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With commercial galleries closed for the month while collectors and gallerists head off to the Mediterranean on their yachts, and major institutions busy preparing for a hectic schedule of autumn openings, August is famously a pretty quiet month for London’s art scene.
But don’t let the lack of new exhibitions dissuade you from making time in your busy schedule of summer festivals, day trips and Aperol dates to see some art. Late summer is the perfect time to catch up on all those big shows you’ve not had a chance to see yet, not least because several of the year’s biggest and most talked-about exhibitions are entering their final days.
Clear your weekend, and head to one of these in the nick of time.
RECOMMENDED: The top 10 exhibitions in London.
Five amazing London art exhibitions closing in August 2026
Zurbarán at The National Gallery
From still lifes of plump, waxy lemons to monumental saints, bloodied martyrs and ecstatic Virgins, baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán did it all. He painted vast multi-canvas scenes that once lined the walls of convents and monasteries across Spain, worked for private patrons, the court of Philip IV of Spain and clients across the Spanish Americas, where more than 100 of his paintings ended up. And now, improbably, many of them are at the National Gallery. The artist’s first UK exhibition is a chance to see more than 40 of his monumental, awe-inspiring pieces in the same room, thanks to major loans from the Louvre, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museo del Prado.
National Gallery. Closes Sunday August 23. From £20.
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The 258th edition of the Royal Academy’s open-submission bonanza has seen British sculptor Ryan Gander curate under the broad curatorial theme of ‘Interconnectedness’. Those looking for some art world bigwigs will find paintings by Frank Bowling, Gary Hume, Anselm Kiefer, and a beautiful black and white print by Cornelia Parker, while comedians are out in force once more this year; Harry Hill has two paintings of a car set on fire, while Joe Lycett returns with a rather unflattering painting of Cilla Black. Not so keen on Cilla? Fear not; with nearly 2,000 works chosen for the exhibition, there really is something for everyone. Give yourself time to wander, and somewhere among the hundreds of pieces you may discover your new favourite artist.
Royal Academy. Closes Sunday August 23. From £22.50.
Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain
Turner Prize-nominated painter Hurvin Anderson’s first major institutional show brings together more than 60 of his lively paintings, dating from 1995 when he was an art student at the Royal College of Art up to this year (some he even finished off once they’d been hung). Inspired by his experiences as a Black man of Caribbean heritage born and raised in the UK, they’re big, vibrant pieces that convey a sense of inbetweenness, or ‘being in one place but thinking about another’ as the artist puts it.
Tate Britain. Closes Sunday August 23. £18.
Donald Locke: Resistant Forms at Camden Arts Centre
Spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, and ceramics, this long-overdue retrospective of Windrush generation ceramicist and painter Donald Locke examines the legacy of colonialism in the Guyanese-British artist’s hometown via some of his most celebrated works, including large scale mixed media piece ‘Trophies of Empire’. Donald Locke shows don’t come around often, so don’t miss the chance to get up close to these angry, claustrophobic yet beautifully crafted works, ranging from wild, black paintings to intricate assemblages of found objects and ceramic pieces that suggest cages or instruments of violence.
Camden Arts Centre. Closes Sunday August 30. Free.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life at Tate Modern
Positioned as a 40-year retrospective through the pioneering artist’s vast and varied repertoire, one of 2026’s most talked-about shows lays bare Emin’s life through her distinct and often unsettling art, from career highs – such as the iconic, Turner Prize-nominated ‘My Bed’ (1998) – to stark personal lows in work depicting her experiences with sexual violence, abortion and recent life-threatening illness. It perfectly encapsulates Emin’s defiant approach to life and her ability to turn traumatic experiences into mesmerising art. You’ll leave feeling emotionally wrung out, but struck by the realisation that ‘Mad Tracey from Margate’ is truly a force to be reckoned with.
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