The Tube, London's Underground network, has long held a fascination for artists. Presented here are a selection of artworks showing inside and outside of stations, Tube platforms, passengers, Londoners sheltering two world wars, as well as artists who have been commissioned by London Transport, now TFL, to decorate buildings and design posters, including the 'Art on the Underground' series from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Developed in association with Grant Waters, Art Detective Group Leader: South East England, East England and the Midlands.

Artists featured in this Curation: Maxwell Ashby Armfield (1881–1972), Mervyn Lawrence (1868–1961), Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942), John Hodgson Lobley (1878–1948), Walter Bayes (1869–1955), Bernard Meninsky (1891–1950), Eric Ravilious (1903–1942), Edward Bawden (1903–1989), Alfred Horace Gerrard (1899–1998), Eric Gill (1882–1940), and 39 more
51 artworks
Storyline Album Showcase

  • Maxwell Ashby Armfield (1881–1972)

    Oxford Circus Underground Station 1905
    Maxwell Ashby Armfield (1881–1972)
    Oil on canvas
    H 26.5 x W 33.5 cm
    Government Art Collection
    Oxford Circus Underground Station
    © the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Government Art Collection

  • Always Warm and Bright

    Always Warm and Bright 1912
    Mervyn Lawrence (1868–1961)
    Oil on canvas (?)
    H 100 x W 100 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Always Warm and Bright
    © the copyright holder. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Queen's Road Station, Bayswater

    Queen's Road Station, Bayswater c.1916
    Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
    Oil on canvas
    H 62.3 x W 73 cm
    The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
    Queen's Road Station, Bayswater
    Image credit: The Courtauld

  • Outside Charing Cross Station, July 1916: Casualties from the Battle of the Somme Arriving in London

    Outside Charing Cross Station, July 1916: Casualties from the Battle of the Somme Arriving in London 1918
    John Hodgson Lobley (1878–1948)
    Oil on canvas
    H 205.7 x W 307.3 cm
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
    Outside Charing Cross Station, July 1916: Casualties from the Battle of the Somme Arriving in London
    Image credit: IWM (Imperial War Museums)

  • The Underworld: Taking Cover in a Tube Station during a London Air Raid

    The Underworld: Taking Cover in a Tube Station during a London Air Raid 1918
    Walter Bayes (1869–1955)
    Oil on canvas
    H 254 x W 548.6 cm
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
    The Underworld: Taking Cover in a Tube Station during a London Air Raid
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: IWM (Imperial War Museums)

  • Victoria Station, District Railway

    Victoria Station, District Railway 1918
    Bernard Meninsky (1891–1950)
    Oil on canvas
    H 50.8 x W 76.5 cm
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
    Victoria Station, District Railway
    Image credit: IWM (Imperial War Museums)

  • Designs for London Transport

    Designs for London Transport
    Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)
    Woodcut on paper
    H 6.5 x W 8.8 cm
    The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art
    Designs for London Transport
    Image credit: The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art

  • Designs for London Transport

    Designs for London Transport
    Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)
    Woodcut on paper
    H 6.5 x W 8.8 cm
    The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art
    Designs for London Transport
    Image credit: The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art

  • Hyde Park

    Hyde Park 1925
    Edward Bawden (1903–1989)
    Colour lithograph on paper
    H 101.5 x W 63 cm
    Fry Art Gallery
    Hyde Park
    © the estate of Edward Bawden. Image credit: Fry Art Gallery

  • Maquette for 'The North Wind', at Saint James Park Underground, 55 Broadway, London

    Maquette for 'The North Wind', at Saint James Park Underground, 55 Broadway, London 1928
    Alfred Horace Gerrard (1899–1998)
    Portland stone
    H 25.2 x W 14.3 x D 12.5 cm
    Leeds Museums and Galleries
    Maquette for 'The North Wind', at Saint James Park Underground, 55 Broadway, London
    © the copyright holder. Image credit: Leeds Museums and Galleries

  • Model for 'Sculpture: The South Wind'

    Model for 'Sculpture: The South Wind' 1929
    Eric Gill (1882–1940)
    Bath stone
    H 25.5 x W 68.5 x D 10 cm
    Tate
    Model for 'Sculpture: The South Wind'
    Image credit: Tate

  • The East Wind

    The East Wind 1929
    Eric Gill (1882–1940)
    Bath stone
    H 25.4 x W 70.5 x D 10.2 cm
    Tate
    The East Wind
    Image credit: Tate

  • Winged Wheels

    Winged Wheels 1939 (?)
    Adams, Holden & Pearson (active 1911–1940) and Leonard Holcombe Bucknell (1887–1963) and Joseph Armitage (1880–1945)
    Stone
    Winged Wheels
    © the copyright holder. Image credit: Mark Collins / Art UK

  • The Archer ('Archie')

    The Archer ('Archie') 1939
    Eric Aumonier (1899–1974)
    Stone
    The Archer ('Archie')
    © the copyright holder. Image credit: Gerry Temple / Art UK

  • Southend Pier

    Southend Pier 1930
    Charles Pears (1873–1958)
    Colour lithograph on paper
    H 120 x W 100 cm
    Southend Museums Service
    Southend Pier
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: Southend Museums Service

  • Underground

    Underground 1932
    Thomas Cantrell Dugdale (1880–1952)
    Oil on canvas
    H 76.5 x W 102 cm
    Walker Art Gallery
    Underground
    Image credit: Walker Art Gallery

  • In the Tube Train

    In the Tube Train
    Percy John Delf Smith (1882–1948)
    Etching on paper
    H 24.8 x W 19.5 cm
    Southend Museums Service
    In the Tube Train
    Image credit: Southend Museums Service

  • Telegraph Boy with a Bandaged Hand, in the Underground

    Telegraph Boy with a Bandaged Hand, in the Underground 1939
    Lynton Harold Lamb (1907–1977)
    Oil on canvas
    H 50.4 x W 40 cm
    The Postal Museum
    Telegraph Boy with a Bandaged Hand, in the Underground
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: The Postal Museum

  • A Sleeping Family in a London Underground Station

    A Sleeping Family in a London Underground Station c.1941
    Rachel Reckitt (1908–1995)
    Oil on canvas
    H 62.2 x W 54.6 cm
    Royal Air Force Museum
    A Sleeping Family in a London Underground Station
    © The Golsoncott Foundation. Image credit: Royal Air Force Museum

  • Familiar Silhouettes

    Familiar Silhouettes 1942
    Henry Marvell Carr (1894–1970)
    Oil on canvas
    H 50.8 x W 53.9 cm
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
    Familiar Silhouettes
    Image credit: IWM (Imperial War Museums)

  • Scene in an Underground Train: Workers Returning from Night Shift

    Scene in an Underground Train: Workers Returning from Night Shift 1943
    Ruskin Spear (1911–1990)
    Oil on panel
    H 58.4 x W 71.1 cm
    IWM (Imperial War Museums)
    Scene in an Underground Train: Workers Returning from Night Shift
    Image credit: Bridgeman Images

  • Figures outside an Underground Station (Hammersmith Underground)

    Figures outside an Underground Station (Hammersmith Underground) 1946
    Peter Startup (1921–1976)
    Oil on canvas
    H 152.4 x W 194.3 cm
    UCL Culture
    Figures outside an Underground Station (Hammersmith Underground)
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: UCL Culture

  • Evening Light, Mornington Crescent

    Evening Light, Mornington Crescent 1960
    Brian Plummer (b.1934)
    Oil on board
    H 58.5 x W 89 cm
    London Borough of Camden
    Evening Light, Mornington Crescent
    © the artist. Image credit: London Borough of Camden

  • Bank Station Underground

    Bank Station Underground
    Marjorie Collins (b.1941)
    Acrylic on canvas
    H 76 x W 92 cm
    Imperial Health Charity Art Collection
    Bank Station Underground
    © the artist. Image credit: Imperial Health Charity Art Collection

  • The District Line

    The District Line 1964
    Prunella Clough (1919–1999)
    Oil on canvas
    H 91 x W 193 cm
    Hatton Gallery
    The District Line
    © estate of Prunella Clough. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Hatton Gallery

  • The Old Underground Station

    The Old Underground Station 1965
    Eric Doitch (1923–2000)
    Oil on canvas
    H 49.9 x W 75 cm
    Ben Uri Collection
    The Old Underground Station
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: Ben Uri Collection

  • Looking towards Mornington Crescent Station, Night

    Looking towards Mornington Crescent Station, Night 1973
    Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)
    Oil on board
    H 125.7 x W 125.5 cm
    Sheffield Museums
    Looking towards Mornington Crescent Station, Night
    © the artist. Image credit: Sheffield Museums

  • Festival of London (Girl in Tube Turnstile)

    Festival of London (Girl in Tube Turnstile) 1973
    Peter Johnson
    Oil on canvas
    H 140 x W 111.5 cm
    Royal College of Art
    Festival of London (Girl in Tube Turnstile)
    © Royal College of Art. Image credit: Royal College of Art

  • Portrait of the Artist and His Wife on the Underground

    Portrait of the Artist and His Wife on the Underground 1976
    Alec Cobbe (b.1945)
    Acrylic on board
    H 26 x W 12 cm
    National Trust, Hatchlands
    Portrait of the Artist and His Wife on the Underground
    © the artist. Image credit: National Trust Images

  • Outside Kilburn Underground, Summer 1976

    Outside Kilburn Underground, Summer 1976 1976
    Leon Kossoff (1926–2019)
    Oil on board
    H 107.5 x W 184 cm
    Leicester Museums and Galleries
    Outside Kilburn Underground, Summer 1976
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: Leicester Museums and Galleries

  • District Line

    District Line 1978
    Guy Beggs (b.1947)
    Oil & acrylic on canvas
    H 182.9 x W 152.4 cm
    Museum of London
    District Line
    © the artist. Image credit: Museum of London

  • Tottenham Court Road Underground

    Tottenham Court Road Underground 1987
    Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (1924–2005)
    Acrylic on paper/screenprint (?)
    H 55.8 x W 81.2 cm
    Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh)
    Tottenham Court Road Underground
    © trustees of the Paolozzi Foundation, licensed by DACS 2024. Image credit: Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh)

  • Tottenham Court Road Underground Station Mosaic Study: Running Man

    Tottenham Court Road Underground Station Mosaic Study: Running Man 1983
    Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (1924–2005)
    Collage on paper
    H 76.2 x W 55.9 cm
    The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art
    Tottenham Court Road Underground Station Mosaic Study: Running Man
    © trustees of the Paolozzi Foundation, licensed by DACS 2024. Image credit: The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art

  • New Kew

    New Kew 1987
    Jennie Tuffs (b.1943)
    Acrylic & ink on tissue
    H 75 x W 55 cm
    London Transport Museum
    New Kew
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Chinatown

    Chinatown 1987
    John Bellany (1942–2013)
    Oil on canvas
    H 152 x W 121 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Chinatown
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Soho Square

    Soho Square 1988
    Philip Sutton (b.1928)
    Acrylic on paper
    H 71.5 x W 51 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Soho Square
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Days on the Water

    Days on the Water 1988
    Sandra Fisher (1947–1994)
    Oil on canvas
    H 45.8 x W 35.5 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Days on the Water
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • City Farms

    City Farms 1989
    Lizzie Riches (b.1950)
    Acrylic on hardboard
    H 122.7 x W 91.8 cm
    London Transport Museum
    City Farms
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Little Venice

    Little Venice 1990
    Sandra Fisher (1947–1994)
    Oil on canvas
    H 40.8 x W 30.5 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Little Venice
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Camden Lock

    Camden Lock 1990
    John Bellany (1942–2013)
    Oil on canvas
    H 172 x W 152 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Camden Lock
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Embankment Gardens

    Embankment Gardens 1991
    Robin Mason (b.1958)
    Oil on canvas
    H 114.3 x W 83.8 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Embankment Gardens
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Windy Day in Brick Lane

    Windy Day in Brick Lane 1991
    Mick Rooney (b.1944)
    Acrylic on paper
    H 101.6 x W 76.2 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Windy Day in Brick Lane
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Opera

    Opera 1992
    Caroline Anne Brice
    Oil on canvas
    H 135 x W 93 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Opera
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Find Michelangelo at the V&A

    Find Michelangelo at the V&A 1992
    Ronald Brooks Kitaj (1932–2007)
    Oil on canvas
    H 46 x W 37.5 cm
    London Transport Museum
    Find Michelangelo at the V&A
    © TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection. Image credit: TFL from the London Transport Museum Collection

  • Tube Girls

    Tube Girls 1993
    Mandy McCartin (b.1958)
    Mixed media on canvas
    H 183 x W 138 cm
    Salford Museum & Art Gallery
    Tube Girls
    © the artist. Image credit: Salford Museum & Art Gallery

  • Underground Crucifixion

    Underground Crucifixion
    Fletcher
    Oil on board
    H 123 x W 160 cm
    University of Exeter, Fine Art Collection
    Underground Crucifixion
    Image credit: University of Exeter, Fine Art Collection

  • Mornington Crescent Station, London

    Mornington Crescent Station, London 1997
    Geoffrey Scowcroft Fletcher (1923–2004)
    Oil on canvas
    H 56 x W 71 cm
    City of London Corporation
    Mornington Crescent Station, London
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: City of London Corporation

  • Four Tooting, South London Street Scenes

    Four Tooting, South London Street Scenes
    Paul Clements (b.1959)
    Acrylic on board
    H 57 x W 88 cm
    St George's Hospital
    Four Tooting, South London Street Scenes
    © the artist. Image credit: St George's Hospital

  • Aldgate East 1

    Aldgate East 1 1997
    Jock McFadyen (b.1950)
    Oil on canvas
    H 122 x W 152.5 cm
    Government Art Collection
    Aldgate East 1
    © the artist. Image credit: Government Art Collection

  • Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers' Alliance (Union)

    Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers' Alliance (Union) 2022
    Larry Achiampong (b.1984)
    Acrylic
    Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers' Alliance (Union)
    © Larry Achiampong. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage. Courtesy of the Artist and Copperfield, London 2022. Image credit: Andy Smith / Art UK

  • Chingford TFL Roundel

    Chingford TFL Roundel 2020
    Maud Milton and Artyface
    Ceramic mosaic
    Chingford TFL Roundel
    © the copyright holder & © the copyright holder. Image credit: David Ovenden / Art UK

Explore artists in this Curation

View all 49
  • Embankment Gardens
    Robin Mason (b.1958)
  • City Farms
    Lizzie Riches (b.1950)
  • Pan African Flag for the Relic Travellers' Alliance (Union)
    Larry Achiampong (b.1984)
  • Opera
    Caroline Anne Brice
  • Oratio Obliqua
    Walter Bayes (1869–1955)
  • The Summer House
    Guy Beggs (b.1947)
  • Aldgate East 1
    Jock McFadyen (b.1950)
  • Post Office Loading Platform
    Lynton Harold Lamb (1907–1977)
  • Familiar Silhouettes
    Henry Marvell Carr (1894–1970)
  • Brighton Pier
    Edward Bawden (1903–1989)
  • View all 49
View all