17 NYC art exhibitions we’re most excited about in fall 2025

Opens November 15 | Studio Museum, Harlem

After being closed for construction since 2018, the Studio Museum in Harlem will soon reopen in a new seven-floor, 82,000-square-foot building on West 125th Street. To celebrate the grand opening day, the museum will host a community event with free admission and activities for all ages. 

The building, custom-designed for the museum, will house art exhibitions, educational opportunities, program spaces and an expansive lobby. For its first show, the Studio Museum will present the work of the late sculptor Tom Lloyd; it’s a full-circle moment as his work was part of the institution’s opening back in 1968. Another debut show will draw from the museum’s vast collection, underscoring the museum’s role as a steward of art by artists of African descent.

Fall 2025, exact date TBD | The New Museum, Bowery

The New Museum is currently undergoing a massive renovation and is set to open this fall, though a specific date hasn’t been announced. One thing we know for sure: The inaugural exhibition will be called “New Humans: Memories of the Future.” Spanning the entire museum, the show will trace the history of art of the 20th and 21st centuries through the work of over 150 international artists, filmmakers, writers, scientists and architects.

Plus, the 60,000 expansion will be home to its first on-site restaurant set to be helmed by chef and author Julia Sherman.

September 24–January 19 | The Whitney, Meatpacking District

A new exhibit coming to The Whitney Museum of American Art reads like a who’s who of revolutionary artists working in the 1960s. The show, titled Sixties Surreal, features Diane Arbus, Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, Romare Bearden, Jasper Johns, Nancy Grossman, David Hammons, Louise Bourgeois and Faith Ringgold, just to name a few. 

What all of these artists have in common is their way of contributing to “a sweeping, ambitious, revisionist look at American art from 1958 to 1972 through the lens of the ‘surreal,’” the museum says. In all, the sprawling show features the work of 111 artists who embraced the psychosexual, fantastical and revolutionary energy of an era shaped by civil unrest, cultural upheaval and boundless experimentation.

October 11–February 1, 2026 | The Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Heights

The hottest collab of fall is coming to The Brooklyn

Museum with “Monet and Venice,” an exhibition highlighting Claude Monet’s Venetian paintings. The show will mark the first dedicated exploration of Monet’s luminous Venetian works since their debut in 1912.

The exhibition places Monet’s Venice works in context with other select paintings from key moments throughout his career. Also expect paintings by artists such as Canaletto, John Singer Sargent, J. M. W. Turner and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to create further dialogue.

Plus, there’s an immersive component, including an original symphonic score by the museum’s composer-in-residence.

September 20–27 | Lume Studios, Tribeca

The first international art exhibit dedicated to the lives and voices of North Korean women is coming to New York City this September. Titled “UNSEEN: 14 Artists on Resilience and Rights of Women in North Korea,” the free exhibition in Tribeca brings together 14 international artists alongside moving video testimonies from North Korean escapees.

See it at Lume Studios on Broadway, set to coincide with the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly. UNSEEN invites audiences to reconsider justice, visibility and global solidarity through the stories of women who were never meant to be seen. The contemporary art in this program connects lived experiences of North Korean women to broader global movements for women’s rights.

October 10–April 5, 2026 | Guggenheim Museum, Upper East Side

A century ago this fall, Robert Rauschenberg was born in Texas. He went on to become a Pop art pioneer and one of the most renowned American artists of this era. Now, museums and galleries across the globe are planning shows that honor the artist’s expansive creativity, spirit of curiosity and commitment to change.

For its part, NYC’s Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side will host a major show called “Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can't Be Stopped.” The show will feature more than a dozen historic pieces, including Rauschenberg’s monumental painting Barge, all which reflect the artist’s radical legacy. 

September 10–December 1 | Roosevelt Island

World-renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei is set to unveil Camouflage, a monumental new installation on Roosevelt Island that marks both his return to New York and the launch of a new public art initiative: Art X Freedom.

Opening to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Camouflage will transform Four Freedoms Park into a contemplative sanctuary draped in netting. Visitors will be able to contribute handwritten reflections on freedom, tying them to the fabric of the work in a gesture of collective memory and resistance. 

September 14–February 2026 | The Met, Upper East Side

On a cold winter day in 1921,

artist Man Ray placed some of his glass equipment on top of an unexposed sheet of photographic paper he found among the prints in his developing tray. This “mistake” produced something the artist would later dub a “rayograph,” and was essentially a photo taken without a camera. The works’ transformative nature led the Dada poet Tristan Tzara to describe rayographs as capturing the moments “when objects dream,” and you can soon see those pieces on display.

Drawing from the collections of The Met and more than 50 U.S. and international lenders, the presentation will include more than 60 rayographs and 100 paintings, objects, prints, drawings, films and photographs to highlight the central role of the rayograph in Man Ray’s practice.

November 6–March 22, 2026 | Hispanic Society, Washington Heights

Fashion Week may happen downtown, but the real fashion show is happening uptown at The Hispanic Society Museum & Library with its “Spanish Style: Fashion Illuminated, 1550–1700.” The exhibition explores the evolution of Spanish courtly dress during the height of Spain’s imperial power.

“Spanish Style” brings together rarely exhibited textiles, jewelry, sculpture and portraiture, as well as illuminated manuscripts, many of which are being displayed for the first time. The museum, which is always free to visit, is home to one of the world’s most important collections of art from Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the Philippines.

October 10–March 8, 2026 | The New York Historical, Upper West Side

Many New Yorkers know about the Harlem Renaissance, but a new exhibit opening this fall explores a more unknown facet of the era—the Gay Harlem Renaissance. The New York Historical will host a new exhibit examining the Black LGBTQ+ artists, writers and performers vital to the Harlem Renaissance and everyday Black gay life in the early 20th century.

“The Gay Harlem Renaissance” will trace queer creativity, friendship circles and mentorships that once flourished in Harlem’s salons, social clubs and thriving nightlight. The show also highlights specific Harlem Renaissance poets, novelists and artists—many of whom were gay or bisexual.  

Now–December 7 | AKC Museum of the Dog, Murray Hill

Over its 100 years in print, The New Yorker has devoted dozens of its famed covers to some of the coolest residents of New York City: Dogs. A new exhibit, “The New Yorker in Dog Years,” at AKC Museum of the Dog in Murray Hill, features 44 dog-themed New Yorker covers on display in celebration of their centennial anniversary.

See works by Peter Arno, James Thurber, Charles Addams, Helen Hokinson and Mark Urliksen and more. Along with admiring the artwork, you can learn the story behind each cover with detailed commentary on each one. Themes such as dog shows, grooming, country life and sports will be featured. 

October 21–January 19, 2026 | The Met, Upper East Side

The Met’s first major exhibition of Egyptian art in over a decade is on its way. “Divine Egypt” will focus in on images of gods in ancient Egypt. The exhibit considers how these physical tools brought the gods to life for daily worship, offering ancient Egyptians a vital connection between the human and divine worlds.

Spanning more than 3,000 years, the Egyptian people’s belief system grew to include more than 1,500 gods with many overlapping forms and traits. At the exhibit, expect to see statues and small elegant figurines that represent 25 of ancient Egypt’s main deities. Look for subtle visual cues, like what a figure wore, how they posed or the symbols they carried to help identify each one. The exhibition will conclude with artifacts relating to the transition to the next life.

September 27–February 22, 2026 | Poster House, Flatiron District

In a society constantly fearing “fake news” and manipulation by any prominent voice, there is nothing more important than education against persuasion. “The Future Was Then: The Changing Face of Fascist Italy” will ensure that powerful history is not forgotten.

The exhibition follows the rise of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime—and how art played an important part. See 75 pieces from the world-renowned Fondazione Massimo e Sonia Cirulli in Bologna, Italy. This expansive exhibition chronicles the length of Mussolini’s regime, focusing on the often blurred line between propaganda and art.

October 2–March 2026 | Louis Armstrong Museum, Corona

When Louis Armstrong sang the inimitable lyric “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow,” he was referencing the kids in his neighborhood of Corona and East Elmhurst, according to Regina Bain, executive director of the famed musician’s namesake museum. And a new oral exhibit this fall will give a voice to his Queens community, highlighting the people who grew up next to Louis and Lucille Armstrong. 

The new exhibition at The Louis Armstrong House Museum titled “The Corona Collection” offers new insight into the musician’s life. Throughout the show, you’ll hear the voices of the Armstrongs’ neighbors as they recount cherished memories, share heartfelt stories and dig into neighborhood histories. These oral histories offer an intimate look into the couple’s life and their deep community connection.

September 20–February 8, 2026 | The Met, Upper East Side

For over 60 years, American artist John Wilson created powerful and poetic works that reflected his life as a Black American artist and his ongoing quest for racial, social and economic justice. The Met will host his first-ever solo museum show with more than 100 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and illustrated books.

To start, the exhibition showcases work Wilson made while at art school in Boston, where his subjects included the horrors of Nazi Germany and American racial violence, as well as portraits of his family and neighborhood. Wilson happened to be a traveler, and work from his time in Paris, Mexico City and New York will also be on view. Finally, the exhibition concludes with Wilson’s return to Boston and his focus on portraiture. Wilson's sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the United States Capitol and the monumental sculpture Eternal Presence, two of his most celebrated works, will be on display.

September 27–February 22, 2026 | Poster House, Flatiron District

For New Yorkers, the sprawling national parks of the U.S. may seem far away. But Poster House is bringing the parks to us in “Blazing A Trail: Dorothy Waugh’s National Parks Posters.” It’s the first exhibition dedicated to Waugh’s parks campaign.

“Blazing A Trail” features 17 travel posters designed between 1934 and 1936 by landscape architect and highly trained artist Dorothy Waugh, created for the National Park Service’s first ever poster campaign.

Before Waugh came along, it was actually America’s railroad companies who were the main source of advertising for the National Park Service in the 1870s. Their posters were, yes, attractive, but very conventional. Waugh was the first to advocate for the bureau to produce its own poster campaign, along with styling and messaging, separate from the railroads. Waugh continued this work for the rest of the 20th century, leaving a legacy that endures today.

September 26–March 1, 2026 | The American Folk Art Museum, Upper West Side

Wrap yourself up in the artistry of quilts at a new exhibit this fall. The American Folk Art Museum is launching a new exhibition, “An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles” as part of its Lincoln Square reopening.

The exhibition features approximately 30 quilts spanning the 18th to 20th centuries and weaves together the relationships between the environment and traditional quilting practices. The show, curated by Emelie Gevalt, promises “a groundbreaking exploration of the natural history of American textiles.” It will take an ecological perspective into the many facets of global material culture that emerged in the early American republic through the 20th century.