Review: Forced Journeys

If you have not already taken in the latest Ben Uri exhibition, it is well worth making the trip to St John’s Wood to see works by 24 of the 300-odd painters, sculptors and graphic artists who settled in the UK between 1933-45 as refugees from the Nazis and who went on to make a significant contribution to British culture.

Most of the 24 were Jewish — the ones who were not had to flee Germany because of their political beliefs or their “degenerate” artistic practice.

Notable works on show include Marie-Louise von Motesiczky’s fine self-portrait painted in 1938. She depicts herself in an elegant red dress with matching hat. Painted shortly before she escaped Vienna, she salutes her native Austria in a gesture of farewell. Despite the sophistication of her outfit, she looks very young and rather anxious as she looks towards her new life.

Many of these artists found themselves interned in Hutchinson camp on the Isle of Man where they had to go to great lengths to continue working. The renowned avant-garde artist Kurt Schwitters, for example, made constructions from left-over porridge. Sadly none of these survived, so instead he is represented here by two fine portraits of his fellow internees.