Autumn’s artistic highlights

24 September 2016 – 2 January 2017 at the Royal Academy 

The sun may have set on the Royal Academy’s annual Summer Exhibition, but the eminent art institution still has an ace up its sleeve in the form of a major new show, Abstract Expressionism. Opening later this month, it explores the movement from its roots in 1950s New York and brings together some of the 20^th century’s finest and most recognisable works from the likes of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Tickets £17; royalacademy.org.uk 

Image: Blue Poles 1952 © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016. Main image: Water of the Flowery Mill, 1944 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016

6 October 2016 – 5 February 2017 at The National Portrait Gallery

This new exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery casts light on Pablo Picasso’s typically unconventional approach to portraiture, showing surprising diversity from an artist often defined by his ‘Marmite’ Cubism phase. Around 80 portraits will be on display, some for the very first time in the UK, with a mixture of formal studies, caricatures and even work painted from memory.

Advance booking recommended, see npg.org.uk for details.

Image: Woman in a Hat (Olga), 1935; Centre Pompidou, Paris. Musée national d’art moderne ©Succession Picasso/DACS London, 2016 

5 – 29 October 2016 at Osborne Samuel 

In October, Mayfair’s Osborne Samuel gallery will showcase the work of Erwin Blumenfeld, a man who, despite a complete lack of formal training, is today renowned as one of the most innovative and influential photographers of the 20th century. The German-born artist is most famous for his work published in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar during the 1940s and 50s, but this exhibition will focus on Blumenfeld’s early experimental photography and includes many rare works on loan from his family.

Osbornesamuel.com 

Images: Madeleine Sologne 1937, and above, Vogue Paris, 1938 both courtesy of Osborne Samuel 

6 – 9 October

Now in its 14th edition, the inimitable Frieze London returns to Regent’s Park this October. Recently joined by sister fair Frieze Masters, which bridges the gap between historic and contemporary art, Frieze is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon – attracting over 60,000 visitors every year. Modern art may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the sheer volume and diversity of work on display is well worth a look, as is the jam-packed schedule of talks, performances, film and music.

See frieze.com for ticket information. Frieze images courtesy Linda Nylind