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New Exhibitions in June

Frida Kahlo: Now, there's a name to be reckoned with. More than just a painter, a global phenomenon, a superstar who died too young. And so coming to Tate Modern on June 25 we have  Frida: The Making of an Icon , surely set to be one of the most in-demand tickets in London this year. It's not so much a show about Frida, though, as about the cult of Frida: More than 30 of her works are accompanied by some 200 by contemporaries and those from later generations whom she inspired, and then there are over 200 objects exploring "Fridamania". The show had good reviews when it was on at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and you've got until January 3 to catch it at the Tate.  While we're on the subject of mid 20th-century female icons whose candle burned out long before their legend ever did....  Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait  starts at the National Portrait Gallery on June 4. The Hollywood star would have been 100 years old this year, and this show, running until Sept...
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Opening and Closing in April

It's one of art's most famous images, though probably not the version you're most familiar with. A black-and-white lithograph of The Scream will be on show at the British Museum in London from April 11 to July 21 as part of Edvard Munch: Love and Angst. The exhibition will focus on the Norwegian Expressionist's prints, with nearly 50 from the Munch Museum in Oslo and a total of 83 artworks on display. Two key sections of the show demonstrate his passion for women, and his fear of them, the museum says.
The next show at the National Gallery is of new work by Irish-born Sean Scully. Sea Star's abstract stripes and chequerboards with their thickly applied paint are inspired by JMW Turner's seascape The Evening Star. April 13 to August 11, and admission is free.

At the British Library, a new exhibition looks at Writing: Making Your Mark across 5,000 years and seven continents. More than 100 objects range from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs through the first printed edition of The Canterbury Tales to James Joyce's annotated copy of Ulysses. The show runs from April 26 to August 27.
It's the 50th anniversary this year of man's first Moon landing, and the Watts Gallery in Compton, near Guildford, is taking the opportunity to explore 19th-century depictions of the Moon. Moonscapes features pictures by the likes of William Holman Hunt, John Atkinson Grimshaw and GF Watts himself. In orbit over Surrey from April 2 to June 23.

And if you complete half an orbit round London on the M25 from Compton, you'll get to the Henry Moore Studios in Perry Green in Hertfordshire, which reopen on April 3 for the summer. This year's special exhibition is Henry Moore Drawings: The Art of Seeing, the biggest show of his drawings in more than four decades, complementing the sculptures scattered round the gardens of Moore's former home. On until October 27.

The Leopold Museum in Vienna is presenting a huge Oskar Kokoschka retrospective devoted to one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century. The show has already been on at the Kunsthaus in Zurich and features 250 works, some of which have rarely or never been exhibited. April 6 to July 8.

Last chance to see....

If you're in Oslo, the Munch Museum is showing The Swan Princess until April 21: a rare chance to view late 19th-century Russian paintings from Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery in the West alongside works by Munch and other Nordic artists. Some of it we liked a lot; and some we didn't.

Back in London, you have until April 22 to enjoy John Ruskin: The Power of Seeing at Two Temple Place. It's a really good (and free) show about the visionary Victorian art critic, and the venue is a stunning exhibit in its own right.

The current exhibition at London's Queen's Gallery, Russia, Royalty and Romanovs, closes on April 28. The show looks at the relationships between Britain and Russia and their royal families; an interesting history lesson, but the artworks aren't as enthralling as those the Royal Collection generally offers. 

Images

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1895, Private Collection, Norway. Photo: Thomas Widerberg
Schoolchild’s homework in Greek on a wax tablet, Egypt, 2nd century AD. (c) British Library
Oskar Kokoschka, Self-Portrait, One Hand Touching the Face, 1918-19. (c) Leopold Museum, Vienna

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