Maxwell Museums

Friday 03 July 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. Next week, John Constable's The Hay Wain will go on display in Ipswich. The hugely-famous painting (created in 1821) depicts an idyllic countryside scene at Flatford in Suffolk with a horse and cart in the River Stour. Yet this trip for the masterpiece — where it’ll be shown at Christchurch Mansion — marks the first time it has ever been in Suffolk. Yes — spoiler alert — it was painted in London.

And the winner is…The Box in Plymouth! The five-year-old museum in Devon’s biggest city last night took the crown for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026. It pockets the £120,000 winner’s cheque, the largest museum prize in the world.

Wednesday 24 June 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Wednesday. The wait is almost over. Tomorrow night underneath the hull of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, the winner of this year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year will be crowned.

Friday 19 June 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage In partnership with Lund Humphries Happy Friday. I’ve visited the official World’s Most Beautiful Museum. Ok, beauty is too subjective for that to ever really be an official title. But it’s one that was bestowed on Norway’s Kunstsilo by the international architecture awards Prix Versailles last year. And it wasn’t a fluke.

Thursday 18 June 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Thursday (yes, sorry, I’m a day late!) But it’s still mid-week (just), and it’s an opinion edition. A major new UK-wide open submission art prize worth £30,000 has been launched by Colchester’s Firstsite gallery with the aim of bringing a broader range of artists into view, regardless of background, training or representation.

Friday 05 June 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. How was your week? I know I keep banging on about it, but it’s now summer — my favourite season. The light nights are the tonic we all need. Also a tonic is the calm, clean air and green expanse of the grounds of Compton Verney in Warwickshire. I’m just back from my first ever visit, and I was wowed by the 120 acres of Capability Brown-designed landscape.

Wednesday 03 June 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Wednesday. Here in today’s edition, I’m bringing you a bone fide art world exclusive. You are the first people in the world to be publicly told this… Later this month, one of the very first Ancient Egyptian artworks to have arrived in Britain will go to auction. It has never gone under the hammer before in its recorded history.

Friday 29 May 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. As I wrote in the mid-week edition of this newsletter — which was an interview about Kew Gardens’ press campaign for their Henry Moore exhibition — summer officially arrives on Monday.

Wednesday 27 May 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Wednesday. Summer doesn’t officially begin until this coming Monday, but The Times’ Chief Art Critic Laura Freeman has already picked her show of the season. “Pack a picnic, lace your boots, wear sunscreen” is her advice. The destination? The brand new Henry Moore exhibition at Kew Gardens.

Friday 22 May 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. A very bizarre article lit up my timeline on Bluesky this week. Paul Ormerod, columnist at the City AM newspaper, penned a piece lamenting poor productivity in the public sector.