Anglo-Soviet friendship at war: new exhibition at The Wallace Collection

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In April 2026, The Wallace Collection will open a free exhibition, The Wallace Collection at War, dedicated to a little-known chapter in the museum’s history during the World War II. The display explores how the grand Hertford House was transformed into a tool of cultural diplomacy and propaganda. Afisha.London magazine shares the details.

This article is also available in English here

At the outbreak of war in 1939, the museum’s collection was urgently evacuated: works by Boucher and other masters were moved to country estates to protect them from bombing. The emptied galleries were taken over by the Ministry of Works, which staged exhibitions aimed at supporting Britain’s allies and shaping public opinion.

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At the heart of the new display are two exhibitions from 1942 — Artists Aid Russia and Twenty-Five Years of Progress. The former brought together more than 900 works by British artists, including Augustus John and Jacob Epstein, with part of the proceeds donated to aid the Soviet Union. The latter adopted a Soviet-style “agitprop” aesthetic, featuring photomontages, maps, and large-scale images of Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt as symbols of Allied unity.

: 25 Years of Progress; exhibition poster. Photo: © FHK Henrion Archive, courtesy of the Henrion Estate. University of Brighton Design Archives

: ‘Artists Aid Russia exhibition’ poster. Photo: © FHK Henrion Archive, courtesy of the Henrion Estate. University of Brighton Design Archives

The exhibition will include archival materials, posters, Blitz-era photographs, and artworks created during the war. Among them are scenes of bombed London, depictions of Soviet soldiers, and documentary works capturing destruction. Curators emphasise that even without its collection, the Wallace Collection remained a space where ideas were shaped and international ties strengthened. Today, this episode is seen as an example of how museums can take on political and civic roles in times of crisis.

The exhibition runs from 15 April to 25 October 2026 and forms part of a wider programme, including a forthcoming project on Winston Churchill’s artistic practice.

Cover photo: 25 Years of Progress © Reproduced by kind permission of the National Trust

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