Keeping the doors open and the personnel paid and the programs running and the scholarship supported is not a minor miracle for museums these days but a major one. The current economic and political climate has been oppressive, to put it mildly. Many institutions are struggling to stay afloat and make good on their mandates.
All the more reason to marvel at what’s on tap in the coming season: a plethora of exhibitions that are ambitious, relevant and revelatory. Shows that both broaden and deepen established art history, fleshing out stories we knew only skeletally, and introducing figures whose significance we may have overlooked entirely. So much to savor, and so much to learn from. (Fees marked below based on adult ticket pricing.)