FROM CASSATT IN PARIS TO WYETH IN CLEVELAND, HERITAGE SPECIALISTS SELECT THE EXHIBITIONS WORTH PUTTING ON YOUR CULTURAL CALENDAR
By Rhonda Reinhart | October 20, 2026
For Heritage’s art specialists, museum-going is more than a professional exercise. It is an opportunity to encounter familiar artists in new contexts, discover unexpected connections, and revisit works known mostly through reproduction. So, with museum calendars crowded with ambitious exhibitions this fall and winter, Intelligent Collector asked Heritage’s in-house experts a simple question: What do you most want to see?
Their answers span continents, centuries, and disciplines. Mary Cassatt receives a major reconsideration in Paris, while Roy Lichtenstein gets his first New York retrospective in more than 30 years. Rarely seen Andrew Wyeth watercolors reveal a surprisingly colorful side of the American master, and an exhibition of colonial South American art explores the intersection of Indigenous, European, and African traditions. Elsewhere, Japanese woodblock prints invite viewers on a journey, and Isamu Noguchi challenges the boundary between art and design.
Some of the specialists have already made the trip; others are still planning it. Here are the exhibitions currently inspiring their museum wanderlust.
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) ‘Woman in a Loge,’ 1879. Oil on canvas, 81.5 x 59.5 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bequest of Charlotte Dorrance Wright, 1978 (1978-1-5). Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Mary Cassatt: Being Independent
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Through January 31, 2027
“I have always championed women in the arts, and as an Americanist, this exhibition feels particularly meaningful to me. To see a European institution — especially the Musée d’Orsay, one of the most discerning and important museums in the world — devote a major retrospective to an American woman artist feels like the dawn of a new day. And this isn’t simply a Paris exhibition. It is a major international collaboration between the Musée d’Orsay, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, traveling from Paris to London and then Boston. The fact that these three institutions are coming together to reconsider Cassatt on this scale says something important about where the scholarship — and the broader appreciation of American Art — is heading.
“Coming on the heels of last year’s blockbuster John Singer Sargent exhibition in Paris, it feels like something larger is happening. For so long, American Art has been treated internationally as somehow adjacent to the broader canon rather than fully part of it. To see artists of this caliber being celebrated by major European institutions on this scale feels like a watershed moment in the recognition of American Art as truly world-class.
“Cassatt herself makes the choice especially perfect. She was American but profoundly transatlantic — an artist who built her career in France and became a central figure within Impressionism while maintaining a fiercely independent identity. And, of course, she did all of this as a woman at a time when the obstacles to doing so were extraordinary. I cannot wait to see it.” —Aviva Lehmann, Deputy Chairman, Fine Art
Mikhail Vrubel, ceramic platter. Photo courtesy the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum.
Vrubel. The Birth of New Art
All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, Moscow
Through February 17, 2027
“I really wish I could see Vrubel. The Birth of New Art, a major exhibition of approximately 400 works at the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum in Moscow. Unfortunately, given that it is in Russia, it is not presently accessible to us. Mikhail Vrubel was one of the most original and visionary artists of the late 19th century — a painter, designer, and ceramicist whose work helped shape Russian Symbolism and anticipated many of the formal experiments of 20th-century art. The exhibition is especially exciting because it places his revolutionary ceramics, with their extraordinary forms, colors, and metallic glazes, within the broader international development of design around 1900. Vrubel deserves to be understood not simply as a Russian painter, but as a central figure in the international movement that also encompassed Tiffany Studios, European Art Nouveau, and the Arts and Crafts movement. This has particular relevance for us at Heritage: In our recent A La Vieille Russie sale, we sold an important ceramic platter with decoration after Vrubel, and seeing it contextualized within this broader history would be a fantastic experience. I look forward to the catalog and, for now, will content myself with the online exhibition!” —Nick Nicholson, Deputy Chairman, Decorative Arts
Lee Krasner (American, 1908–1984) ‘Bald Eagle,’ 1955. Oil, paper, and canvas collage on linen. 77 × 51 1/2 in. (195.6 × 130.8 cm). ASOM Collection ©2026 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Through January 31, 2027
“Jackson Pollock will probably draw the crowds for this show, but I’m especially interested in seeing Lee Krasner. She spent so much of her career in his shadow, and there’s a lot more to her work than many people realize. With more than 120 works across both careers, the show should be a good opportunity to see how each developed and how living and working together affected their painting. I’m curious to see which works stay with me afterward.” —Taylor Curry, Director, Modern & Contemporary Art, New York
Kim Whanki, ‘26-I-70,’ 1970; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, gift of Mrs. Whanki Kim; ©Whanki Foundation · Whanki Museum; photo: Katherine Du Tiel.
RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Through February 7, 2027
“I’ll admit I was skeptical when I heard that K-pop star RM, the leader of the South Korean boy band BTS, was curating a show at SFMOMA. On opening night, I had to make my way past a crowd of twentysomethings who had gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the star. But once inside, I was completely won over. RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me brings together nearly 200 works from RM’s Korean modern and contemporary collection with works from SFMOMA, creating unexpected connections between Korean and Western artists. Kim Whanki is an important presence in the show, making the timing especially wonderful for us at Heritage. Our November 10 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction features two paintings by Whanki, giving us another opportunity to celebrate this extraordinary Korean modernist.” —Holly Sherratt, Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art
‘Mackerel Catcher,’ 1935. Andrew Wyeth (American, 1917–2009). Watercolor on paper; 55.9 x 77.2 cm. Wyeth Foundation for American Art Collection, 0020. © 2026 Wyeth Foundation for American Art / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Spectacular Freedom: Andrew Wyeth and the Modern American Watercolor
Cleveland Museum of Art
Through January 18, 2027
“The current show of nearly 75 seldom- or never-seen watercolors by Andrew Wyeth at the Cleveland Museum of Art is not just a revelation; it’s an inspiration. Drawn from the artist’s estate, the array of bold, lush, and colorful watercolors — way more colorful than the monochromatic temperas we associate most with him — are at once carefully observed and utterly unrestrained. Many are early works, painted when he was still in his teens pushing himself hard to capture the landscape, the coast, the water, the skies, and especially the light in Maine and Pennsylvania. They are so vital they make you want to pick up a brush even if you have seldom or never painted in your life. In many instances one can see that some of these sheets weren’t shown because they weren’t considered perfect examples and contain hints of struggle. That in itself is fascinating. You can see Wyeth becoming Wyeth in Spectacular Freedom: Andrew Wyeth and the Modern American Watercolor, organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art in collaboration with the Brandywine Museum of Art.” —Marianne Berardi, PhD, Co-Director, European Art
Roy Lichtenstein, ‘Girl in Window (Study for World’s Fair Mural),’ 1963. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 68 1/8 × 56 in. (173 × 142.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc., Leonard A. Lauder, President 2002.254. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein/DACS 2026.
Roy Lichtenstein: Like New
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Through May 10, 2027
“What will prove to be one of the most extensive exhibitions of Roy Lichtenstein’s work opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art on October 11. This is a major exhibition for Lichtenstein and the first New York retrospective for the Pop artist in over 30 years. I highly recommend this deep dive into his work, which is very important to view in person and not by reproduction in books and online. For the first time ever, the show reunites the eight paintings from Lichtenstein’s historic 1962 debut at the Leo Castelli Gallery. Leo discovered many of the Pop artists we know and love today, and I was very lucky to work for him as a recent college graduate back in 1984. The exhibition also features large-scale recreated murals, including a 96-foot-long iteration of his Greene Street Mural (1983). Organized by Whitney curator Meg Onli alongside celebrated contemporary artist Alex Da Corte as guest curator, the exhibition focuses on Lichtenstein’s preoccupation with how images are copied, altered, and circulated.” —Rebecca Lax, Consignment Director, Prints & Multiples
Kawase Hasui (Japanese, 1883-1957) ‘Mt. Fuji Clear After Snow,’ 1932, woodcut print, 39.5 x 27 cm. Gift of Elizabeth Marsters, AGGV 1994.013.021.
On the Road: Journeys through Japanese Woodblock Prints
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Through April 4, 2027
“I am really excited about the Japanese art exhibition On the Road: Journeys through Japanese Woodblock Prints at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. The exhibition features woodblock prints from the museum’s permanent collection. The historic mansion was built in 1889, and the museum opened there in 1951. Today, the original mansion, with its beautiful Victorian interior, stands alongside seven modern galleries. With more than 22,000 works, the AGGV holds the largest public art collection in British Columbia, including what it describes as the most important collection of Asian art in Western Canada. I think visiting this exhibition will be a unique and intimate experience, almost like taking a day trip through Japan without leaving North America.” —Charlene Wang, Director, Asian Art
Photo by Paul Salveson. Courtesy Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles
Ongoing
“I am very excited about the recent opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The museum features more than 1,300 works across over 30 galleries. Visitors can encounter art by Frida Kahlo, Norman Rockwell, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Gordon Parks, and Banksy alongside classic comics, manga, children’s book illustrations, and cinematic material. I am particularly eager to see Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With, the iconic Civil Rights image depicting 6-year-old Ruby Bridges integrating a New Orleans elementary school. The Lucas Museum is an exciting opportunity to experience storytelling through images, installations, and popular culture.” —Desiree Pakravan, Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Unidentified artist, ‘Our Lady of Bethlehem of Cuzco with Donor,’ 18th century. Cuzco, Peru. Oil and gold on canvas, 86 ¼ x 63 in. (219.1 x 160 cm). Collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, 2013.43. Photo: Amber Shields Johnson, courtesy of the Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin.
Spectacles of Power and Faith: Colonial South American Art from the Thoma Foundation
Meadows Museum, Dallas
Through January 24, 2027
“One of the great pleasures of living in Dallas and Fort Worth is having access to such an exceptional museum community, and the Meadows Museum is a vital part of it. Best known for one of the country’s great collections of Spanish art, the Meadows also consistently broadens our understanding of Spain’s artistic influence throughout the world. Spectacles of Power and Faith is a perfect example. Bringing together 63 paintings created across colonial South America between 1600 and 1850, the exhibition explores how Indigenous American, European, and African artists transformed shared imagery and traditions into something distinctly their own. The works are visually spectacular, but they also tell complicated and fascinating stories about faith, power, identity, and cultural exchange. Many are recent acquisitions being exhibited and published for the first time, adding a genuine sense of discovery. Dallas is very fortunate to host the world premiere of such an important exhibition of works from the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation’s renowned collection.” —Adam Williams, Vice President and Managing Director, Fine & Decorative Arts
Isamu Noguchi installation image by Kim Indresano. Photo courtesy Peabody Essex Museum.
Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer”
Peabody Essex Museum
Through January 3, 2027
“I had the pleasure of visiting Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer” at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta earlier this year, and it is now open at PEM. The exhibition responds to and challenges Noguchi’s famous 1949 statement — “I am not a designer” — showcasing his industrial, furniture, lighting, set, and public designs and exploring the ways he blurred the boundaries between art and design. Rather than treating Noguchi’s design objects and projects as a secondary branch of his sculpture, the curators argue that design was fundamental to his entire artistic philosophy.” —Samantha Robinson, Vice President, Design
Tiffany Silver at the Peter Marino Art Foundation. Photo by Manolo Yllera.
Peter Marino Art Foundation, Southampton, New York
Reopens Summer 2027
“The Peter Marino Art Foundation in Southampton rewards curiosity. Marino’s collection spans more than five millennia, bringing paintings, sculpture, photography, furniture, and ceramics into conversation across cultures and centuries. His eye as an architect and designer makes the unexpected pairings especially compelling: An ancient Egyptian jar, a Renaissance bronze, and a ceramic vase by Théodore Deck invite a closer look. I went to see his extraordinary collection of Tiffany & Co. mixed metal silver and left enchanted by the whole place.” [Editor’s note: The Peter Marino Art Foundation is closed for the season but reopens Memorial Day weekend with a new slate of exhibitions, along with the return of its Tiffany Silver and Vienna 1900 Art & Decoration installations.] —Karen Rigdon, Vice President, Fine Silver & Decorative Arts
