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Artful Excursions

Once a decade there comes the art-world equivalent of Halley's comet—the concurrence of four major European events: Art Basel (now past), Documenta, the Venice Biennale, and Sculpture Projects Münster. They’re not the only shows worth continent-jumping for; the upcoming months are packed with not-to-be-missed shows, from Richard Serra’s curves in New York to Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze doors in Chicago. –Callen Bair

Edward Hopper

Photo by Francis G. Mayer/CORBIS

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Aug. 19
Middle-class America was Edward Hopper's muse, and some of his most iconic paintings of this subject—of diners, movie theaters, and motels—are part of the first comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work at the M.F.A. in more than half a century.

Louvre Atlanta Kings as Collectors

Photo by Allen Sullivan/Polaris

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, through September 2
In June, five paintings, including François Boucher’s portrait of Louis XV’s famous mistress, Madame de Pompadour, were added to the High’s exhibition of works from the Louvre. Another stop well worth making is the Parterre Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where Dale Chihuly’s coils of blue and white glass were reinstalled at the end of July.

Oudry's Painted Menagerie

Photo by Robert Landau/Corbis

Getty Center, Los Angeles, through September 2
Eleven of Jean-Baptiste Oudry’s life-size animal “portraits,” including those of specimens from Louis XV’s zoo as well of as the famous touring Indian rhinoceros Clara, are on view at the Getty. Oudry’s menagerie reflects the exotic-fauna craze that blossomed in 18th-century Europe as the fields of taxonomy and natural history developed and colonial trade flourished.

ShContemporary

Photo by China Photos/Getty Images

Shanghai, September 6 through 9
Extend your summer past Labor Day for the newest addition to the art-fair lineup. ShContemporary, held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, is international in scope with a concentration on Asian art. Holders of V.I.P. tickets, which are available by invitation only, will receive a guided tour of museums, art districts, and private collections in Shanghai and Beijing.

Richard Serra Sculpture 40 Years

Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Museum of Modern Art, New York, through September 10
Richard Serra’s large-scale sculptures have been praised and scorned. After several years, Tilted Arc was removed from New York's Federal Plaza due to continued protests over cost, appearance, and size. But this retrospective has received only stellar reviews. It includes early pieces made with rubber and neon, and the sculptor's trademark steel arcs and curves.

Documenta

Photo by Jens-Ulrich Koch/AFP/Getty Images

Kassel, Germany, through September 23
A taste of what's served up at this quinquennial show of international contemporary art: Thai artist Sakarin Krue-On is cultivating terraced rice fields below Wilhelmshöhe Castle. Chrissie Iles, curator at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art, describes this Documenta as disjointed, but notes that, it might be therefore be an accurate reflection of the art-world zeitgeist.

Sculpture Projects Munster

Münster, Germany, through September 30
Every 10 years since 1977, artists have been invited to create sculptures for installation throughout this city. Among the works in the fourth Sculpture Projects is Mike Kelley's restaging of the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah, which features a petting zoo. Unpack your bags at the Central Hotel Münster, filled with the works of local artists, or the modern Mauritzhof.

The Gates of Paradise

Photo by Gjon Mili/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Art Institute of Chicago, through October 14
It took 25 years to restore Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, a set of gilded bronze doors depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Now three panels from the Renaissance masterpiece will tour the U.S. for the first time. It will also be the last: When the panels return to Florence, they will be placed on permanent display at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.

Venice Biennale

Photo by Michele Gregolin, courtesy of Fondazione La Biennale di

Venice, Italy, through November 21
The most famous art review in the world is curated by an American, Robert Storr, for the first time since its founding, in 1895. The exhibition features contemporary art and presentations from more than 70 countries. When you’re ready to escape the bustle of the Biennale, check in to the San Clemente Palace, a former monastery on a private island 10 minutes from St. Mark's Square.

Jean Prouve's Tropical House

Photo by Nicolas Tavernier/REA/Polaris

Centre Pompidou, Paris, through February 2008
This prototype of Jean Prouvé’s prefab steel-and-aluminum house was erected in Brazzaville, capital of the Congo Republic, in 1951. Now the structure, donated by Wall Streeter Robert Rubin to the Centre Georges Pompidou, is on display. For a contrast to Prouvé’s spare aesthetic, bunk at the Hôtel du Petit Moulin, once a bakery, now a Christian Lacroix-designed confection.