The James McNeill Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain is big, probably a bit too big, but it's packed with beautiful pictures and it's not in the least bit boring. That's not surprising as Whistler led a colourful life, never shying from controversy and confrontation -- notably pursuing a high-profile libel case against John Ruskin -- and he produced art that was groundbreaking, hugely influential and enormously atmospheric. Including, of course, probably one of the most recognisable paintings in art history, that of his mother in profile, dressed in black. It's in this show, and we'll be taking a look at it shortly. But we start in Whistler's studio, where the artist has painted himself at work, palette and brush in his hands, and looking out directly at us, the viewers. This is the first picture you see in the show, and we're told that for Whistler, the studio was a place for public performance, as well as making art. So here he is, making a statemen...
The highest-profile opening in London this January? It might well be Francis Bacon: Man and Beast at the Royal Academy. Starting on January 29, this exhibition will focus on Bacon's fascination with animals, featuring pictures in which the boundaries between humans and animals are constantly blurred. Spanning his entire career, the show will include a trio of bullfight paintings never before exhibited together. If your New Year's resolution is to go vegetarian, this one may be a bit on the fleshy side. Until April 17.
For something perhaps a bit less unsettling, head to Room 1 at the National Gallery to see Gainsborough's Blue Boy. Thomas Gainsborough's full-length canvas of a child was exhibited at the National for three weeks in 1922 before sailing across the Atlantic to the Huntington Library in California. It's a painting that's long had a hold on the imagination; it's been frequently referenced in Hollywood movies, and now it's being loaned out by the Huntington for the first time ever. A century ago, the National only had it on show for three weeks; now you can view it in a free display from January 25 to May 15. 
They're also going back a century at the National Archives in Kew for The 1920s: Beyond the Roar. This free exhibition aims to look past the cliched image of the Roaring Twenties to examine how all sections of society experienced the decade. As well as audio, film and interactive elements, there's a recreation of an infamous Soho nightspot. It starts on January 21.
At the Holburne Museum in Bath you'll be able to come face-to-face with some of the most recognisable images in British history starting on January 28. The Tudors: Passion, Power & Politics, in conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery, explores the turbulent history of the dynasty from Henry VII to Elizabeth I through 25 portraits of the monarchs and significant figures from their courts. This show is on until May 8, and then goes on later in May to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, where it'll be augmented by dozens more pictures from the Portrait Gallery as well as precious costumes and maps from the period.
The last time we were able to make a trip to the Continent to see some art, just under two years ago, we took in a wonderful Edward Hopper exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler on the outskirts of Basel. The Beyeler has picked another 20th-century American artistic icon for its spring show this year: Georgia O'Keeffe. Intended as an in-depth survey of her long career, it includes rarely seen paintings with many flower and landscape pictures from private collections and lesser-known US museums. January 23 to May 22.
The last time we were able to make a trip to the Continent to see some art, just under two years ago, we took in a wonderful Edward Hopper exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler on the outskirts of Basel. The Beyeler has picked another 20th-century American artistic icon for its spring show this year: Georgia O'Keeffe. Intended as an in-depth survey of her long career, it includes rarely seen paintings with many flower and landscape pictures from private collections and lesser-known US museums. January 23 to May 22.
London 1938 -- and the Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí finally achieves his objective of meeting the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, with whose work on the interpretation of dreams Dalí has long been fascinated. An exhibition at the Belvedere in Vienna starting on January 28 traces Dalí's preoccupation with Freud through his pictures and writings. Dalí-Freud: An Obsession runs until May 29.
The new exhibition at Ordrupgaard on the outskirts of Copenhagen focuses on Paul Gauguin and his Friends -- artists such as Emile Bernard, Paul Sérusier and Maurice Denis who worked alongside Gauguin to develop new styles of painting in Brittany towards the end of the 19th century. This show is scheduled to run from January 26 to May 9, though whether those dates will change as a result of the current Covid-induced closure of Danish museums remains to be seen.
Without doubt, our favourite exhibition of 2021 was Frans Hals: The Male Portrait at the Wallace Collection in London. There are only 13 paintings, including The Laughing Cavalier, but it's a totally fascinating and absorbing show, with an absolutely excellent audioguide taking you far beyond the paintings into the Dutch Golden Age. This one also finishes on January 30.
And one more show on until January 30: Hokusai's Great Picture Book of Everything at the British Museum, featuring rare drawings, recently acquired by the museum, for a picture encyclopedia that was never published. Animals, gods, inventions, and of course The Great Wave.
Last chance to see....
With the Tudors coming to town, you've only got until January 9 to see Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Portraits at the Holburne in Bath, with a handful of sumptuous oil paintings of the artist's favourite models as well as some intimate drawings.One of the very best shows we saw in 2021 was the John Nash retrospective at the Towner in Eastbourne. It's moved on to Compton Verney in Warwickshire, where you can take in Nash's harrowing scenes of World War I and his beautiful landscapes until January 23.
Also on at Compton Verney until January 30 is the incredibly detailed 17th-century woodcarving of Grinling Gibbons, offering a fantastic opportunity to really examine his work up close. We found much to marvel at when we caught this show during its brief run at Bonhams in London during the summer.
Without doubt, our favourite exhibition of 2021 was Frans Hals: The Male Portrait at the Wallace Collection in London. There are only 13 paintings, including The Laughing Cavalier, but it's a totally fascinating and absorbing show, with an absolutely excellent audioguide taking you far beyond the paintings into the Dutch Golden Age. This one also finishes on January 30.
Images
Thomas Gainsborough, The Blue Boy, 1770. © Courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
Georgia O’Keeffe, Oriental Poppies, 1927, Collection of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/2021, ProLitteris, Zurich
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Monna Vanna, 1866. © Tate, London
Frans Hals, The Laughing Cavalier, 1624, Wallace Collection, London
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