Date: 20 August 2026 

Turner’s Odyssey painting coming to York Art Gallery in September: National Gallery in the North 

18 September 2026 – 17 January 2027 

J.M.W. Turner’s celebrated masterpiece ‘Ulysses deriding Polyphemus – Homer’s Odyssey’, generously lent by the National Gallery, will be making an epic journey to the north imminently to go on display at York Art Gallery.  

With Homer’s Odyssey making a remarkable comeback into popular culture with Christopher Nolan’s recent box office hit, York Art Gallery has timed their programme perfectly by curating their next major exhibition with an ‘Odyssey wall’. 

The exhibition, titled Turner, Wedgwood & Beyond: Inspired by Flaxman, opens on 18 September and reflects on the life and legacy of York-born artist, John Flaxman (1755 –1826). Marking 200 years since Flaxman’s death, York Art Gallery recently revealed plans to showcase a remarkable range of works, both by Flaxman himself, and by some of the incredible artists he inspired. Flaxman garnered significant international attention in the eighteenth century after producing illustrations for several ancient Greek classics, including the Odyssey. As a sculptor, illustrator, and designer who worked on paper, in ceramic, precious metal, plaster and stone, Flaxman was unrivalled in his lifetime for the range and reach of his work. 

Turner’s incredible depiction of Odysseus’s defeat of the one-eyed giant Polyphemus will take centre stage in the exhibition, allowing visitors to see this dramatic scene immortalised in oils. The ‘Odyssey wall’ also presents Flaxman’s drawings of scenes from Homer’s epic poem, lent by the Royal Academy of Arts, and Angelica Kauffman’s ‘Ulysses on the Island of Circe’ (from a private collection). Also featured nearby will be a rare, silver-gilt Shield of Achilles – one of only five in the world – on loan from Koopman Rare Art, designed by Flaxman. This stunning visual representation of Homer’s description of the Greek hero’s armour will be displayed alongside a 4th-century BCE ‘Bell krater’ from York Art Gallery’s collection. 

Supported by, and produced in partnership with, the University of York’s History of Art Department, and accompanied by an exciting new publication, this is the first major exhibition dedicated to Flaxman in York. Tickets for the opening of this exhibition are on sale now, with one month to go, book now to be the first to see York Art Gallery’s own Odyssey.