London's private gallery scene has long occupied a particular position in the global art market: dense enough to sustain both mega-galleries and modest project spaces within a few square miles, yet perpetually anxious about its own centrality. Heading into 2026, the mood across the sector is cautiously positive. Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2025 drew 90,000 visitors from 108 countries, with record attendance from museum groups and a reported energy that gallerists described as the strongest in several years. Sadie Coles, founder of Sadie Coles HQ, observed that the energy during Frieze week was "the highest it has been for a while." That momentum has carried into the programming galleries are offering through the year.
The Mega-Galleries
Gagosian remains the most expansive private presence in London, operating from four locations: Grosvenor Hill in Mayfair, Davies Street, Burlington Arcade and Gagosian Open. Its Burlington Arcade space hosted James Turrell's After Glow in January and February 2026, a show that drew considerable attention. At Frieze London 2025, Gagosian presented a solo booth by Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey — the entire presentation sold out within hours of the VIP opening. Gagosian represents a deep roster of artists including Damien Hirst, Jadé Fadojutimi, Michael Craig-Martin and Walton Ford, and is active in both primary and secondary markets globally. Web: https://gagosian.com
Hauser & Wirth London occupies a building at 23 Savile Row, Mayfair, in its current form since 2010, with North and South gallery spaces. The gallery opened its London operation in 2003 in a listed Edwin Lutyens building on Piccadilly. In 2026, the gallery is presenting two exhibitions concurrently running through 18 April: Takesada Matsutani's Shifting Boundaries in the South Gallery, which marks the Japanese artist's first London show in over a decade and focuses on his signature use of vinyl glue and graphite; alongside Tetsumi Kudo: Microcosms in the North Gallery, a rare UK presentation of the postwar Japanese artist's cages, cubes and environments. Both shows are free to attend. The gallery has announced plans to open a new flagship Mayfair space in 2027, complementing its existing Savile Row presence. At Frieze Masters 2025, Hauser & Wirth reported significant secondary market sales including a Gabriele Münter for CHF 2,400,000, a René Magritte for $1,600,000, a Paul Klee for €1,450,000, a Marcel Duchamp for $1,350,000 and an Alina Szapocznikow for $1,200,000. Primary market sales at Frieze London included George Rouy's DESIRELINE II (2025) for £275,000 and an Ellen Gallagher for $950,000. Web: https://www.hauserwirth.com
White Cube was founded in 1993 by Jay Jopling and operates from two London spaces: White Cube Bermondsey in South London and Mason's Yard in St James's. In early 2026, the gallery presented TRACEY EMIN: A Presentation Curated by Harry Weller (1–28 February) at Bermondsey — timed to coincide with Emin's large retrospective at Tate Modern — as well as Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová's Echo (11 February–29 March, Bermondsey) and Jessica Rankin's in the air a memory (until 28 February, Mason's Yard). From 11 March to 9 May, Mason's Yard will show Snow Leopards and Skyscrapers by Sarah Morris. White Cube also participated in MAZE Art Gstaad in February with works including those by Josef Albers, Cai Guo-Qiang, Tracey Emin and Park Seo-Bo. Web: https://www.whitecube.com
David Zwirner has its London gallery on Mason's Yard, close to White Cube. The gallery opened the year in London with R. Crumb: There's No End To The Nonsense, running 29 January to 14 March 2026. Internationally, the gallery is represented across New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Hong Kong, with artists including Yayoi Kusama, Luc Tuymans and Wolfgang Tillmans. At Frieze London 2024, the gallery sold two paintings by Lisa Yuskavage for $2.2 million and $160,000. Web: https://www.davidzwirner.com
Pace Gallery has its London space on Burlington Gardens. The gallery's 2026 London programme includes Loie Hollowell: Overview Effect, running 4 March to 23 May. Web: https://www.pacegallery.com
Lisson Gallery, founded in 1967 and one of the city's longest-standing commercial galleries, operates from Bell Street in Marylebone. The gallery was notable at Frieze London 2025 for placing a monumental tapestry by Otobong Nkanga for $600,000, alongside a Ryan Gander sculpture for £85,000. Web: https://www.lissongallery.com
Mid-Size and Specialist Galleries
Pilar Corrias operates from two London addresses — Conduit Street and Savile Row. The gallery's 2026 London programme opened with Carrie Moyer's Always Venus, Never Mars and Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley's Best Femmes Forever (both 23 January–7 March, Conduit Street), followed by Georg Wilson's Against Nature (30 January–7 March, Savile Row). Web: https://www.pilarcorrias.com
Sadie Coles HQ operates gallery spaces on Bury Street and on Savile Row. The gallery's Bury Street space is presenting Alexandra Christou's Taverna (29 January–11 April 2026). Sadie Coles is widely regarded as one of the most rigorous and commercially significant galleries of its generation; Companies House filings for 2023 showed a turnover of £51.7m, though that figure represented an 18% decrease on the previous year. The gallery contributed significantly to Frieze London's recent editions and participated in the Gallery Climate Coalition's charitable sales initiative during Frieze week 2025. Web: https://www.sadiecoles.com
Victoria Miro is located on Wharf Road in Islington. The gallery occupies a converted Victorian furniture factory and has long championed artists including Grayson Perry, Chris Ofili and Yayoi Kusama. It currently represents Isaac Julien, whose five-screen installation All That Changes You. Metamorphosis was shown at Victoria Miro in early 2026. The Frieze Tate Fund purchased a work by Barbara Walker at Victoria Miro during Frieze London 2025 for the national collection. Web: https://www.victoria-miro.com
Marian Goodman Gallery operates on Golden Square in Soho. The gallery's London programming includes Agnieszka Kurant's Recursion, which opened in New York in February 2026. Web: https://www.mariangoodman.com
Goodman Gallery has a London presence. In early 2026, the gallery presented Laura Lima's Communal Nests for Windows, Balconies, Verandas, Gardens, and Forests and Banele Khoza's I Was Always Within And Without, both running 29 January to 4 April. Web: https://www.goodman-gallery.com
Lehmann Maupin operates in London and internationally. The gallery is presenting Freya Douglas-Morris's My Time Here Is Brief (26 February–28 March 2026) in London. Web: https://www.lehmannmaupin.com
Sprüth Magers has its London space on Grafton Street, Mayfair. The gallery is a branch of the prominent German dealership founded by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, and participated strongly at Frieze London 2025, reporting early sales to important collections across Europe, the United States and Asia. Web: https://spruethmagers.com
Kate MacGarry operates in the East End. The gallery is presenting Ben Rivers' We have myth to protect us when history goes mad (6 March–11 April 2026). Web: https://www.katemacgarry.com
Pippy Houldsworth Gallery operates in London. In early 2026, the gallery presented KV Duong's Where Wound Becomes Water (30 January–14 March). A work by Shaqúelle Whyte at Pippy Houldsworth was acquired by the CAS Collections Fund during Frieze London 2025 for the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. Web: https://www.houldsworth.co.uk
Galerie Max Hetzler has a London space and is presenting Karel Appel: Variations On a Theme from 5 March to 17 April 2026. Web: https://www.maxhetzler.com
GRIMM operates in London. The gallery is presenting a Michael Raedecker solo exhibition from 5 March to 18 April 2026. Web: https://grimmgallery.com
Thaddaeus Ropac has a London gallery in Ely House, Dover Street, Mayfair. The gallery represents artists including Georg Baselitz, Paul McCarthy and Robert Rauschenberg. Web: https://ropac.net
October Gallery operates on Old Gloucester Street in Bloomsbury. The gallery staged a group exhibition, Lineages, through January and February 2026, continuing its long-standing focus on artists from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Web: https://www.octobergallery.co.uk
Jhaveri Contemporary has a London presence. The Frieze Tate Fund purchased a work by Lubna Chowdhary at Jhaveri Contemporary during Frieze London 2025. Web: https://jhavericontemporary.com
Annely Juda Fine Art operates on Dering Street in Mayfair. The gallery presented a David Hockney exhibition in early 2026. At Frieze Masters, Annely Juda placed a Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart painting for £400,000. Web: https://www.annelyjudafineart.co.uk
Perrotin has a London space and presented works through early 2026 at its London location. Web: https://www.perrotin.com
Smaller and Project Spaces
Several smaller galleries continue to shape the more experimental end of London's commercial scene. Bartha_contemporary is presenting Annika Thiems' On wings (or almost) from 5 March to 5 April 2026. Web: https://www.barthacontemporary.com Tristan Hoare Gallery is showing Sussy Cazalet's Ascendance (6 February–20 March 2026). Web: https://tristanhoaregallery.co.uk Jhaveri Contemporary and Carlos/Ishikawa continue to operate significant spaces focused on artists from the Global South and underrepresented practices. Web for Carlos/Ishikawa: https://www.carlosishikawa.com
The annual Condo London collaborative programme returned in January 2026, unfolding across 50 galleries in 23 venues across the capital — from West London and Soho to South and East London. The initiative, which invites London galleries to host international galleries in their spaces, continues to be a vehicle through which smaller and mid-size galleries expand their international networks and programming depth without the overhead of freestanding foreign spaces.
Market Context
The commercial health of London's private gallery scene is mixed at the upper levels. The broader art market has faced a period of adjustment, and Companies House filings have reflected this even among established names. Hauser & Wirth's London operation reported a turnover of £143.9m for 2023, a 16% decline on 2022. Lisson reported £49.9m in 2023, down 33% on the prior year. Sadie Coles was at £51.7m for the same period, down 18%.
Despite these structural pressures, Frieze London 2025 generated measurable optimism. The fair's Focus section, designed for younger and smaller galleries, saw several sell-out presentations, including El Apartamento's booth of Ariamna Contino and Alex Hernández (ranging $6,000–$55,000), Brunette Coleman's solo presentation of Emma Rose Schwarz (£7,000–£25,000), and Harlesden High Street's solo booth of Toby Cato (£6,000–£19,000). These results suggest that the market for emerging and mid-career work, handled by smaller and newer galleries, remains active even as blue-chip secondary market volumes adjust.
The Gallery Climate Coalition continues to attract participation from across the sector. During Frieze week 2025, a significant number of London galleries — including Gagosian, White Cube, David Zwirner, Lisson, Hauser & Wirth, Sadie Coles, Thaddaeus Ropac and Victoria Miro — participated in the Coalition's 10% Of initiative, contributing ten percent of proceeds from selected works to environmental causes. Works offered ranged in price from approximately £3,000 to £150,000.
Looking Ahead
Beyond individual gallery programming, 2026 sees London's public institutions mounting a dense schedule of exhibitions that will draw international visitors and create context for the commercial sector around them. Among those most relevant to gallery professionals are Tracey Emin's retrospective at Tate Modern (27 February–31 August), which White Cube has aligned programming to; the Serpentine's David Hockney exhibition (12 March–23 August), focusing on recent works including the Moon Room iPad paintings; and a Rose Wylie solo presentation at the Royal Academy (28 February–19 April). Later in the year, Tate Britain will open a major exhibition on British culture in the 1990s, curated by Edward Enninful, and Tate Modern will present a large Frida Kahlo retrospective (from 25 June).
The V&A East Museum opens in April 2026 on the East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, adding a significant new institutional node to the east of the city — an area that has grown in gallery density over the past decade and where several smaller commercial spaces already operate.
Hauser & Wirth's planned flagship space in Mayfair, due to open in 2027, will be the most significant piece of commercial gallery infrastructure to open in central London in several years, and is likely to prompt further reflection on the concentration of major gallery activity in the W1 and SW1 postal districts.
London's gallery scene has faced questions about its global positioning — particularly as Paris has worked to consolidate its own standing and as tax changes have prompted some high-net-worth collectors to base themselves elsewhere. The evidence of late 2025 and early 2026 suggests that the city remains a working art market of considerable depth and that gallery programming across all scales continues to carry institutional seriousness. Whether that translates into a durable commercial recovery remains the question the sector is asking itself.
All gallery web addresses are those of the galleries' own websites. Exhibition dates are as publicly announced and subject to change.