Exhibition tells the story of the artists who fled to Britain to escape war in France

Nearly 150 years after the Franco-Prussian War prompted artists to flee Paris, the works of Claude Monet and other Impressionists in London are to go on display in the British capital. Finding freedom in London after 1870, artists including Camille Pissarro, James Tissot and Jules Dalou created a unique portrait of the city and British society. More than 100 of the Impressionists’ paintings and sculptures during the period until 1904 form a new exhibition opening Thursday at Tate Britain. “There was a long tradition in London of welcoming political refugees, but the main draw of London, for these artists, was the importance of the art market,” said curator Caroline Corbeau-Parsons. Although prompted by the dire circumstances in their home city, which are touched upon in the exhibition, the French artists brought a fresh perspective to London.