0171 588 9023 James Ensor 1860-1949, until December 14

Torn between social satire and transcendental visions, this uneven but fiercely independent Belgian artist most often achieves an expressive synthesis through the use of masked figures in carnival settings.

Don Mcullen - Sleeping with Ghosts: A Life’s Work in Photography, until December 14 From poverty in post-second World War Britain through every major conflict in the world, it is doubtful if any other photo-journalist has so effectively documented human suffering during the second half of the 20th century.

BRITISH MUSEUM

0171 636 1555 Cartier 1900-1939, until February 1

Three hundred items including enamelled and hardstone inlaid gold vanity and cigarette cases, ingenious mystery clocks and the famous diamond and platinum jewellery celebrate the most creative period of this international firm.

DESIGN MUSEUM

0171 403 6933 Bike - A Tour of Bicycle Design 1825-2000, until March 22

The first major exhibition in the UK to explore bicycle design and social significance, from pre-pedal machines to models and prototypes using the most recent technology.

HAYWARD GALLERY

0171 928 3144 Objects of Desire: The Modern Still-Life October 9-January 4

A wide-ranging exploration of the use of objects and their meanings from Picasso and Matisse to Tony Cragg and Cindy Sherman.

NATIONAL GALLERY 0171 839 3321 Making and Meaning, November 5-February 1

Holbein’s newly conserved “Ambassadors” is examined in detail through drawings, paintings, miniatures, manuscripts, prints, globes and sundials.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

0171 306 0055 Sir Henry Raeburn, October 24-February 1

Straight from the Edinburgh Festival, 60 works representing the breadth of achievement of Scotland’s most famous portrait painter.

Serpentine Gallery 0171 823 9727 Piero Manzoni, November 27-January 25 The newly renovated and extended gallery reopens with a coup: more than 100 works by the Italian arte povera hero who anticipated so much conceptual and performance art of the 60s and 70s and is still an influence on young artists today.

TATE GALLERY, LONDON

0171 887 8000 The Age of Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Watts: Symbolism in Britain 1860-1910, October 16-January 4

This major exhibition celebrating the gallery’s centenary examines the dominant British artists of a hundred years ago in the context of Continental ones such as Courbet and Redon.

TATE GALLERY, St IVES

01736 796226 Roger Hilton, November 15-April 26

A look at one of the most inventive post-Second World War British abstract artists associated with St Ives.

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

0171 938 8500 Carl and Karin Larson: Creators of The Swedish Style, October 23-January 18

Famous for the watercolours depicting their own progressive interior designs, this major exhibition is arranged around five room sets displaying the original furniture fittings, textiles and prints by Mackintosh’s influential Swedish contemporaries.