In 1939, as Britain braced for the devastating effects of war, Hertford House, the historic home of the Wallace Collection in London, underwent an unprecedented transformation. The museum's celebrated works were evacuated to protect them from bombing, the galleries emptied, and the spaces temporarily converted into exhibition spaces dedicated to cultural propaganda and strengthening relations with Britain's allies.
A museum emptied of works
At the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Wallace Collection's masterpieces were quickly moved out of London. Large paintings, including monumental canvases by François Boucher, were safely stored at Hall Barn in Buckinghamshire, while other works were moved to Balls Park in Hertfordshire, and later to West Wycombe Park. Under the direction of James Mann, the museum's staff spent the war years protecting the dispersed collections, enduring constant relocations and the constant risk of damage from the Blitz. The exhibition features period photographs documenting both the devastation of London and the unusual makeshift storage facilities in English country houses.
Art at the service of war
With the museum emptied, the British Ministry of Public Works requisitioned the galleries to stage exhibitions related to the war effort. The first, Artists Aid Russia, opened on July 1, 1942, was one of the largest collective projects in British art during the war. Promoted by the Central Institute of Art and Design with the support of 23 art associations, the exhibition brought together 904 works by living artists, from Augustus John to Jacob Epstein, to refugee painters and members of the Artists International Association. Sculptures and paintings filled every space in the Wallace Collection, including the grand staircases. Half of the proceeds from sales went to the Red Cross "Aid to Russia" fund, supported by Clementine Churchill, wife of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The opening ceremony was presided over by Agniya Maisky, wife of Soviet Ambassador Ivan Maisky, whom Churchill described in her speech as "the perfect Soviet woman."
The symbolic works of the conflict
The exhibition brings together some of the most representative works from that historic 1942 show. Among these:
- Air Raid in London by Carel Weight, a disturbing depiction of an air raid on London;
- Russian Soldiers by Charles Murray;
- Ethel Gabain's lithographs dedicated to women's work during the war;
- Arthur Shearsby's images of the damage to the Palace of Westminster;
- the famous bronze portrait of Ambassador Ivan Maisky sculpted by Jacob Epstein.
Also on display are posters and catalogues designed by refugee artist Henri Kay Henrion, testifying to the fundamental role of graphic design in the propaganda mobilization of the period.
Soviet Propaganda in the Halls of the Wallace Collection
In November 1942 Hertford House hosted a second exhibition, Twenty-Five Years of Progress, very different from its predecessor. Designed by modernist architect Ernö Goldfinger, it transformed the museum's halls into a vast space of Soviet visual propaganda. Flags, maps, diagrams, and photomontages celebrated the Soviet Union's successes since 1917, denounced Nazi atrocities, and emphasized the shared sacrifice of British and Soviet citizens. Enormous images of Joseph Stalin dominated the central space alongside portraits of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a powerful symbolic representation of Allied unity.
“Museums can influence society”
According to curator Alison Smith, director of collections and research at the Wallace Collection, these exhibitions demonstrate that "even stripped of its treasures, Hertford House continued to be a place of discussion and alliance-building." "These exhibitions," Smith explained, "remind us that museums are not just custodians of art, but civic spaces capable of influencing public understanding in moments of great national uncertainty." Wallace Collection director Xavier Bray also emphasizes the museum's unique role during the conflict: "While the National Gallery moved paintings to Welsh mines and kept morale high with daily concerts, the Wallace Collection illustrates another form of cultural adaptation, deeply connected to the political exigencies of the time."
