The Harvard Art Museums shows that the medium is considerably less wishy-washy – and more modern – than it sometimes seems

The British Museum represents a century and more of imperial decline, civil uprisings and the birth of the modern republic in objects

How the Missouri-born dancer became a sensation in Parisian night clubs and a champion of civil rights in the United States

The British-Ghanaian artist’s work tackles histories of travel, migration and displacement

A survey of the self-described ‘Science Fiction Expressionist’ at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid

Pallant House Gallery in Chichester explores how the artist forged an independent career and style

The Guggenheim explores how the City of Light entranced the 19-year-old artist

The Getty Center looks at what medieval communities did for fun

Georgia’s most celebrated painter documented his nation’s customs and landscapes in a distinctive, naive style

How the Persian empire set the standard for luxury living in the ancient world

Garments and hand-drawn sketches trace the extraordinary career of the pioneering designer

The National Gallery considers how Franciscan teachings have inspired artists from the Renaissance to the present

The Bozar in Brussels shows that in Florence, the style was considerably more refined than in Rome

The film-maker’s lyrical explorations of race and cultural history go on show at Tate Britain

The Grolier Club serves up a feast of menus that tell us much about changing social mores

The Huntington presents a rare opportunity to view the oldest printed book in its collection

The Whitney puts on the most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work to date

The Queen’s Gallery in London puts on a courtly fashion show

The photographer documented Jewish communities throughout Eastern Europe from the late 1920s to the start of Second World War

The Tate considers how both artists used abstract painting as a means of understanding the natural (and supernatural) world