The National Portrait Gallery has been transformed into a breathtaking, theatrical wonderland for Tim Walker’s largest exhibition to date.
This deeply moving visual love letter masterfully celebrates LGBTQIA+ identity and history through 250 stunning, unseen portraits.
15/10/2026 Chise Taguchi
Stepping into Floor 0 of the National Portrait Gallery this autumn feels less like entering a traditional museum space and more like falling headfirst through a Looking-Glass. Running from 9 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends is a triumphant, breathtaking milestone in the career of one of Britain’s most imaginative photographers. It is, quite simply, a lovely and deeply moving exhibition.
A Fantastical Love Letter to Queer Britain
For decades, Tim Walker has enchanted the world with his dreamlike, high-fashion editorials. Yet, this landmark show—the largest ever dedicated to his work—sees him pivot away from commercial pages to deliver something profoundly personal. Over five years in the making, Fairyland serves as a grand visual love letter to LGBTQIA+ history, activism, and identity across Britain.
Collaborating with his longtime set designer, Shona Heath, Walker has transformed the gallery into a theatrical wonderland. Heavily inspired by Renaissance portraiture, the exhibition marries grand, painterly compositions with whimsical sets, elaborate costumes, and intimate personal objects.
The Sung and the Unsung Heroes
The heart of the exhibition lies in its balance between global cultural icons and grassroots community heroes. Around 250 previously unseen portraits line the walls, capturing what Walker beautifully calls the “sung and the unsung.”
In one room, you are met with the striking, larger-than-life gazes of superstars like Chappell Roan, Lady Gaga, Troye Sivan, Frank Ocean, and Hunter Schafer. In the next, you are introduced to local healthcare workers, underground figures, and trailblazing activists who have quietly shaped queer British history. A dedicated, powerful room celebrates the post-punk collective Rebel Dykes, featuring large-format portraits inspired by 1960s biker gang iconography and an accompanying short film.
Every photograph feels deeply collaborative. The sitters do not just pose; they command the space, surrounded by props and textures that tell their unique stories.
Shadows in the Dreamscape
While the exhibition is bursting with color and joy, it does not shy away from the complex complexities of adult fantasy. The journey concludes with a restricted final room that explores staged erotic scenes. Reinterpreting classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes through an explicit, queer lens, this space contains adult themes and is recommended strictly for visitors aged 18 and over. It provides a raw, unfiltered punctuation mark to an otherwise ethereal experience.
A Must-Visit Winter Highlight
Fairyland is a multisensory triumph that stays with you long after you leave the gallery. It manages to be simultaneously grand and intimate, surreal and heartbreakingly real.
The exhibition runs daily at the National Portrait Gallery in London, with standard tickets priced between £23 and £27.50. For younger art lovers, £5 tickets are available for CLUB NPG members (ages 25 and under), alongside a Pay What You Can scheme on Mondays.
If you are looking for a dose of pure visual magic, historical reverence, and artistic brilliance this winter, Tim Walker’s latest masterpiece is not to be missed.
https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2026/tim-walkers-fairyland-love-and-legends