The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour: Reflections on Peace

Please note that this exhibition has now closed. It took place from 20 September 2025 to 11 January 2026.

Claude Monet’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872) was presented in a multi-sensory reflective space within the Sainsbury Centre, which encouraged contemplation around the importance of sanctuary and a safe home.

The reflective space marked the first edition of The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour 2025–27, of which the Sainsbury Centre has been selected, alongside three other partners.

Monet spent a year in voluntary exile in England and the Netherlands during the Franco-Prussian War, returning to France in 1871 where he settled in Argenteuil near the river Seine. Here, having found a sense of stability and home, his artwork flourished as he created paintings inspired by his surroundings, such as The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil. The presentation of this evocative work will be used to develop and research trauma-informed cafes as part of the Sainsbury Centre’s Compassionate Museum programme. These will be co-created with a range of partners working in the field of mental health and support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

A new fragrance wascreated for the exhibition by IFF, a leading global fragrance house, which evokes a sense of calm and serenity using its proprietary Science of Wellness tool.

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour: Reflections on Peace is organised by the Sainsbury Centre and The National Gallery London. Specialist insurer Hiscox is proud to support The National Gallery Masterpiece tour.

This exhibition was part of our 2025 season Can We Stop Killing Each Other?

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