The 50 best art galleries in London

Between the regular commissions for the Curve gallery and the always interesting shows in its main exhibition space, the Barbican is a serious destination for art lovers. Whether it’s an endless torrent of rain that you won’t get wet in or a passionately in-depth look at Jean-Michel Basquiat, these concrete halls always come up with the goods.

This (relatively) bijou building is the oldest public art gallery in the UK and its light-filled spaces house a brilliant collection including work by Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin and Gainsborough. It has recently branched out with an annual pavilion commission, just to give the Serpentine a run for its money, and its temporary shows are well worth a trip across town.

After closing for a two-year refurbishment, the South Bank’s greatest heap of concrete brutalism thankfully reopened its doors in 2018. The refurb has brought light spilling into its spaces, and the programming – Diane Arbus, Lee Bul and Andreas Gursky, among others – is as brilliant as ever. Plus, Prince Charles hates the building. If that doesn’t make you love it, nothing will.

If you’re going to call yourself the Institute of Contemporary Arts, you’d better be delivering some seriously edgy, forward-thinking exhibitions, and boy does the ICA deliver. This is the place where pop art was invented – if you catch the right show here, you just might spot the next big art movement.

Da Vinci! Velázquez! Van Gogh! Rubens! Hoooo, mama, the National Gallery is full of huge names. You can’t walk through its calming rooms without falling completely in love with art. And (except for its fantastic blockbuster exhibitions of work by the likes of Caravaggio and Michelangelo) it won’t cost you a penny. 

If you’ve ever wanted to see a blurry painting of Ed Sheeran (and maybe you have, who are we to judge?) the NPG is the place to be. And when you’re done admiring all that ginger paint, enjoy the rest of the collection, which is a who’s who of great Britons and brilliant artists.

For 250 years, Britain’s first art school has been a hotbed of artistic talent. You name ’em, they were an Academician. But the RA’s also got serious pedigree when it comes to putting on big shows, like 2016’s totally incredible ‘Abstract Expressionism’ show. Now, it’s got a big old extension, including its first free permanent collection display – and it’s as important as it’s ever been.