The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition

Seurat and the Sea

A painting of Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, a green cliff overlooking the blue sea with clouds in the sky i Georges Seurat, 1859–1891, Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, 1888, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

13 Feb – 17 May 2026
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries, Floor 3

“The magic of Seurat’s seascapes” – The Times

In 2026, The Courtauld will present the first ever exhibition dedicated to the seascapes of the French artist Georges Seurat (1859–1891). This major, focused display will be the first devoted to Seurat in the UK in almost 30 years. It will chart the evolution of his radical and distinctive style through the recurring motif of the sea.

The Courtauld holds the largest collection of works by Seurat in the UK. The artist is best known as the creator of the Neo-Impressionist technique, in which shapes and light are rendered by juxtaposing small dots of pure colour. Due to his early death at the age of 31, Seurat has a very small pool of works and exhibitions devoted to him are rare.

The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Seurat and the Sea will bring together 26 paintings, oil sketches and drawings made by Seurat during the five summers he spent on the northern coast of France, between 1885 and 1890. Working in port towns along the English Channel, including Honfleur, Port-en-Bessin and Gravelines, Seurat captured their seascapes, regattas and port activity in his distinctive Neo-Impressionist technique. He sought, in his words, ‘to wash his eyes of the days spent in the studio [in Paris] and to translate in the most faithful manner the bright clarity, in all its nuances’.

These works are an important counterpoint to his Parisian works, which are better known and more widely studied. This exhibition will therefore provide a unique opportunity to reassess an important but often overlooked aspect of Seurat’s career.

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13 Feb - 17 May 2026

10:00 – 18:00 (last entry 17:15)

Courtauld Gallery  Somerset House  The Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries 

Tickets for 13 Feb – 12 Apr 2026 are now on sale.
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Supported by Kenneth C. Griffin

Highlights

A painting of Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, a green cliff overlooking the blue sea with clouds in the sky
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, 1888, oil on canvas. Gift of the W. Averell Harriman Foundation in memory of Marie N. Harriman, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Georges Seurat's
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), The Lighthouse at Honfleur, 1886, oil on canvas, 66.7 x 81.9cm. Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Pointillist seascape showing the harbor at Gravelines at evening, with calm water, breakwaters, and thin ship masts silhouetted against a softly glowing sunset sky, rendered in small, luminous dots of colour.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), The Channel at Gravelines, Evening, 1890, oil on canvas, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden, 1963, Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence.
A serene seascape in Georges Seurat's signature Pointillist style. Tiny dots of color coalesce to form a dramatic cliff face overlooking a tranquil sea. The scene evokes a sense of peace and grandeur.
2. Georges Seurat (1859‑1891), Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp, 1885, Tate purchased 1952 © Tate, London 2025. Photo: The National Gallery, London.
Pointillist beach scene at Bas Butin in Honfleur, with gently sloping sand, small figures along the shoreline, calm sea, and a pale sky, rendered in delicate dots of blues, creams, and soft pastels.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), Beach at Bas Butin, Honfleur, 1886, Oil on canvas, Collection du Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Tournai, Image courtesy Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tournai.
Pointillist harbor scene at Port-en-Bessin, with steep cliffs framing a narrow inlet, small fishing boats moored on calm water, and figures and buildings along the shore, all constructed from dense dots of blue, green, and ochre.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), Port-en-Bessin, 1888, oil on canvas, lent by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund. Photo: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Pointillist view of the Channel at Gravelines, showing the Petit-Fort Philippe shoreline with sandy banks, calm water, and distant structures, bathed in soft light and rendered in small, evenly spaced dots of blue, green, and warm earth tones.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), The Channel at Gravelines, Petit-Fort Philippe, 1890, oil on canvas, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift of Mrs. James W. Fesler in memory of Daniel W. and Elizabeth C. Marmon, 45.195. Image courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.
Pointillist coastal scene of Port-en-Bessin at low tide, with fishing boats resting in a quiet outer harbor, exposed shoreline and docks in the foreground, and calm sea and sky built from small, precise dots of muted blues, greens, and earth tones.
Georges Seurat (1859-1891), Port-en-Bessin, Outer Harbour Low Tide, 1888, oil on canvas, Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase. Image: Saint Louis Art Museum

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Seurat and the Sea catalogue

Bring home this beautifully illustrated catalogue of the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Seurat’s seascapes and the first devoted to the artist in the UK in almost 30 years.

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