I was really looking forward to a day of #cyclicalclassical at @forarthistory 2020 conference scheduled today. @Hosmeriana and @tinyhistorian had put together a great panel. In honour of it, I will tweet some aspects of my paper to cheer me (and you?) up

My paper was Antiquity on Display: Temporary Exhibitions in Britain during World War II and it's a recent (and in progress) project that examines a series of exhibitions organised in Britain with antiquity and its reception as their main focus between 1939 and 1945.

I am particularly interested at the scope of exhibition organisers, the display of the artworks and their reception by the public. These war-time exhibitions deliberately deployed a classical narrative to give a sense of continuity to the British public and to boost morale.

Most of the scholarship on the use of classical art and archaeology as propaganda during WWII has focused on projects prompted by totalitarian governments. However, antiquity and its reception became a useful propaganda tool for the other side too.

Exhibitions I am looking at include ‘The Present Discovers the Past’, 'Visual Approach to the Classics', ‘English Art and the Mediterranean’ and ‘Greek Art 3000 B.C.-A.D. 1938’; the three first were photographic ones, the fourth included actual works of art

They showcased ancient material culture highlighting its relevance and importance to subsequent generations and the modern world. The thematic displays and the interpretation of material emphasised the links between past and present.