Exiled Masterpieces: The Evacuation of the National Gallery and the Tate During the Second World War‪.‬

The Second World War evacuation of the National Gallery and the Tate raises certain art historical questions. Preparations to evacuate the National Gallery and other London museums began in 1933, six years before war was declared. The effect of the First World War, the political situation in Europe, along with increasingly restrictive cultural policies in Germany, certainly prompted museum administrators to begin preparations. However, such a large-scale project certainly had built-in contingencies. While all of the pictures were saved, archival evidence reveals that there were some pictures that were considered more important than others. After the Blitz, pictures from the National Gallery were evacuated to certain houses in Wales, thought to be safer locations. The Tate had a definitive list all of their important works, which were evacuated first from the Gallery. The considerations and viewpoints which went into choosing the most important pictures reveal early twentieth century views on art. 1: Introduction