Uncle Sam, Drones, Grand Master Rafael & More: 10 Must See Spring Exhibits
City museums are popping like cherry blossoms, from pop art to Renaissance grand masters to exhibits celebrating the semiquincentennial of the USA.
| 20 Apr 2026 | 12:24
Uncle Sam Riding a Bicycle Whirligig, Probably New York State, 1880–1920, Paint on wood with metal, 37 x 55 1/2 x 11 in., Gift of Dorothea and Leo Rabkin. (
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Anicka Yi’s, “In Love with the World,” 2021/2025. Plastic, helium, electronics, thermal camera, positioning system, and artificial life simulation at the newly reopened New Museum. (
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Ed Young’s artwork from the “Monkey King” will be on view at the Museum of Chinese Americans this May to Sept. Photo courtesy of University of Connecticut, Archives and Special Collections. (
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Utē Petit, “Red Bed Country,” 2023.Watercolor, ink, graphite on paper with wood frame is included in “Fade” at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Courtesy the artist and Swivel Gallery. (
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At the National Museum of the American Indian, Virgil Ortiz, “Incubators,” 2016, High fire clay vessels, underglazes, acrylic paint with corning glass tendrils. (
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Carol Bove is on display at the Guggenheim from March 5 to August 2. David Heald / Installation view. (
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Installation view of Raphael: Sublime Poetry, on view March 29–June 28, 2026 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Eileen Travell, Courtesy of The Met (
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Leo Matiz. “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Mexico,” 1946. Platinum/palladium print, 13 3/4 × 12 3/16″ The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Alejandra Matiz. (
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Rembrandt van Rijn’s “Self-Portrait with Shaded Eyes,” 1634, Oil on panel, on loan from the Leiden Collection will be on view in “Old Masters, New Amsterdam” at the New York Historical. (
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Installation view of Whitney Biennial 2026. (
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After the long hard winter, the local museum scene is exploding with exhibits ranging from drones and Monkey Kings to Uncle Sam on a Bicycle and the Renaissance master Raphael. Here’s ten to see now:
Raphael: Sublime Poetry. A once-in-a-lifetime view of over 200 Renaissance masterpieces including 170 breathtaking works by Raphael at the Metropolian through June 28 reveals why the sixteenth century Italian artist still thrills. Highlights from museums from around the world include works by his peers, rare tapestries, and studies for and a digital recreation of Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican. Expect exquisite draftsmanship, divine visions and, as the title suggests, sublime poetry. 1000 Fifth Ave., metmuseum.org.
Whitney Biennial: This is the 82nd edition of the famed Whitney Biennial. While previous exhibitions have been noted for pushing buttons and announcing agendas, this iteration seems to foreground community. Visions of families and how they’re built–from nations to pets–find voice in the works of fifty-six artists, duos, and collectives reflecting on relationships. Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St., whitney.org
New Humans: Memories of the Future: The New Museum just got newer. As the freshly redesigned and expanded building has altered the city’s landscape, the 150 artists, writers, scientists, architects, and filmmakers in the reopening exhibition on display through August look to alter perceptions of what it is to be human in the 21st century. There are robots, computers and drones along with paintings, drawings and sculptures by renowned artists sharing challenging reflections. New Museum, 235 Bowery, newmuseum.org
Frida and Diego: The Last Dream: We’re loving .the order of the names on this exhibition. When Rivera and Kahlo took New York by storm in the 1930s, Frida was described in the press as an artist’s wife and a pretty dabbler. Now she’s more recognized around the world than Diego. Who’s the better artist? You decide through September 12 Then head to the Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego,” an opera that explores their love of art and each other, and the inspiration for the exhibition. Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., moma.org
Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States: For the nation’s semiquincentennial, through September 13, the museum looks through 250 years’ worth of art and antiques to explore what Americans have treasured, crafted, and collected. The results reveal a sense of how colonists, freedom fighters, citizens, activists and artists, both schooled and unschooled, built a visual vocabulary of culture separate from but equal to Europe’s. American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, folkartmuseum.org
Carol Bove: The Guggenheim rotunda through Aug. 2 is filled with sprouting shapes and ebullient colors, and it’s not a flower show. Rather, the sculptures, installations and paintings of Carol Bove, in her first museum survey, display the artist’s inventive use of materials and forms. Towering metal compositions that crinkle and shimmer belie the fact that they’re made of steel. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave., guggenheim.org
Fade: The dramatic structure of the newly redesigned Studio Museum in Harlem is a work of art in itself. Within, spacious, light-filled galleries expand the energy of the collection, and the sixth edition of their “F” series is on view from May 1 to September 6. “Fade” brings a new group together to shine a light on early-career artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent. Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 W 125th St., studiomuseum.org
Old Masters, New Amsterdam: To celebrate America’s 250th, the New York Historical from May 1 to August 30 is creating a groundbreaking look at the past through the lens of its Dutch roots. Works from one of the greatest collections of Dutch Golden Age paintings in private hands, The Leiden Collection, along with pieces from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, National Gallery of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New York State Archives, Trinity Church and other private collections offer dazzling paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Pieter Claesz and Frans Snyders, some of which have never before been exhibited in New York. From May 29-Oct. 25, you can also visit “Revolutionary Women” which presents the lives, loves, and losses of New York women during the Revolutionary War. The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, nyhistory.org
Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass:
With 120 works in glass by 29 Indigenous makers, a sense of how artists from the past half-century are stretching beyond traditional materials to tell stories of heritage, history, and contemporary concerns through the medium of glass on exhibit now through May 29. Included in the exhibition are works by Dale Chihuly, founder of the Institute of American Indian Arts’ glass program.National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, americanindian.si.edu
Luminaries for America250: The Museum of Chinese in America throughout 2026 pays homage to exceptional Chinese Americans in the arts, entertainment, science, military, education and law in honor of the nation’s 250th. Those who made history include actor Bruce Lee and architect I. M. Pei, but scores of others’ stories will be told. From May 14-September 13, the Caldecott award winning children’s book illustrator will be featured in “Ed Young’s Bright Worlds.” The Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St., mocanyc.org