Drawing on the world’s largest Shelter Drawings collection, this is the first exhibition devoted to the series since 1998.
The upper gallery within the Sheep Field Barn has been renovated and will host a programme of changing displays exploring individual aspects of Moore’s art and his long-lasting legacy. For 2026, the gallery will open with some of his most powerful and celebrated works – the Shelter Drawings.
Commissioned during the Second World War by the War Artists Advisory Committee this evocative body of work shows Londoners sheltering in the London Underground during the Blitz (1940-41). The drawings were among the first works that Moore made after he moved to Perry Green, Hertfordshire, from the capital.
The deeply moving scenes witnessed by Moore of people huddled together in cramped tunnels inspired a series of drawings that are both despairing and intensely human, combining vulnerability and resilience. Drawing on the largest and one of the most important collections of Shelter Drawings in the world, this will be the first exhibition devoted entirely to this landmark series of works since 1998.
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Visitor information
Address
Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, SG10 6EE
01279 843333
Opening times
Open Wednesday 1 April to Sunday 25 October 2026
Wednesdays to Sundays and Bank Holidays, 11am - 5pm
Studios close at 4pm
Open April to the end of October each year
Exclusions and safety measures