For Every Fancy, Cultural Experiences Near and Far

"Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze"

Through Jan. 18. Frick Collection, New York

Washington got a delicious taste of Riccio's rough-hewn bronzes in a recent group show at the National Gallery; here's the full banquet.

Oct. 17

"Grant and Lee in War and Peace"

Through March 29. New-York Historical Society

The sister exhibition to the Virginia Historical Society's "Lee and Grant" offers a challenging interpretation of the two men and their place in history.

Oct. 18

"Climate Change: The Threat to Life and a New Energy Future"

Through Aug. 16. American Museum of Natural History, New York

Dioramas, activity stations and animations illustrate Earth's responses to the buildup of greenhouse gases and explore options for energy sources of the future.

"Kenneth Anger"

Through Jan. 19. P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York

Don't expect plots and stars in this survey of one of the pioneers of radically experimental film; do expect surprise and subtle thought.

"Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture Around

the Bay of Naples"

Through March 22. National Gallery of Art, Washington

This buried Roman city had a second life when its rediscovery transformed the arts of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Oct. 30

"Jim Dine: Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets)"

Through Feb. 9. Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The first contemporary art project at the Getty Villa presents new sculpture and poetry based on ancient Greek sculptures in the museum's collections.

Nov. 13

"Babylon"

Through March 15. British Museum, London

With Baghdad in tatters, this show looks back at the grandeur of the ancient capital of Iraq -- site of the legendary hanging gardens and Tower of Babel, but also of its share of battles.

Nov. 14

"Nation at the Crossroads: The Great New York Debate Over the Constitution"

Through March 15. New-York Historical Society

An exhibition illuminating the argument and debate that preceded the vote of the 1787 New York State Convention to ratify the Constitution.

"Transforming Tradition: Pottery From Mata Ortiz"

Through Jan. 11. Field Museum, Chicago

An exhibition presenting the work of contemporary artists from the Mexican town of Mata Ortiz along with some of the 14th- and 15th-century Casas Grandes ceramic works that helped inspire it.

Major Expansion

Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto, Canada

Frank Gehry was born in Canada, yet his major expansion project for Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario is his first major Canadian commission, an exuberant confection of glass that will put the World's Most Famous Architect in the spotlight once again.

Nov. 22

New Building

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

It's another big-money venture from the current masters of the universe -- the wealthy Gulf Arab states -- but that won't dampen excitement about a new museum, designed by the 91-year-old I.M. Pei, devoted to the art and design of the Islamic world.

Dec. 16

"Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725"

Through May 3. Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The art scene in Bologna was once one of the most influential in Europe, but now we barely recognize that fact -- for us, Florence and Rome rule.

Feb. 1

"Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age"

Through May 3. National Gallery, Washington

The first great images of the urban scene and its spaces, painted in Holland in the 17th century.

Feb. 26

"Louise Bourgeois"

Through May 17. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington

Sculptures and installations by a figure who was possibly the most influential female artist in history.

March 14

"Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes"

Through July 12. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington

A touring show of more recent works by the designer of the great Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

March 13

"The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene"

Through June 7. Renwick Gallery, Washington

Brothers Charles and Henry Greene were at the heart of the California wing of the American arts and crafts movement.

March 15

"Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice"

Through Aug. 16. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hard to believe that one city, at one moment, could house three painters as good as this.

May 16

Major Expansion

Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute has lived in Beaux-Arts splendor since its main building was constructed for the 1893 World's Fair; but that changes with the opening of a 264,000-square-foot addition, devoted to modern and contemporary art, designed by the brilliant architect Renzo Piano.

May 17

"Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life"

Through Aug. 23. National Gallery of Art, Washington

Austere tabletop scenes from 18th-century Spain, painted by an artist whose life was lived in turmoil.

May 18

"Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor"

Through Oct. 16. Houston Museum of Natural Science

The tomb complex of Emperor Shi Huangdi, an archaeological find considered the eighth wonder of the ancient world, includes thousands of the warrior sculptures intended to protect him eternally.

May 19

"Walls of Algiers: Narratives of the Colonial City"

Through Oct. 18. Getty Center, Los Angeles

There are a zillion ways not to see a city -- through the rose-colored glasses of a tourist, or the gauzy fantasies of an art collector -- but the Getty tries to go a little deeper in this show that explores the fabled city of Algiers not just as a colonial capital but a "testing ground for urban renewal."

June 7

Venice Biennale

Through Nov. 22. Venues throughout Venice

The world's oldest roundup of international contemporary art: always mixed but always also a must-see.

Aug. 7

"Renwick Craft Invitational 2009"

Through Jan. 3, 2010. Renwick Gallery, Washington

The fourth edition of the Smithsonian's biennial craft exhibition, this time showcasing four artists who work in ceramic, fiber and glass.

Sept. 27 (tentative)

New Building

Tampa Museum of Art

One of the country's regional museums goes all out to finish a 66,000-square-foot space, dramatically positioned on the banks of a river, designed by the Bay Area architect Stanley Saitowitz.