The Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum starts on September 10; it's already sold out for this year but booking for the rest of the run, from January 1 through to July 11, will open on October 21. If you've never seen this most breathtaking of historical artefacts, you may want to seize the chance before it leaves London next year for its permanent home in Normandy, which will have been renovated during its absence. At Southampton City Art Gallery, we're promised an extensive exhibition of British art from the first half of the 20th century, drawing on the museum's own substantial holdings and those of the Ingram Collection . Running from September 26 to February 21, Art Then! British Painting, Sculpture and Drawing, 1910-1960 will feature artists including Barbara Hepworth, Gwen John , Paul Nash and Eric Ravilious. There might not be much new on in London this month, but we'll always have Paris. Starting at the Musée Jacquemart-André with Time...
Ever played the parlour game in which you have to name 10 famous Belgians? Art lovers shouldn't have too much trouble, as long as we're counting Flemish painters from the days before Belgium actually became a country in its own right in 1830. And there are dozens of artists on show in Rare and Indispensable: Masterpieces from Flemish Collections at the Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp. (There are some pieces by non-Belgians as well!) This exhibition brings together around 100 objects out of more than 1,000 designated by the Flemish regional government as being of major cultural significance -- snappily referred to as topstukken in Dutch. Such works -- in museums in Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and locations right across Flanders -- enjoy official protection as being "indispensable" and consequently can't be taken outside the region without permission. They started the list 20 years ago, hence this anniversary show in a modern museum that's assumed a certain cache...