Museum & Exhibition Guide — April 19, 2026

Must-See Exhibitions Opening Now

Greater New York 2026 — MoMA PS1, Queens, New York

• What: A signature survey of 53 artists and collectives living and working in New York City, celebrating MoMA PS1's 50th anniversary. The exhibition was curated by PS1's in-house curatorial team.
• Dates: Opens April 16, 2026 — through August 17, 2026
• Why Go: The New York Times reviewed it this week (April 16), calling it a showcase of "noisy, messy vitality" that highlights artists "whose talent is often hidden in plain sight." As a 50th-anniversary edition of PS1's most beloved recurring series, this is a once-every-few-years event for New York's art community.

A Nation of Artists — Philadelphia Museum of Art & PAFA, Philadelphia

• What: A collaborative exhibition between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), spanning 250 years of American creativity to mark America's 250th birthday. The two institutions take different paths through the same national story.
• Dates: Opened this week (reported April 12–19, 2026)
• Why Go: WHYY reported this week that the dual-venue structure is rare and ambitious — two of Philadelphia's most storied art institutions collaborating under one conceptual roof for the US Semiquincentennial. It's a once-in-a-generation civic art moment in the nation's birthplace.

1 sources

whyy.org

whyy.org

Marcel Duchamp at MoMA & Gagosian — New York

• What: A dual exhibition across MoMA and Gagosian revisiting Duchamp's readymades — the century-old conceptual provocations that still unsettle definitions of what art is. Designboom described it as asking "the unresolved question of what art is."
• Dates: Currently running (reviewed this week, April 17–19, 2026)
• Why Go: Frieze published a major critical review just days ago, calling it a "once-in-a-generation New York retrospective" — though not without caveats, arguing it is "built like a mausoleum when it should be a monument to the artist's ungovernable wit." That critical friction alone makes this essential viewing.

Currently Running: Editor's Picks

Spring 2026 Must-See: Jenny Saville and More — Various Venues

• What: DailyArt Magazine published its curated guide to 10 must-see Spring 2026 exhibitions across Europe and the United States this week (April 12–19), featuring Jenny Saville prominently among the highlights.
• Through: Spring 2026 season
• Highlight: Jenny Saville's Ritratto is featured as a centerpiece pick — the figurative painter known for monumental, visceral canvases is receiving major institutional attention this season.

Raphael: Sublime Poetry — The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

• What: The first comprehensive international loan exhibition dedicated to Raphael ever staged in the United States, featuring major loans described by the Met's curator Carmen C. Bambach as comparable to asking for "the firstborn heir of the royal family."
• Through: June 28, 2026
• Highlight: Hyperallergic's inside look at the show (published within the past three weeks) underscores the diplomatic and institutional feat involved in assembling the loans. With the exhibition running through late June, time is beginning to feel finite.

London's Best Exhibitions — April 2026 — Multiple Venues, London

• What: TheNudge's living guide to London's best exhibitions, updated six days ago, highlights shows including "forgotten female artists, fairytales, and a major fashion blockbuster" — with Paula Rego's Story Line featured prominently.
• Through: Various closing dates
• Highlight: Paula Rego's work anchors the list, with TheNudge's editors singling out the atmospheric storytelling of Story Line No. 14 as a standout this season.

1 sources

thenudge.com

thenudge.com

Beyond Art: Science, History & Immersive

• TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), Portland — Opened March 21, 2026, this immersive exhibition features more than 100 authentic artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck site. Guests are placed in the role of actual passengers and invited to experience the deeply human stories behind the 1912 disaster.

• Food: How We Must Change at the Science Museum, London — A new, free exhibition exploring how the global food system must transform to protect the planet, using immersive environments and interactive displays. Described by the Science Museum as a genre-defying journey through the science of today and visions of the future.

Last Chance: Closing Soon

• Raphael: Sublime Poetry at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York — closes June 28, 2026. The first-ever comprehensive Raphael exhibition in the US, assembled through extraordinary international loans. Don't wait — the window to see it is narrowing.

• Tracey Emin: 40-Year Retrospective at Tate Modern, London — closes August 31, 2026. Tate Modern's landmark survey of Emin's career includes her famous bed, though not her tent (destroyed in a 2004 warehouse fire). While not closing imminently, mid-year momentum is building — summer holidays will fill the queues fast.

• Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture at Frick Collection, New York — closes May 11, 2026. With under a month remaining, this focused show on Gainsborough's relationship to clothing, style, and social performance is entering its final weeks.

Exhibition Trends & Insights

Old Masters are back as blockbusters. The spring 2026 season has been defined by once-in-a-generation Old Master shows — Raphael at the Met and Duchamp at MoMA represent a significant institutional bet on historical depth over contemporary novelty. Critical response has been mixed (Frieze's Duchamp review is notably ambivalent), suggesting audiences and critics are interrogating what these monument-scale retrospectives actually deliver.

New York is the center of gravity. From Duchamp to Raphael to Greater New York 2026, the city has an unusually dense cluster of major exhibitions running simultaneously this spring. The Art Newspaper's annual visitor survey (published late March) confirmed that new and reopened venues are driving enthusiasm globally — New York's concentration of openings reflects that energy.

America's 250th birthday is reshaping programming. The Philadelphia dual-institution show A Nation of Artists is a direct product of the US Semiquincentennial, and it won't be the last. Expect more patriotic programming across American museums through 2026 — the anniversary is shaping curatorial decisions in ways that will define this year's cultural record.