May highlights

Epic Iran

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

29 May–12 September www.vam.ac.uk

This sweeping display spans some , years of Iranian history. Among some objects shown are Achaemenid reliefs, medieval manuscripts (pictured), Safavid textiles and ceramics, Qajar paintings and contemporary work by artists such as Shirin Neshat.

The Galloway Hoard: Viking-age Treasure National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

29 May–12 September www.nms.ac.uk

Discovered in , the Galloway Hoard of more than Viking-era jewellery pieces, ingots, vessels and other objects is among the richest of its kind. The entire hoard now goes on public display after meticulous research and conservation.

Museum opening

Palazzo Vendramin Grimani, Venice

24 May www.fondazionealberodoro.org

This palazzo on the Grand Canal was home to Pietro Grimani, doge of Venice from

– (pictured). Restored by the Fondazione dell’Albero d’Oro, the building opens to the public with a display that reunites some of the paintings it once housed permanently.

Eileen Agar:

Angel of Anarchy Whitechapel Gallery, London 19 May–29 August www.whitechapelgallery.org

Eileen Agar played a key role in the Surrealist movement during the s, and this large survey shows the range of her influences. She drew on everything from cubism to classical sculpture in works that ranged from painting to found-object assemblages.

Late Gothic:

The Birth of Modernity Gemäldegalerie, Berlin 1 May–8 September www.smb.museum

With the invention of printing and the influence of realist techniques for carving and painting from the Netherlands, the th century in Germany was a period of great cultural innovation. This show includes key works by the likes of Dürer, as well as by anonymous artists.

The Making of Rodin Tate Modern, London 17 May–31 October www.tate.org

This display of more than

works looks at the French sculptor’s processes of experimentation; plaster casts of body parts from the Musée Rodin show how he would continually dismantle sculptures to try them out in new configurations. Well-known works such as

The Thinker are also on show.

Landscape in Light:

The Tiffany Window at the Art Institute of Chicago Opens 29 May www.artic.edu

Made up of panels, the Hartwell Memorial Window designed by Agnes Northrop for Tiffany Studios is a tour de force in stained glass. It was housed in the Central Baptist Church of Providence for more than a century, but now goes on view in Chicago for the first time.

In American Waters:

The Sea in American Painting Peabody Essex Museum, Salem 29 May–3 October www.pem.org

This show charts a course through more than years of American depictions of the ocean. Works by maritime painters of the th century such as George Ropes Jr (pictured) are included alongside modern masters such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Jacob Lawrence.