Until January 23rd in London
Beatles to Bowie: the 60s Exposed - Beatles to Bowie explores the leading pop music personalities who helped create ‘Swinging London' in the 1960s.  At the National Portrait Gallery in London,  England

Until January 24th in London
Beatles to Bowie:  the 60's Exposed.  Leading pop music personalities who helped create "Swinging London" in the 1960's.   Bringing together 150 photographs and memorabilia illustrating how image, music, fashion and performance combined to make these musicians icons of their time and London the world's most important cultural capital.  The exhibition includes classic images of groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who along with early portraits of singers Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, Marianne Faithful, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie.  All at the National Portrait Gallery,  London,  England

Until January 24th in London
Moctezuma:  Aztec Ruler   - This major exhibition explores Aztec (Mexica) civilization through the divine, military and political role of the last elected ruler, Moctezuma.  At the British Museum,  London,  England                                 

Until January 31st, 2010 in Amsterdam
At the Russian Court - The first exhibition at the newly renovated Hermitage Amsterdam presents 1,800 treasures from the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and centres on a day at the Russian court: an official reception given by the Tsar and his family, with the accompanying ceremony.  The exhibition is set in the 19th century because at that time court ceremony was at its height and the Russian tsars and their court held a great appeal for other European monarchs and nobles.  The exhibition will be a ‘fountain’ of Russian, West European and exotic objects which together present a cross section of the rich collections of the State Hermitage Museum. Amsterdam,  The Netherlands

Until January 31st in Dublin
A Light in the Darkness - Turner's Watercolors  & Silhouettes and Miniatures at the National Gallery of Ireland.  Celebrate the New Year with a visit to the National Gallery’s annual Turner watercolour exhibition, ‘A Light in the Darkness’, featuring the Vaughan Bequest of 31 of the artist’s most striking views painted during his later European tours: The Doge’s Palace in Venice, Lake Lucerne, and the Fortresses at Bellinzona in Switzerland. Complementing the Turner display throughout January is an exquisite collection of portrait silhouettes and miniature paintings from the Mary A. McNeill Bequest. These delicate likenesses, painted in watercolour on ivory or enamel on copper, were popular in Turner’s day and were prized as keepsakes and sometimes worn as jewellery. A fully illustrated brochure complementing the display of miniatures is available from the Gallery Shop. Dublin,  Ireland

Until January 31st in London
Turner and the Masters at the Tate Britain.  Featuring around 100 works, Turner and the Masters will exhibit Turner’s greatest paintings alongside works by the old masters and contemporaries that he hoped to imitate or rival, including Rubens and Rembrandt.  London,  England

Currently until February 7th in Denmark
Faith, Hope and Love - Jacob Holdt’s America - Louisiana’s exhibition “Faith, Hope and Love - Jacob Holdt’s America” presents Holdt’s insistent, heart-rending photographs from the 1970s until today, including photographs from his most recent American journey in 2009. The exhibition can be seen as a pictorial narrative of a USA through the decades to which few people have been so close.  Many of the exhibition’s more than 200 pictures have not been shown before, and the exhibition demonstrates how Jacob Holdt’s sensitive photographs are far more wide-ranging than pure documentarism.  Humlebæk,  Denmark

Through February 2010, explore the fascinating relationship between food and faith at the  Jewish Museum in Berlin: the exhibition "Kosher & Co. - On Religion and Food" reveals how religion and customs have influenced the eating habits of many believers worldwide to the present day. You will also discover where the term "kosher" came from, why Muslims and Buddhists don’t drink alcohol, and why Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.  Berlin,  Germany

To February 7th in New York
Velazquez Rediscovered - A special exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will feature a newly identified painting by Velazquez, Portrait of a Man, formerly ascribed by the Museum to the workshop of Velazquez and recently reattributed to the master himself following its cleaning and restoration..  It will be shown alongside other works from the Museum's superior collection of works by the great Spanish painter.  New York, New York

Through February 8th, 2010 in Los Angeles
The Chimaera of Arezzo - One of the greatest masterpieces of Etruscan art comes to the Getty Villa on rare loan from the National Archaeological Museum in Florence. Meet the Chimaera—the fire-breathing hybrid monster of ancient myth—and explore how the creature and the hero who slew her were portrayed on vases and cups, coins and rings across five centuries of ancient art.  At the Getty Villa in Los Angeles,  California

Through February 8th in Malibu
Reconstructing Identity: A Statue of a God from Dresden - Returning for an encore presentation, this exhibition examines an enigmatic Roman statue of a god that was given various identities—and corresponding heads—over the centuries. Severely damaged during World War II, the statue was recently reassembled at the Getty Villa and will return permanently to the Dresden State Art Collections after the close of the exhibition.  At the Getty Villa in Malibu,  California

Until February 14th, 2010 in Finland
Tracking Traces in Kiasma - The collection exhibition Tracking Traces… will open in Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki. The exhibition examines people,  nature and culture through a variety of traces. Tracks can be found near and far, from the human body to imagery of advertising and urban space.  Tracks may deliberately or accidentally created marks or indentations that we leave and encounter every day.  Helsinki,  Finland

To February 14th in London
The Conversation Piece: Scenes of Fashionable Life - At The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace - This new exhibition will provide a fascinating insight into high-society style and manners, from the time of Charles I to the reign of Queen Victoria, with paintings by the greatest exponents of this form of portraiture, including William Hogarth and Thomas Gainsborough. London,  England

Until February 14th in Brussels
Europalia -  Europalia is one of the first European cultural festivals, with over one million visitors at each edition, has succumbed to the fascination of the Middle Kingdom. With 50 exhibitions and 450 events in Belgium and abroad, europalia.china offers a unique opportunity to discover the masterpieces of Chinese culture in the heart of Europe. The festival will feature more than 1000 Chinese artists and hundreds of pieces shown outside China for the very first time.  Brussels,  Belgium

Until February 14th in Amsterdam
Hendrick Avercamp (1585 - 1634): The Little Ice Age - The work of Hendrick Avercamp is synonymous with winter scenes of ice skating, sleigh rides, and outdoor games on frozen Dutch canals and waterways, a period often referred to as “The Little Ice Age.” Though his life and career spanned only a few years, Avercamp left iconic images of these winter pastimes. Skating couples, sleigh rides, and children flying about the ice, as well as Avercamp’s fascinating depictions of men playing kolf (golf) display his remarkable ability to capture the bustle of life on frozen water. These images summon the sense of community the Dutch found on the ice, where relationships between friends and neighbors of all social classes seemed easier to establish than on the hard soil of the land. The ice fascinated Avercamp, and his brightly colored and delicately rendered scenes of lively towns in the middle of winter project a joy and warmth despite the cold. At the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Until February 21st in Atlanta
Leonardo da Vinci:  Hand of the Genius - This exhibition will feature approximately 50 works, including more than 20 sketches and studies by Leonardo, some of which will be on view in the United States for the first time. The exhibition will also feature work by Donatello, Rubens,  Verrocchio, and Rustici—including Rustici’s three monumental bronzes from the façade of the Baptistery in Florence that comprise “John the Baptist Preaching to a Levite and a Pharisee,” which was recently restored and has never left Florence. Also included are works from world-renowned collections, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.  At the High Museum of Art in Atlanta,  Georgia

Until February 22nd at the Huntington
The Color Explosion:  Nineteen Century American Lithography from the Jay T. Last Collection - When a young German playwright named Alois Senefelder developed a new printmaking process in the 1790s, little did he know that his discovery would start a communication revolution. Lithography, or flat-surface printing, transformed the exchange of information and everyday life for the next century and beyond. This technique brought art, literature, music, and science to the masses; gave rise to product advertising and consumer culture; educated a growing middle class; and turned commercial printing from a craft into an industry. Lithography also colorized a predominantly black-and-white publishing world. “The Color Explosion: Nineteenth-Century American Lithography from the Jay T. Last Collection” presents about 250 examples of 19th-century American lithography from The Huntington’s Jay T. Last collection of lithographic and social history. Advertising posters, art prints, calendars, certificates, children’s books, color-plate illustrations, historical views, product labels, sales catalogs, sheet music, toys, games, and trade cards are just some of the artifacts that will be included in this comprehensive exhibition. At the Huntington Museum in San Marino,  California

Currently until February 28th in Antwerp
On Horseback!  Best known for his equestrian scenes, Phillips Wouwwerman didn't just paint horses and riders.  He also depicted landscapes with views stretching far into the distance, playing children and courting couples.  Until February 28th in the Mauritshuis.  The World of Phillilps Wouwerman -  Antwerp,  The Hague

Through February 28th in Los Angeles
Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference - Since Rembrandt's death, scholars and collectors have struggled to tell the difference between his drawings and those by his pupils and followers. This major loan exhibition tells this fascinating story and invites you to find the subtle clues that separate the work of master and student. Rembrandt and His Pupils draws on recent scholarly research that has yielded new insights about Rembrandt's work. At the Getty Center in Los Angeles,  California

Through February 28th in Los Angeles
Drawing Life: The Dutch Visual Tradition - See how the master draftsmen of Dutch art, such as Rembrandt, van Ruisdael, and Cuyp, captured evocative scenes of city and country life through the seasons. Featuring 36 Dutch drawings from the Museum's collection, Drawing Life provides context for the major presentation of Rembrandt's drawings opening December 8.  At the Getty Center in Los Angeles,  California

Currently until March 1st in Scotland
Meet Your Maker - Meet Your Maker takes you behind the scenes of the Scottish contemporary crafts scene showcasing the work of nine makers from across Scotland. Working in situ, the makers will provide a fantastic insight into the processes behind the craft. Visitors are encouraged to chat with the makers, discuss their traditions and techniques and take away some ideas for their own creative work. There will also be the opportunity to purchase work by the makers. Featured crafts include jewellery-making, silversmithing, metal design, ceramics and glass work. A full list of makers can be found at www.nms.ac.uk/maker - National Museum of Scotland - Edinburgh,  Scotland

Until March, 1st, 2010 in Portugal
Art Deco Paris, 1925 - At the Gulbenkian Museum’s Temporary Exhibitions Gallery.  This exhibition is based on this ambiguity – a “singular unit” - gathering only works from the best artists and the most famous manufactures and ateliers, selected for the 1925 Exhibition. Many of the works presented there integrate the current exhibition, such as Spring, from Janniot, a composition expressly created for the Ruhlmann Pavilion (Hôtel d’un riche Collectionneur), acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian in 1939 Curators: Chantal Bizot and Dany Sautot, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Museum, one of the world’s great museums and one of Europe’s unsung treasures. Part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, it houses a magnificent collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian, and European art. Lisbon

Until  March 14th in the Netherlands
The Kröller-Müller Museum presents: A procession of sculptures - ten Dutch sculptors -  The  Kröller-Müller Museum presents the exhibition A procession of sculptures– ten Dutch sculptors. Guest curators Rudi Fuchs and Maarten Bertheux have made a selection of works by ten Dutch (or Dutch-based) sculptors, who belong to the generation born during or around the time of the Second World War. This involves figurative, abstract and, particularly, recent work.   The Kröller-Müller Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., the sculpture garden closes at 4.30 p.m.

Until March 21st in England
Ruin and Rebellion:  Uncovering the Past at Tutbury Castle - Finds from recent excavations, drawings and medieval coins illustrate the history of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire,  England

Until March 24th, 2010 in St. Petersburg
Enamels of the World 1700 - 2000 from The Khalili Collections - The State Hermitage Museum,  St. Petersburg,  Russia

Until March 29th, 2010 at the Huntington
Impressions of an Age:  Dutch and Flemish Prints of the 17th Century - Since its origins, printmaking has been appreciated by its practitioners for the speed and economy with which images can be reproduced. Yet this humble medium reached a technical and aesthetic highpoint in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Artists renowned for their painting, such as Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) and Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), became masters of printmaking, capturing both intimate subjects and grand scenes with subtlety and richness of execution. Representing diverse subjects—from the biblical to the everyday—this intimate exhibition draws upon The Huntington’s own holdings that testify to their makers’ creativity and skill.  At the Huntington Art Gallery,  San Marino,  California

Until April 5th in London
Revolution on Paper:  Mexican Prints 1910 - 1960 - This exhibition focuses on Mexican printmaking in the first half of the 20th century, including prints by the "Three greats) of Mexican art:  Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros.  The British Museum - London,  England

Until April 5th in Cambridge
Lifetime of Connoisseurship:  Graham Pollard and the Study of the Medal - A diverse display of medals, from 15th Century Italian craftmanship to contemporary art medals.  Fitzwilliam Museum - Cambridge,  England

Until April 5th in Cambridge
Sargent, Sickert,  Spencer:  Hidden Depths - Works by three of the most original painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Fitzwilliam Museum,  Cambridge,  England

Until April 12th in New York
Monet's Water Lilies - Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) devoted the last twenty-five years of his life to the portrayal of the Japanese-style pond that he cultivated on his property in northern France. The resulting paintings, among them the majestic Water Lilies of 1914–26, have long held a special status with Museum audiences. This intimate exhibition brings together the full group of Monet’s late paintings in MoMA’s collection, along with a few closely related paintings on loan from other collections. Displaying a gestural freedom that reveals the artist as an important precursor to Abstract Expressionism, the Water Lilies continue to resonate with the art and artists of our time.  At the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Until April 18th in Amsterdam
De Nieuwe Kerk - The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)  presents about 300 masterpieces from different collections from the Sultanate from Oman.  Among those pieces there are some from the Ministry of Inheritance and Culture, Sultan's Armed Forces Museum, the private Bait Al Zubair museum in Musatand the Museum of the Frankincense land in Salalah.  Amsterdam,  The Netherlands

April 24th to February 6th, 2011 in London
New Royal Portraits exhibition at Windsor Castle - A special exhibition of royal portraits by Marcus Adams, who photographed four generations of the Royal Family between 1926 and 1956, will be shown in the Drawings Gallery at Windsor Castle. The centrepiece of the exhibition is a charming group of photographs of the very young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret taken in the late 1920s and 1930s.  Offered exclusively to group visitors, an in-depth Exhibition Talk by a member of the Royal Collection staff can be added to a day visit.  London,  England

Until July 2010 in London
Lady Jane Grey - Lady Jane Grey was nominal Queen of England for just nine days in 1553 as part of an unsuccessful bid to prevent the accession of the Catholic Mary Tudor. This new display charts the posthumous iconography of Lady Jane Grey and explores how works in print promoted her as an archetypal Protestant heroine and martyr. It is not known for certain whether a portrait of Lady Jane Grey was painted during her lifetime. Given that Lady Jane came to prominence only for a very short period before her death (from July 1553 to February 1554), there would have been only a small opportunity in which a portrait from the life could have been painted. The reign and execution of the 'nine days queen' seems not to have made a considerable impact on the public consciousness of the day. It was not until the turn of the seventeenth century that a culture of producing posthumous portraits of Lady Jane Grey developed.  At the National Portrait  Gallery,  London,  England

FUTURE EXHIBITIONS . . .

2010

Opening on January 23rd - until April 18th in London
 The Real Van Gogh:  The Artist and His Letters - This landmark exhibition presenting the work of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) will focus on the artist's remarkable correspondence. The first major Van Gogh exhibition in London for over 40 years, this will be a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the complex mind of Vincent van Gogh.  At the Royal Academy of Arts - London,  England

January 26th to April 25 in Vienna
On the trail of Vermeer’s “Painter in his Studio” - In its first major exhibit of 2010, the Museum of Fine Arts is focusing on Johannes Vermeer’s “Painter in his Studio” and embarking on a search for art historic clues.  The "Painter in his Studio" is the most famous and the largest painting by the Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675). It is one of two allegory paintings that the painter did between 1666 and 1668. The special thing about this painting is that its served as a showpiece for potential buyers and it never left the studio during the painter's lifetime. It is still considered today to be Vermeer's artistic bequest .  The Museum of Fine Arts illuminates this in its exhibit " Vermeer's painting.  Vienna,  Austria

January 31st to April 18th in Germany
Alberto Giacometti:  Woman with Chariot.  Triumph and Death - Foundation Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum - Center for International Sculpture, Duisburg,  Germany.  I Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum will present a unique exhibition on the work of the sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901 - 1966).  With the support of the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti in Paris as Lehmburuck Museum's academic and organizational partner, loans from international museums and private collectors will bring some 120 of the sculptor's works together in Duisburg.  Germany

During January to June in Madrid
At the Museo Nacional del Prado - Temporary exhibitions.  The first temporary exhibition will open in March entitled The Art of Power , the show was recently on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington with a public attendance of almost 250.000 people. During the months of January and February, two temporary exhibitions will still be open to the public: Maíno and Dutch Painters at the Prado together with the invited work of the Rijksmuseum, “The Company of Captain Reijnier Reael”. The last temporary exhibition before the end of the year will be Turner and the Masters, currently at the Tate Britain. The venue at the Prado will open in June.  Madrid,  Spain

During February in York
National Railway Museum joins forces with the Netherlands.  February 2010 will see the opening of the National Railway Museum’s brand new exhibition – ‘Once Upon a Tide – North Sea Ferry Tales’.  In partnership with the National Railway Museum in the Netherlands, the exhibitions will use the Museum’s rich poster collections to explore the past, present and future of the Harwich-Hook ferry route.  Visitors will be able to explore the personal recollections of travellers over 100 years of North Sea crossings - from back-packers and truckers to fine dining and family holidays.  Not to be missed is the opportunity to walk onto the deck of a ‘roll-on roll-off ferry’, as visitors see the turntable as they have never experienced it before.  York,  England