the fall 2025 art calendar: New York, London and Paris
Autumn 2025 is set to be a season of extraordinary cultural encounters in three of my favorite cities: New York, London and Paris. Prepare to see a constellation of museum blockbusters, blue-chip art fairs, and quietly brilliant gallery shows in these three glittering metropolises. And so that you can book your travel here, are the highlights of the fall 2025 season on the art circuit this year.
New York City
the art fairs
Autumn in New York provides an ample supply of art‑market adrenaline. The arrival of the new season brings The Armory Show (Sept 5–7), with over 230 galleries. This is the first edition fully under the direction of Kyla McMillan. Meanwhile, the Independent 20th Century (Sept 4–7) art fair downtown is focused on overlooked and under‑recognized artists of the last century. Performance biennial Performa celebrates its 20th anniversary Nov 1–23 with new commissions by Camille Henrot, Aria Dean, Diane Severin Nguyen and others.
the gallery shows
Hauser & Wirth kicks off the fall season with a solo show from Sir Don McCullin, lauded internationally as one of the most influential photojournalists of our time. The show will bring together nearly 50 works from his oeuvre and coincides with the artist’s 90th birthday. Nicole Eisenman: STY opens on October 31 at 52 Walker. At David Zwirner’s 20th Street gallery, Retina Turner, an exhibition of work by Andra Ursuţa (b. 1979), will showcase a new body of cast-glass sculptures that continues the artist’s investigations of the medium. Finally, Nicola Vassell presents Watch Out for the Ghosts, an exhibition of new work by Adebunmi Gbadebo, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The title—a quote from Amari Baraka’s poem The Why’s and the Wise—echoes Gbadebo’s journey through loss, family history and reconnecting with the land they once inhabited.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. © Pamela Thomas-Graham, 2024.
the museum exhibits
Museum programming is equally stacked. At The Met, see Man Ray: When Objects Dream, running from September 14, 2025, to February 1, 2026. It explores Man Ray’s “rayographs,” a unique photographic technique, within the context of his broader artistic output. The Genesis Facade Commission, Jeffrey Gibson, The Animal That Therefore I Am, will feature new sculptures by the artist, and will be on view from September 12, 2025, to June 9, 2026. The solo show Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson debuts on September 20, 2025. And Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck will be on view from December 5, 2025, to April 5, 2026.
The MoMA features New Photography: Lines of Belonging starting September 14, 2025. A highly-anticipated Ruth Asawa solo show debuts on October 19, 2025. And Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream, is the first comprehensive retrospective in the United States featuring the artist’s full career.
The Guggenheim’s Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped arrives on October 10, 2025. The New Museum will debut a new exhibition, New Humans: Memories of the Future, as part of the opening of its expanded building. This exhibition will feature works from over 150 international artists spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring how technology has shaped our understanding of humanity.
The Studio Museum in Harlem opens the doors on its celebrated new seven-floor, 82,000-square-foot building on Saturday, November 15, 2025.
where to stay
Depending on your neighborhood of choice, you can’t go wrong staying at Aman New York (sublime spa, serene rooms just off 57th), The Fifth Avenue Hotel (for whimsical interiors and Gramercy/Flatiron proximity to galleries), Nine Orchard (in the heart of Dimes Square), or the Hotel Chelsea (artist lore, today’s scene).
London
the art fairs
October in London is high season for art fairs. Frieze London and Frieze Masters run in Regent’s Park from October 15–19, 2025. In The English Gardens, we always love seeing the provocative works of Frieze Sculpture, which is free through November 2. The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair returns to Somerset House during Frieze Week with a comprehensive showing from galleries based in Africa.
the museum exhibits
Radical Harmony: Helene Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists will be on view at the National Gallery from September 13, 2025 to February 8, 2026. The exhibition will show radical works of French, Belgian and Dutch artists, painted from 1886 to the early 20th century.
The Royal Academy will mount a solo show of works by Kerry James Marshall from September 20, 2025 to January 18, 2026. On the occasion of the artist’s 70th birthday, The Histories will be Marshall’s first institutional presentation in the UK for almost 20 years. The show will feature over 70 works, including a new series of paintings made especially for the exhibit, as well as his commemorative sculpture Wake, 2003.
Turner & Constable at Tate Britain (November 27, 2025 to April 12, 2026) will bring together Britain’s most famous artistic rivals, marking the 250th anniversary of their births. This exhibition will be an unmissable chance to directly compare their spectacular works and see how their rivalry changed the course of British art.
At Tate Modern, Máret Ánne Sara’s Turbine Hall commission will be on view from October 14, 2025–April 6, 2026. And for fashion lovers, the National Portrait Gallery will host Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World, celebrating the oeuvre of the fashion illustrator, Oscar-winning costume designer, social caricaturist and writer from October 9, 2025 to January 11, 2026.
The Tate Modern London. © Pamela Thomas-Graham, 2024.
where to stay
For an artistic stay in Mayfair, we highly recommend The Beaumont. There, you can sleep “inside” an Antony Gormley sculpture called ROOM. And of course, there’s always Claridge’s for that impossibly polished Art‑Deco glow – and painterly cocktails in The Painter’s Room.
Paris
the art fairs and public art
Art Basel Paris (the show formerly known as Paris+) takes over the Grand Palais from October 24–26, 2025 (VIP previews are on October 22–23). Paris Design Week will see galleries, studios and workshops throughout the city open their doors to the public from September 4 – 13, 2025.
On the annual “Open Monument Days” many Paris landmarks (such as the Arc de Triomphe) can be visited for free. Places that are otherwise not open to the public are also open. Mark your calendar for September 20-21, 2025.
Perhaps the most dazzling new artistic exhibition will be unmissable: the Pont Neuf Project by JR. In September 2025, to mark the 40th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “Pont Neuf Wrapped”, artist JR will unveil a monumental new project. The Pont Neuf will be transformed into a spectacular cave-like structure, creating the illusion of rock formations bridging the Seine.This project—developed in collaboration with their foundation—will be visible day and night, offering an immersive experience merging history and contemporary urban nature.
the museum exhibits
This fall, the Musée du Louvre continues its first ever fashion exhibit, “Louvre Couture.”
At the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Minimal opens October 8, 2025 and runs through Feb 16, 2026. The exhibition explores the global development of an art movement that, since the early 1960s, has fundamentally questioned the relationship between work and viewer. Minimalism is characterized by reduction to the essential, a clear, sober aesthetic, and a focus on immediate spatial experience. It features works by Dan Flavin, Hans Haacke, Richard Serra, Sol Lewitt, Günther Uecker, and many more.
The Musee D’Orsay will launch John Singer Sargent: Let Paris Shine 23 September 2025 to 11 January 2026. And Paul Troubetzkoy: The Sculptor Prince from September 30, 2025 to January 11, 2026.
The Centre Pompidou is closed for the next five years. The entire building is being renovated. However, the Centre Pompidou will continue to organize exhibitions – but at other locations. For example, at the Grand Palais until January 4, 2026, the “Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hultén” exhibition sheds light on the artistic collaboration between de Saint Phalle and Tinguely, two important figures in modern art. Together they created famous works such as the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris. Hultén, the first director of the Centre Pompidou, was a significant player in both of their lives, and actively promoted their art. On display are Tinguely’s moving sculptures, the colorful ‘Nanas’ by de Saint Phalle as well as archive material, films and documentaries that illustrate their creative partnership.
The Musée des Arts décoratifs features “Paul Poiret: Fashion is a Feast”. The exhibition, running through January 11, 2026, explores the life and work of the pioneering fashion designer who significantly impacted 20th-century fashion. It highlights his role in liberating women’s fashion, his artistic collaborations, and his influence on contemporary designers.
Our favorite house museum in Paris, Musée Jacquemart Andre, hosts “Georges de la Tour: Between Shadow and Light” from September 11, 2025, to January 25, 2026. This exhibition offers a fresh perspective on the French painter’s work, and this is the first retrospective of his art in France since 1997. The Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac will host several exhibitions in the fall of 2025, including the “Amazonia: Indigenous Creations and Futures” exhibition, which focuses on the perspectives of Amazonian peoples, showcasing their cultures, knowledge, and visions for the future.
The Fondation Louis Vuitton will be hosting a retrospective of Gerhard Richter’s work from October 17, 2025, to March 2, 2026. And the Petit Palais hosts “L’enfance en lumière” (Childhood in the Spotlight), featuring the works of Jean-Baptiste Greuze, from September 16, 2025, to January 25, 2026. The exhibition will showcase 100 of the artist’s paintings, drawings, and prints, focusing on the theme of childhood.
The Grand Palais, Paris. © Pamela Thomas-Graham, 2024.
the gallery shows
For gallery hopping, the Avenue Matignon galleries — Perrotin, Almine Rech, White Cube — are essential stops.
where to stay
For the best people-watching, stay at Cheval Blanc Paris or Le Bristol. Our friends also swear by the chic boutique hotel La Réserve, and J.K. Place on the Left Bank. Alternatively, you could avoid the art frenzy by heading to Versailles and checking into the Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle.
the fall 2025 art calendar: new York, London and Paris
Wow. Where to begin? That’s up to you, dear reader. Enjoy yourself out there!
Leave a reply