20 unmissable paintings in London

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Time Out's guide to must-see works of art in the city

Not only is London home to a vibrant and ever-changing contemporary art scene but it’s also the place to see some of the world’s greatest historical artworks. For a crash fine art primer Helen Sumpter rounds up the top 20 unmissable paintings in the permanent collections of London’s major museums and galleries.

12. 'The Lady of Shalott' by John William Waterhouse

The Lady of Shalott, 1888, by John William Waterhouse The Lady of Shalott, 1888, by John William Waterhouse - © Tate

The first and most magical of three paintings the pre-Raphaelite artist made in illustration of Alfred Tennyson’s poem of the same name, this image depicts the Lady of Shalott as a beautiful and wistful redhead, singing her last song in her boat as she drifts tragically to her death.


See 'The Lady of Shalott' by John William Waterhouse at Tate Britain.



Find your favourite unmissable painting

'A Bar at the Folies-Bergère' 'The Raphael Cartoons' 'Sunflowers' 'Girl at a Window' 'The Snail' 'The Arnolfini Portrait' 'The Fighting Temeraire' 'The Three Dancers' 'Adam and Eve' 'The Ambassadors' 'Queen Elizabeth I' ('The Ditchley portrait') 'The Lady of Shalott' 'The Great Wave' 'The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke' 'Nevermore' 'Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion' 'Metamorphosis of Narcissus' 'The Laughing Cavalier' 'The Linley Sisters' 'Madame de Pompadour'

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