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Exhibitions currently running:
The Face of Courage - For much of his distinguished career, Kennington was regularly classed by leading critics as belonging to the ranks of such exceptional portraitists as: Hans Holbein the Younger; Albrecht Dürer; Franz Hals; Van Gogh and Augustus John. Furthermore, many of his artistic contemporaries rated him as one of the finest draughtsman of his day and while among famous contemporaries who admired Kennington’s portraiture were: Winston Churchill; J.B. Priestley; Siegfried Sassoon; George Bernard Shaw; Geoffrey de Havilland; Richard Hillary and T.E. Lawrence. The exhibition will present about three dozen works covering all of the Armed Services, the Auxiliary Services and London Transport and some notable civilians. Pictures have been loaned to the show by the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum, the Tate, the National Maritime Museum, the Ministry of Defence as well as from Kennington’s family and other private lenders and art dealers. Until 25 May.
Brothers in Arms - During the Battle of Britain one fifth of Fighter Command’s aircrew came from overseas with 16 nations represented in its squadrons. Arguably the RAF’s most prolific and successful pilots of this campaign and beyond were the dispossessed Polish and Czechoslovakian pilots who had escaped from their homelands to fight, as brothers in arms, against a tyranny that had occupied Continental Europe. In this multimedia exhibition, curated in association with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the Museum will explore through drawings, archive film footage and sculpture the bravery of men such as Czech fighter pilot Josef Frantisek and the men of 303 Squadron; and the fate of those Polish & Czechoslovakian RAF pilots who returned back to their homelands only to be deemed criminals and outcasts by Communist regimes desperate to ‘clip the wings’ of any ‘dangerous elements’ who could become powerful totems around which potential resistance groups could form. Until 4 March 2012.
Battle of Britain Aircraft Collection at RAF Museum London - The Royal Air Force Museum's Battle of Britain Hall tells the story of the world's first decisive air battle - when the Royal Air Force stood alone against the might of the German Luftwaffe during World War Two. Recently refurbished to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this aircraft collection contains the most comprehensive selection of aircraft from both sides that fought in the Battle of Britain. Alongside the very planes that fought for supremacy over the Channel, interactive displays give you an insight into the minds and actions of those who experienced the Battle at first hand. After war broke out in 1939, large numbers of Allied troops in France prepared for the German onslaught. When it came in May 1940, German tactics surprised and overwhelmed Allied air and ground forces, who retreated from Dunkirk. This left Britain isolated from Europe - the enemy just 20 miles away across the English Channel. With around four times more aircraft than RAF Fighter Command, Germany got ready to invade England. Permanent.
RAF Museum London
Grahame Park Way
London
NW9 5LL
Tel: 020 8205 2266
RAF opening hours
Weekends & School Holidays 10.00 - 18.00
Weekdays 10.30 - 16.30
Map
For more details please visit www.rafmuseum.org.uk
