A Huge Monet Exhibition Is Coming to Tate Modern in 2027

Monet: Painting Time will bring more than 60 paintings to London for the UK’s biggest presentation of the artist’s work in almost a decade

If you love Monet, or simply want to spend an afternoon looking at something very beautiful, a major new exhibition is coming to Tate Modern in 2027.

Monet: Painting Time will be the first exhibition at Tate Modern dedicated entirely to Claude Monet. Bringing together more than 60 paintings spanning six decades of his career, it will also be the UK’s largest presentation of Monet’s work in almost ten years.

The exhibition opens on 25 February 2027 and runs until 27 June, so it should be one of London’s biggest art exhibitions of the spring and early summer.

Rather than offering a straightforward chronological tour through Monet’s greatest hits, Painting Time will explore his fascination with time: how a landscape, building or stretch of water could look completely different depending on the hour, season, weather and quality of the light.

In other words, this is a Monet exhibition about much more than water lilies, although there will, thankfully, be plenty of those too.

What Is Monet: Painting Time About?

Claude Monet is known as one of the founders of Impressionism, but his work was also incredibly experimental.

He frequently painted the same subject again and again, returning to it in different weather conditions and at different times of day. Haystacks, poplar trees, Rouen Cathedral and the River Seine all became part of this process.

They were not identical copies. Each painting captured a particular moment before the light changed and it disappeared.

Monet: Painting Time will follow this idea across 60 years of the artist’s career, beginning with his Impressionist paintings of the 1870s and continuing through to the increasingly immersive work he produced shortly before his death in 1926.

The exhibition comes just after the centenary of Monet’s death and has been organised in collaboration with the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. According to the museum, the exhibition explores how Monet moved from painting immediate, fleeting impressions towards works that attempted to communicate a longer, more continuous experience of time. Musée de l’Orangerie

That might sound slightly academic, but the basic idea is surprisingly relatable. Monet was fascinated by how quickly everything around us changes and by how difficult it is to hold on to one exact moment.

Which Monet Paintings Will Be at Tate Modern?

The Tate Modern Monet exhibition will include major works from his most famous series, alongside paintings rarely loaned by private collections.

One of the confirmed highlights is Cathédrale de Rouen, effet de soleil, fin de journée from 1892. The painting belongs to Monet’s Rouen Cathedral series, for which he repeatedly painted the building’s façade under different light and weather conditions.

There will also be a rare opportunity to see Branch of the Seine near Giverny (Sunrise), painted in 1897. The misty river scene is a particularly lovely example of Monet’s interest in catching those brief, atmospheric moments that seem to disappear almost as soon as you notice them.

Several of the artist’s series are expected to feature, including:

• Haystacks
• Poplars on the Epte
• Morning on the Seine
• Rouen Cathedral
• Water Lilies

These paintings allowed Monet to study one subject repeatedly rather than treating a landscape as a single, fixed view. The colours, shadows and atmosphere shift from canvas to canvas, sometimes making the same location almost unrecognisable.

The exhibition will build towards Monet’s famous Water Lilies cycle, which occupied him for more than 30 years.

Yes, There Will Be Water Lilies

You cannot really have a major Monet exhibition without water lilies, and Painting Time appears to be saving its biggest moment for last.

Monet began developing his garden at Giverny after settling there in the 1880s. He later bought additional land and created the water garden that would become one of the most recognisable settings in art history.

The pond, Japanese style bridge, weeping willows and reflections on the water became an endless source of inspiration. Monet produced more than 200 paintings connected to the Water Lilies series, returning to the garden from the 1890s until his death in 1926. Musée de l’Orangerie

His later canvases became larger, looser and increasingly immersive. There is often no obvious horizon or fixed viewpoint. Instead, you feel as though you are surrounded by water, reflections and colour.

What makes this period even more remarkable is that Monet continued working while experiencing cataracts and deteriorating eyesight. According to reporting on Tate’s 2027 programme, the exhibition will look at how deeply involved he was in both cultivating his garden and trying to capture it in paint, even as his vision worsened. The Guardian

The Exhibition Will End With an Immersive Installation

After the final paintings, visitors will enter an immersive video installation by contemporary French artist Ange Leccia.

Inspired by Monet’s Water Lilies, the installation will bring a modern perspective to the artist’s exploration of water, light, movement and passing time.

I know the word “immersive” is used for almost every art experience now, but this feels like one of the occasions where it actually makes sense. Monet’s largest water lily paintings were designed to surround the viewer, rather than simply being observed from a distance.

The Musée de l’Orangerie famously displays his monumental panels across two oval rooms in Paris, creating an environment that feels almost meditative. The museum has even been described as the “Sistine Chapel of Impressionism.” The Tate exhibition’s final installation should echo that sense of stepping inside the work, rather than turning Monet into another slightly random projection show.

Why Is This Monet Exhibition Such a Big Deal?

Monet exhibitions are not exactly rare, but an exhibition of this scale is much harder to assemble.

His paintings are spread across museums and private collections around the world, so bringing more than 60 works together in one place gives visitors a chance to compare the subtle changes between paintings that are normally separated.

It will also be Tate Modern’s first exhibition devoted solely to Monet. That feels particularly significant when you consider the artist’s influence on modern and abstract art.

Although he is one of the most popular Impressionist painters, Monet’s later paintings can feel surprisingly radical. The traditional landscape begins to disappear, leaving behind colour, surface, atmosphere and movement. Some of the late Water Lilies paintings look as though they could have been made decades later.

The exhibition should also be accessible to people who do not know much about art. You do not need to understand art history to spot how the light, colours and mood change from one canvas to the next.

And, on a purely superficial level, it is probably going to be one of the prettiest exhibitions in London in 2027.

When Is the Monet Exhibition at Tate Modern?

Monet: Painting Time will be at Tate Modern from Thursday 25 February until Sunday 27 June 2027.

It will arrive in London after opening at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, where it runs from 30 September 2026 until 25 January 2027. The exhibition has been jointly organised by the two museums. Musée de l’Orangerie

The London dates cover the February half term, Easter period and the beginning of summer, so I would expect the most popular weekend slots to book up quickly.

How Much Are Tickets?

Tickets for Monet: Painting Time at Tate Modern cost £26, with entry free for Tate Members.

As this is a major ticketed exhibition, booking a timed slot in advance is recommended, particularly if you want to visit during a weekend or school holiday.

General admission to Tate Modern’s permanent collection remains free, so you can also explore the rest of the gallery while you are there.

How to Get to Tate Modern

Tate Modern is located on Bankside on London’s South Bank, directly opposite St Paul’s Cathedral.

The nearest stations include:

• Southwark: Approximately a ten minute walk
• Blackfriars: Approximately a ten minute walk
• London Bridge: Approximately a 15 minute walk
• St Paul’s: Cross the Millennium Bridge to reach the gallery

You could easily turn the exhibition into a full London day out. Walk across the Millennium Bridge, visit St Paul’s, explore the South Bank or stop for something to eat around Borough Market afterwards.

Monet: Painting Time at Tate Modern Key Information

Exhibition: Monet: Painting Time
Dates: Thursday 25 February to Sunday 27 June 2027
Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Tickets: £26 and free for Tate Members
Nearest stations: Southwark, Blackfriars, London Bridge and St Paul’s
Booking information: Tate Modern

With more than 60 paintings, rarely seen loans and a room dedicated to Monet’s Water Lilies, this has all the ingredients of a blockbuster exhibition. Consider this your warning to book before every sensible weekend slot disappears.