‘I must admit the climate is most unusual: the number of wonderful effects I’ve seen in the two months or so that I’ve been looking incessantly at the Thames is unbelievable ’ – Claude Monet

The EY Exhibition: Impressionists in London: French Artists in Exile charts the story of the French artists who took refuge in London during and after the devastating Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune.

Following these traumatic events there was a creative flourish in London as the exiles responded to British culture and social life – regattas, processions, parks, and of course the Thames.

New texts from a range of leading writers draw out key figures and events from this remarkable period, revealing the artists’ connections with patrons, art dealers and British artists, and considering both the contribution they made to British art and art education and the impact their cross-Channel experiences had on French art.

Lavishly illustrated throughout with over 170 beautiful works, this hardback exhibition catalogue shows us London seen through French eyes and illuminates a key period in this enduringly popular movement.

Caroline Corbeau-Parsons is Assistant Curator at Tate Britain.

With contributions from Anna Greutzner-Robins, Anne Robbins, Cyrille Sciama, Amélie Simier, Bertrand Tillier, Philip Ward-Jackson.