Apartment No: 26’s art route, in the misty yet inviting days of January and February, shifts from the heart of London to slightly farther afield—to the green hills of Somerset and the historic streets of Bath. After the intense confrontation in Paula Rego’s studio last week, this time we follow the trail of two major exhibitions celebrating the 90th birthday of one of the most shattering witnesses of world history, Sir Don McCullin.
Don McCullin, who brought the rawest forms of war, famine, and human tragedy to the world through his lens, is celebrating his 90th birthday in his “refuge” of Somerset. “Don McCullin. 90,” opening on February 14, 2026 at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, is both an inventory and a story of purification from the artist’s seventy-year career.
Those famous black-and-white frames stretching from Vietnam to Biafra, from the conflict-torn streets of Northern Ireland to the devastation of Cambodia, are this time blended with the artist’s childhood memories of being evacuated to Somerset in the 1960s and the peace he has found in those lands today. One of the most exciting pieces in the exhibition is the artist’s only self-portrait, taken in 1963 and exhibited for the first time in the United Kingdom. As McCullin puts it, watching the changing seasons of Somerset and breathing the silence of the soil is the only thing that has restored his “spiritual balance” after years of witnessing horror.
Holburne Museum: In Pursuit of Broken Beauty
The second stop in McCullin’s special year is the Holburne Museum in Bath. “Broken Beauty,” starting on January 30, 2026, focuses on a completely different passion the artist has turned to in recent years: Roman sculptures.
These “broken” ancient figures captured in museums around the world stand like silent, marble elements of balance against the violence and chaos McCullin has documented since the 1950s. These fragmented yet still proud remnants of the ancient world, combined with the artist’s famous honesty and “raw” aesthetic, invite the viewer to a meditative reflection on the wounds of both the past and the present.
Visit Notes:
Don McCullin. 90 (Hauser & Wirth Somerset): Continues until April 12, 2026. It’s an ideal time to see McCullin’s dramatic landscapes in the gallery integrated with Somerset’s rural texture.
Don McCullin. Broken Beauty (Holburne Museum, Bath): January 30 – May 4, 2026. Viewing these sculptures in Bath, famous for its Roman architecture, provides complete harmony with the spirit of the exhibition.
