© National Portrait Gallery
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen
5 March 2026 to 31 May 2026
EndedThe National Portrait Gallery presents Catherine Opie's first major UK museum exhibition — spanning 30 years of portraits of queer communities, surfers, footballers and political crowds, placed in dialogue with the Gallery's permanent collection.
From National Portrait Gallery
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen will showcase photographic portraits by the American artist Catherine Opie. The exhibition, curated in collaboration with the artist, will be the first major museum exhibition of her work in the UK. Opie’s work questions representations of home, intimacy and family, and on a national and international level explores politics, identity and power structures. Over the past 30 years, Opie has explored and positioned the portrait in numerous contexts and visual formats....
Read more at National Portrait Gallery →Critic Reviews (4)
TimeOut
Rosie Hewitson
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen
"A nude portrait of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad evokes Caravaggio with its dramatic chiarascuro. And that’s something worth celebrating."
Read full review →The Guardian
Charlotte Jansen
a queer carousel of tattoos, fake moustaches and toddlers in tutus
"There’s this constant push-pull between subterfuge and reveal, between tradition and subversion, the collective and the individual, fixity and fluidity, flattery and provocation."
Read full review →The Independent
Mark Hudson
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen review – So fresh it's hard to believe some of this work is 30 years old
"If the idea of S&M-inspired photography creates an expectation of cold, even inhuman stylishness, the prevailing mood in Opie's photography is one of warmth and emotional generosity. Perhaps that's one of the reasons these images feel so contemporary. In a world of ever-increasing desperation and alienation, small acts of kindness and empathy feel ever more radical, even if they are carried out through the distancing medium of the camera lens."
Read full review →The Telegraph
Alastair Sooke
Old Masters get a shockingly modern makeover
"Some visitors may resist the apparent preachiness of Opie's exhibition; even its title, To Be Seen, could be interpreted as a foray in an ongoing culture war. I was more bothered by the preciosity of some of her imagery; as an artistic strategy, so openly imitating, say, 16th-century painting is too on-the-nose. Opie's "butch" take on Western art's "nursing Madonna" tradition is striking but mannered."
Read full review →Visit
St Martin's Place, London·View on artmap
Sunday10:30am–6pm
Monday10:30am–6pm
Tuesday10:30am–6pm
Wednesday10:30am–6pm
Thursday10:30am–6pm
Friday10:30am–9pm
Saturday10:30am–6pm
© National Portrait Gallery
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen
5 March 2026 to 31 May 2026
EndedThe National Portrait Gallery presents Catherine Opie's first major UK museum exhibition — spanning 30 years of portraits of queer communities, surfers, footballers and political crowds, placed in dialogue with the Gallery's permanent collection.
From National Portrait Gallery
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen will showcase photographic portraits by the American artist Catherine Opie. The exhibition, curated in collaboration with the artist, will be the first major museum exhibition of her work in the UK. Opie’s work questions representations of home, intimacy and family, and on a national and international level explores politics, identity and power structures. Over the past 30 years, Opie has explored and positioned the portrait in numerous contexts and visual formats....
Read more at National Portrait Gallery →Critic Reviews (4)
TimeOut
Rosie Hewitson
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen
"A nude portrait of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad evokes Caravaggio with its dramatic chiarascuro. And that’s something worth celebrating."
Read full review →The Guardian
Charlotte Jansen
a queer carousel of tattoos, fake moustaches and toddlers in tutus
"There’s this constant push-pull between subterfuge and reveal, between tradition and subversion, the collective and the individual, fixity and fluidity, flattery and provocation."
Read full review →The Independent
Mark Hudson
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen review – So fresh it's hard to believe some of this work is 30 years old
"If the idea of S&M-inspired photography creates an expectation of cold, even inhuman stylishness, the prevailing mood in Opie's photography is one of warmth and emotional generosity. Perhaps that's one of the reasons these images feel so contemporary. In a world of ever-increasing desperation and alienation, small acts of kindness and empathy feel ever more radical, even if they are carried out through the distancing medium of the camera lens."
Read full review →The Telegraph
Alastair Sooke
Old Masters get a shockingly modern makeover
"Some visitors may resist the apparent preachiness of Opie's exhibition; even its title, To Be Seen, could be interpreted as a foray in an ongoing culture war. I was more bothered by the preciosity of some of her imagery; as an artistic strategy, so openly imitating, say, 16th-century painting is too on-the-nose. Opie's "butch" take on Western art's "nursing Madonna" tradition is striking but mannered."
Read full review →Visit
St Martin's Place, London·View on artmap
Sunday10:30am–6pm
Monday10:30am–6pm
Tuesday10:30am–6pm
Wednesday10:30am–6pm
Thursday10:30am–6pm
Friday10:30am–9pm
Saturday10:30am–6pm