The Abbey Art Centre as Postwar Refuge: 1946–56

An exhibition telling the story of the Abbey Art Centre, a cosmopolitan art colony at New Barnet that offered a postwar haven to stateless Jewish refugees and artists from Australia, Britain and continental Europe. It was established in 1946–47 by artist, gallerist and collector William Ohly, who had fled Nazi Germany for England. The show traces the colony's affordable lodgings, studios and cross-cultural community, its role in many artists' careers, and Ohly's work and world art collection. It is curated by Simon Pierse, Jane Eckett, Sheridan Palmer and Sarah MacDougall, and runs at Ben Uri in St John's Wood.