It's the perfect way to inaugurate the new space, in a listed building.
David Hockney: Some Very, Very, Very New Paintings, not yet Shown in Paris at Annely Juda Fine Art. 7 November 2025-28 February 2026, free.
Mini masterpieces: Small is beautiful at Flowers
We've always been a fan of this annual exhibition, where the gallery showcases small-scale works by the artists it works with, along with several invited artists. It's fun to see them getting inventive when working at a smaller-scale than usual and also means the works are more affordable. Paintings, drawings, sculpture and the odd kinetic work are enchanting to behold.
Small is Beautiful: 43rd edition at Flowers Gallery. 21 November 2025-3 January 2026, free.
Grand, royal and fantastic: Wes Anderson at Design Museum
Pastel colours, theatrical sets - you know the drill when it comes to a Wes Anderson movie. Now it's a chance to see behind the scenes with a Design Museum exhibition that contains over 600 items from the films. These include a three-metre wide model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, and the vending machines from Asteroid City. Whether it's the Royal Tenenbaums or Isle of Dogs that's your favourite, Anderson fans will get their fix at this exhibition. Read our full preview for more details.
Wes Anderson: The Archives at The Design Museum. 21 November 2025-26 July 2026, £22-£26.
Arrows and swords: Caravaggio's Cupid and Swords of Lucknow at The Wallace Collection
Travel back to 17th-century Rome and the palazzo of Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani, where artists, scholars and collectors debated the merits of painting and sculpture. The Wallace Collection has recreated a part of the collection with a loan of Cupid painted by the great Caravaggio, and classical sculpture that used to be part of Giustiniani's collection. At the same time, The Wallace Collection displays five swords that reveal the splendour of 18th- and 19th-century Lucknow, India, a flourishing centre of power, artistry and cultural exchange.
Caravaggio's Cupid at The Wallace Collection. 26 November 2025-12 April 2026, free.
Swords of Lucknow at The Wallace Collection. 26 November 2025-22 March 2026, free.
Landscape duel: Turner and Constable at Tate Britain
Two of Britain's greatest landscape painters were also intense rivals. One raised in poverty, the other in wealth. One painter traditional, the other more experimental. It was one of the great rivalries, and Tate Britain explores Turner and Constable's intertwined lives and legacies to mark 250 years since their bir. Discover unexpected sides to both artists alongside intimate insights seen through sketchbooks and personal items.
Turner and Constable at Tate Britain. 27 November 2025-12 April 2026, £24.
Crafting mastery: Hyakko at Japan House
This exhibition celebrates contemporary craft-making in Japan, with works by over 120 makers on show and 2,000 objects in total spanning clay, glass, wood, leather and metal. Japan has a long history of craft, often with rigorous apprenticeships, and this is a showcase of how these makers honour tradition while also carving out their own individuality. It includes the full range of objects from the strictly utilitarian, to the more decorative and expensive items.
Hyakkō: 100+ Makers from Japan at Japan House London. 3 December 2025-10 May 2026, free.
Short run exhibitions and art fairs
Ben Edge loves to mine British folklore and mythology for his painting, sculpture and film. In Children of Albion at Fitzrovia Chapel (6-26 November, free) we see his latest works including an impressive altarpiece painting that tells the story of Britain from ancient times through to life today.
Over in Greenwich, digital projections specialists Luxmuralis present their latest piece, Time, at the Old Royal Naval College (12-22 November, £15). It's a journey through history and science, exploring humanity’s relationship with the concept of time. Traverse wormholes and step inside the intricate workings of clocks.
If you're looking to buy great art at affordable prices, November has a lot of opportunities. The ING Discerning Eye* is back at the Mall Galleries (14-23 November, free) and has domestic-scale works selected by six expert judges who each have their own dedicated wall of artworks in the exhibition.
Art Friend Gallery presents art in a cosy living room setting (6-23 November, free) so we can enjoy the art how it should be displayed, no longer confined to the white walls of a gallery. The Mirage group is artists who deal with other worlds in their art and they'll be having an opening, party and symposium at Stash Gallery** (4 December, 6pm - free, RSVP required).
The always enjoyable, and surprisingly affordable, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (13-16 November, £20) is back for a 10th edition and is always a great place to discover new artworks by printmakers. While up in Highgate there's a mixture of artists and galleries to buy from the second edition of the Highgate Art Fair (7-9 November, £10+).
Exhibitions outside London
It's a case of 'do touch the artwork' in Beyond the Visual at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (28 November 2025-19 April 2026, free). It's the UK’s first major sculpture exhibition where blind and partially-blind practitioners are central to the curatorial process and make up the majority of exhibitors. The exhibition challenges the dominance of sight in the making and appreciation of art, and the project is about transforming how museums and galleries engage blind and partially-blind visitors, something which should be encouraged.
Climate change, nuclear energy, fantasy, folklore and mythology all feature in the work of Lithuanian artist Emilija Škarnulytė, who has a major exhibition at Tate St. Ives (6 December 2025-12 April 2026, £13). Her work looks at the impact of human architecture on the natural world; her film about a decommissioned nuclear power station in Lithuania is sensational, and was the first work of hers we came across. She also leans into the fantastical, with the artist assuming the shape of a mermaid and swimming through abandoned submarine tunnels, hydroelectric plants, and the waters of the Amazon.
*The author of this piece is a trustee of the Discerning Eye exhibition.
** The author of this piece will be speaking at this event.
