In the summer 2008 Narborough Hall hosted a major retrospective by one of the most well-loved and respected British artists of the 20th century, John Piper. The exhibition was curated by Robert Sandelson together with the distinguished art historian Frances Spalding.

Born in 1903 in Epsom and educated at the Richmond School of Art and the Royal College of Art, John Piper was one of the most versatile artists of the century employing many different artistic techniques such as oils, watercolours, drawings, stained glass and tapestries. His career spanned over seven decades until his death in 1992.

The exhibition focused on Piper’s love of East Anglian subjects and his celebrated depictions of the British landscape and its architecture. It included major works from public collections such as the Norwich Castle Museum and the Britten-Pears Foundation, as well as works from private collections that had rarely – if ever – been on public display.