The Courtauld Gallery has announced its 2027 exhibition programme, which will feature major shows dedicated to Paula Rego, JMW Turner, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Peter Paul Rubens, alongside smaller displays exploring Flemish masters and a newly acquired work by Vanessa Bell.
Located in the North Wing of Somerset House, the Courtauld Gallery, founded in 1932 by art collector Samuel Courtauld, holds a collection spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern day, with particular strength in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The gallery has built a reputation for its temporary exhibitions, following recent successes such as Monet and London and Seurat and the Sea.
Paula Rego: Dog Woman Opens the Season
The 2027 season begins with Paula Rego: Dog Woman (February 5–May 23), an exhibition centred on a series of pastel works created by the late British-Portuguese artist in the mid-1990s. These works explore 'the animal in the human' and are described as sensual and unsettling. The exhibition will be the most comprehensive display of these works since their creation, accompanied by a small display of etchings and aquatint prints from Rego's Pendle Witches series in the gallery's Project Space.
Turner and the Landscape Generation
During the summer, the Courtauld will present Turner and the Landscape Generation: Journeys in Watercolour (June 18–September 5). This exhibition examines the shared experiences, friendships, and rivalries among British landscape artists JMW Turner, John Constable, Thomas Girtin, and John Sell Cotman. These four artists formed the core of the so-called 'Landscape Generation', who revolutionised British art in the late eighteenth century.
Georgia O'Keeffe: Ghost Ranch
In autumn, the gallery will host Georgia O'Keeffe: Ghost Ranch (October 1–January 30, 2028), focusing on landscapes painted around the artist's home and studio at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. The works span two decades, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. The exhibition will be complemented by a display of photographs of O'Keeffe working at Ghost Ranch, originally commissioned by Life Magazine, in the Drawings Gallery.
Flemish Masters and a Vanessa Bell Rediscovery
Alongside these major exhibitions, the gallery will host smaller displays. Drawing in the Age of Bruegel: New Discoveries (February 5–May 16) explores the creativity and technical skill of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his contemporaries in sixteenth and seventeenth century Flanders. Rubens: The Master and his Circle (May 26–September 12) examines the draughtsmanship of Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens and the artists he taught and inspired.
Finally, Vanessa Bell: A Rediscovery (October–February 2028) will showcase a newly acquired work by the Bloomsbury Set figure: a pair of painted wooden panels made at the Omega Workshops in the 1910s. The exhibition will be held in the Courtauld Project Space.
More details on all newly announced exhibitions are available on the gallery's website, with tickets on sale in due course. Visitors considering a membership may find the 2027 programme offers substantial value.
