Stuart Forster provides an overview of major art exhibitions in the Netherlands in 2026.
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During an event at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence in London on 2 December, representatives of museums from across the Netherlands discussed key exhibitions planned for 2026.
“British tourists love to go to the Netherlands, not only to see Amsterdam and other beautiful cities, but also to enjoy the culture,” said Paul Huijts, Dutch Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Art exhibitions in the Netherlands in 2026
Here’s a round-up of some of the top exhibitions in the Netherlands during 2026:
Hals – Rembrandt at the Frans Hals Museum
When: 6 November 2026 to 28 February 2027
Where: Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem
What: The exhibition will present combinations of works by the two artists, including their group portraits of syndics (government officials) and regentesses (female institutional governors). In total, 20 paintings – 12 by Hals and eight by Rembrandt – will be displayed, enabling visitors to compare their approaches.
Hals – Rembrandt will feature an introductory film that zooms in on the beauty hidden in the details of the works. It is designed to put visitors in a decompressed mindset.
Why go? Frans Hals and Rembrandt van Rijn are two masters of 17th-century Dutch portraiture. Both are renowned for their ability to capture their subjects’ likeness and loose, unique painting styles.
“We want to encourage our visitors to slow down, observe and compare, and thus fully absorb the beauty and visual power of the works on display,” says Christi Klinkert, Senior Curator of Old Masters at the Frans Hals Museum.
How to get there: Haarlem is a 12-minute train journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station.
Insider tip: Step inside the St Bavo Church to visit the gravestone of Frans Hals. Appreciate good beer? Visit the taproom inside the Jopenkerk. With easy access to Amsterdam, Haarlem is a great alternative as a base for city breaks.
Book hotels in Haarlem using the map below:
The Goldfinch and Friends at the Mauritshuis
When: 12 February to 7 June 2026
Where: The Mauritshuis in The Hague
What: Carel Fabritius’s Goldfinch, the 17th-century bird painting, will be among more than 50 avian-inspired artworks, including a sculpture by Tracey Emin. The Goldfinch and Friends exhibition will explore the theme of birds as a source of inspiration to artists and creative minds.
Why go? The exhibition is a reason to visit the art museum in the urban palace built for Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen.
Two other major exhibitions are planned at the Mauritshuis in 2026. Photographs by Stephan Vanfleteren, inspired by the museum’s artworks, will be exhibited from 23 April until 24 August. From 15 October 2026 until 17 January 2027, 25 highlights from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in Madrid will include masterpieces by Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck and Lucas van Leyden.
How to get there: The Hague is a 40-minute direct train journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station.
Insider tip: After visiting the exhibition, try a rijsttafel in one of the many Indonesian restaurants in The Hague. They include Keraton Damai and Waroeng Padang Lapek.
Forbidden Territories at the Museum Arnhem
When: Until 22 February 2026
Where: Museum Arnhem in Arnhem
What: The exhibition explores how artists – including Max Ernst, Lee Miller and Jean Arp – represent themes such as political unrest, gender identity, and the relationship between humans and nature.
Why go? Forbidden Territories provides a new perspective on 100 years of Surrealist art. It features artists from beyond Europe.
The exhibition is also a reason to visit a museum that reopened in May 2022 with a new wing designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects. The Museum Arnhem has a sculpture garden. Its collection includes modern and contemporary art, designs and jewellery. Gender, climate change and decolonisation are pillars of the museum’s programme.
Nude with Attitude, from 7 March to 20 September 2026, will explore how artists over the last 100 years have used the naked body to address themes including power, inequality and identity. It will feature works by artists including Charley Toorop, Louise Bourgeois and Yulia Tsvetkova.
How to get there: Arnhem is a 60-minute direct train journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station.
Insider tip: Visit the nearby Airborne Museum Hartenstein to discover details of the Battle of Arnhem in World War Two.
Book hotels in Arnhem using the map below:
Water and Light at the Dordrechts Museum
When: 8 February until 14 June 2026
Where: The Dordrechts Museum in Dordrecht
What: To celebrate the 250th anniversary of J.M.W. Turner’s birth, Water and Light will show 14 of the artist’s works from the collection of the Yale Center for British Art. The exhibition explores how artists have remained fascinated by water and light.
Why go? Water and Light will include Dort or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed, Turner’s masterpiece. Established in 1842, the Dordrechts Museum is one of the oldest art museums in the Netherlands. Its collection of 16th to 21st-century artworks includes paintings by Aelbert Cuyp, Ary Scheffer and Jacob van Strij.
“Dordrecht is one of the oldest cities in Holland. It’s a surprisingly beautiful city, situated at the confluence of three rivers and home to a centuries-old historic centre. With its atmospheric harbours and De Biesbosch National Park it is truly a hidden gem,” says Emine Kara, Head of Public Engagement at the Dordrechts Museum.
How to get there: Dordrecht is an 80 to 90-minute direct train journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station. From Rotterdam, it is a 35-minute direct train ride or a scenic, one-hour Waterbus journey.
Insider tip: Book a boat tour with Si Barone and cross the Oude Maas river to Zwinjdrecht. You will see where Cuyp, Turner and other artists painted scenes of Dordrecht.
Book hotels in Dordrecht using the map below:
All Van Goghs at the Kröller-Müller Museum
When: 15 September 2026 until 3 January 2027
Where: Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo
What: All 87 paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the Kröller-Müller Museum’s collection will be displayed for the first time since 1984. The exhibition will be about the Dutch artist who lived from 1853 to 1890. The museum also has more than 180 drawings by Van Gogh.
Why go? Inside Hoge Veluwe National Park, the Kröller-Müller Museum has one of the world’s largest collections of Vincent van Gogh’s works. The museum also has one of Europe’s largest sculpture gardens. Pieces by the likes of Henry Moore and Auguste Rodin are among its 200 works. After the Van Gogh exhibition, the Kröller-Müller Museum will close for an extension, though the sculpture garden will remain accessible.
The Europe of Isaac Israels
The Kröller-Müller Museum’s collection includes 23 paintings and almost 300 drawings by Isaac Israels. From 24 April to 30 August 2026, the museum will present The Europe of Isaac Israels. Israels was a passionate traveller who loved European literature and spoke several languages. Loans from other museums will feature in the exhibition.
How to get there: Take a direct train from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Apeldoorn. Journeys take up to an hour.
Insider tip: Set aside time to cycle in Hoge Veluwe National Park. Bicycles are provided free of charge.
Book hotels in Otterlo using the map below:
Gerard van Honthorst at The Centraal Museum
When: 15 September 2026 until 3 January 2027
Where: The Centraal Museum in Utrecht
What: The exhibition will be the first retrospective of the Dutch Golden Age artist. Van Honthorst was regarded as the most successful artist of the 1620s and 1630s.
Why go? Utrecht-born Gerard van Honthorst lived from 1592 to 1656. Influenced by Caravaggio, his patrons included Scipione Borghese and Vincenzo Giustiniani. After returning from Rome, he painted portraits of prominent people, including commissions for King Charles I of England and King Christian IV of Denmark. The oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands has a diverse collection and an innovative approach to storytelling. It is within a former monastery.
Broken Spectre, a 74-minute video installation by Richard Mosse, will be exhibited at The Centraal Museum until 29 March 2026. Its focus is the impact of deforestation in the Amazon.
How to get there: Direct trains from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Utrecht take from 16 minutes.
Insider tip: While in Utrecht, head to the Rietveld-Schroeder House to view an iconic example of De Stijl architecture.
Book hotels in Utrecht using the map below:
London Calling at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag
When: 14 February to 7 June 2026
Where: Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague
What: In collaboration with the Tate Britain, the exhibition will feature more that 70 artworks. It will explore how London-based artists depicted life in the years following World War Two. Works by Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Paula Rego will be among those exhibited.
Why go? The Modernist museum building, designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, is regarded as a work of art in its own right. It holds the world’s largest collection of artworks by Piet Mondrian, tracing his evolution towards abstract, linear works. London Calling will explore which painters are considered important, why and who have been overlooked.
Can Love Be A Photograph
Featuring works by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Can Love Be A Photograph will be shown from 21 March to 6 September 2026.
From 28 November 2026, the museum will also host an exhibition about Delftware.
How to get there: The Hague is a 40-minute direct train journey from Amsterdam Centraal Station. Trams (number 17) and bus (number 24) run from the station to the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
Insider tip: Stroll on the beach at Scheveningen after visiting the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. If it’s raining, stay dry and view the beach at the Panorama Mesdag. Scheveningen’s sculpture museum, Beelden aan Zee, will exhibit Magali Reus from 16 January to 3 May 2026. From 26 June 2026 to 10 January 2027, Beelden aan Zee will host the exhibition Rui Chafes x Alberto Giacometti.
Book hotels in The Hague using the map below:
Metamorphoses at the Rijksmuseum
When: 6 February to 25 May 2026
Where: Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
What: More than 80 artworks by the likes of Titian, Correggio, Cellini, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rodin, Brancusi, Magritte and Bourgeois will feature in Metamorphoses. The exhibition is a collaboration with the Galleria Borghese in Rome. It explores how artists interpret themes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a collection of around 250 different stories.
Over the same period, Fake explores the manipulation of photos.
From 9 October 2026 to 17 January 2027, around 125 Willem de Kooning works will be exhibited. The exhibition is titled Willem de Kooning at Work.
Why go? The Netherlands’ national museum of art and history was designed by Pierre Cuypers. Metamorphoses is an opportunity to view numerous masterpieces in a single exhibition.
How to get there: From Amsterdam Centraal Station, Metro 52 runs to Vijzelgracht. Trams 2, 5 and 12 stop at the Museumsplein.
Insider tip: Book timed tickets to save time queueing. If you are a first-time visitor to Amsterdam, you may enjoy a one-hour Stromma canal tour after leaving the Rijksmuseum.
Book hotels in Amsterdam using the map below:
Rotterdam in Focus at the Nederlands Fotomuseum
When: 7 February to 24 May 2026
Where: Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam
What: More than 300 photos document the evolution of Rotterdam from 1843 onwards. Curated by Frits Gierstberg and Joop de Jong, they include works by Iwan Baan, Eva Besnyö and Henri Berssenbrugge.
Awakening in Blue
Over the same period, Awakening in Blue celebrates the cyanotype. Historic examples of the 19th-century technique will be displayed alongside cyanotypes by 15 contemporary artists.
Why go? The Nederlands Fotomuseum is the Netherlands’ national photography museum. These exhibitions present the first opportunity to visit the museum’s new premises, the restored Santos warehouse at Rijnhaven.
“We were being held back by our previous location, which prevented us from being able to truly make an impact in the city and to fully realise our ambition to become a state-of-the-art photography museum and the embodiment of the Dutch reputation of excellence in photography,” explains Roderick van der Lee, Temporary Director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum.
“We are proud to hold a collection of over 6.5 million photos, making it one of the largest museum collections of photography in the world,” he continues.
How to get there: From Amsterdam Centraal Station, trains take as little as 34 minutes to reach Rotterdam. Eurostar services operate between London St Pancras and Rotterdam.
Insider tip: The Fenix Museum is nearby. Alternatively, pause for afternoon tea at the Hotel New York before heading into the city centre.
Book hotels in Rotterdam using the map below:
Travel to the Netherlands
KLM flies to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from airports across the United Kingdom.
Eurostar operates train services from London St Pancras to Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
DFDS operates a ferry between the Port of Tyne, at North Shields, and Ijmuiden, near Amsterdam.
Books about the Netherlands
Planning a trip to view an art exhibition in the Netherlands? You can buy the following books from Amazon:
DK Eyewitness guidebook to The Netherlands.
Why the Dutch are Different by Ben Coates.
The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting by Norbert Wolf.
Further information
Discover more about the county via the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions website.
Stuart Forster, the author of this post, was named Travel Writer of the Decade at the 2020 Netherlands Press Awards.
Thank you for reading this blog post about art exhibitions in the Netherlands in 2026. If you are looking for further ideas for travel to the Netherlands, see my post with an A to Z of reasons to visit the Netherlands.
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