Image: National Gallery, London
The National Gallery in London has announced 'Renoir and Love', an autumn 2026 exhibition that will bring together 40 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir from collections worldwide. Running from 3 October 2026 to 31 January 2027, the show is framed around Renoir’s imagery of love in its many forms, with the gallery highlighting themes of friendship, joy, family life and everyday emotion.
According to the National Gallery, the exhibition will present Renoir at what it describes as the height of his creative brilliance, focusing on the 1860s to 1880s as a period when he experimented with style and theme and emerged as an innovator of Impressionism. The gallery’s exhibition page describes works that include couples waltzing, lovers exchanging glances, families sharing quiet moments and friends raising a glass, all positioned as part of Renoir’s interest in the complexities of human connection.
A key highlight is the UK debut of 'Bal au Moulin de la Galette' (1876), which is being shown from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. The gallery says the painting will be on display in the United Kingdom for the first time, giving the London exhibition one of its most closely watched loans. The exhibition also refers to Renoir’s sun-dappled gardens and swirling dance halls of Paris, suggesting a broad view of the artist’s treatment of sociability and leisure.
The National Gallery’s material says the exhibition is organised by the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In the same announcement, the gallery notes that the presentation is supported by lead philanthropic backers Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst, The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, David and Molly Lowell Borthwick, Rothschild & Co and other supporters. The gallery also said members can access free, priority booking before tickets go on general sale.
The show arrives as part of a busy 2026-27 exhibition schedule at the National Gallery, which lists 'Renoir and Love' among its coming exhibitions. The membership page says members receive unlimited free exhibition entry, preview days and access to special events, and the exhibition page adds that member priority booking is already open. The gallery also says members can enjoy an exclusive preview day on 2 October, the day before the exhibition opens.
Alongside the main show, the gallery is offering an exhibition catalogue, which it says can be ordered in advance to trace the evolution of Renoir’s imagery of love, from friendship to parenthood. The National Gallery’s online material also points visitors to a short video playlist on Renoir’s use of colour and to its Imaginarium feature for 'Dance at Bougival' (1883), another work tied to the exhibition’s visual identity. The gallery has placed 'Renoir and Love' on view from 3 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 at The National Gallery, London.
