Culture | Exhibitions For centuries, London has been the city for creatives and is a leading centre of the art world. It holds some of the best institutions internationally, ranging from libraries to museums, private collections to public galleries, as well as of course being the birthplace of the auction house as we know it. The nation more widely has long been a cultural melting pot and source of inspiration for artists.
To celebrate, Sotheby’s has come together with Art UK and twelve institutions across the country to stage a one-off, month-long public exhibition. The show – which is free to see – turns the focus to twelve exceptional works by twelve artists, all born outside of the UK, whose work was somehow transformed by their time here. Summer for Sotheby’s has always meant a chance to do something a little outside of the box.
Last autumn, a group of us came together to start thinking about how 2024 could be marked differently. Who better to seek inspiration from than the National Gallery, who is celebrating its bicentenary by sending twelve remarkable pieces from its own collection to elsewhere in the country. Inspired by this, our exhibition seeks to do exactly the opposite, bringing twelve works from UK institutions to London.
With less than a year to plan, we were presented with many challenges, not least sweet-talking museums across the country to loan works with only a few months’ notice as opposed to a couple of years! Brought from all four corners of .
