The exhibition was held at the Gallery of Temporary Exhibitions of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FGC), inaugurated on January 11, 1971, to present for the first time in Lisbon, a total of 100 artworks of British Contemporary Art, acquired in London by the British Council and the FCG - U K branch, in Portland Place.                                         

This collection which gathered the artworks of 51 British artists, was based in the United Kingdom, and was occasionally presented in exhibitions held there, stored in various British institutions or stocked at the FCG delegation in London. The British Council used to manage the collection under the guidance of the FCG Presidency.                                                                  

After the closing of the exhibition, in February 1971, 50 artworks were selected and remained in Lisbon, at the FGC headquarters, and the remaining 48 returned to London. On a letter addressed to Charles Whishaw, dated 3 September 1970, the President José de Azeredo Perdigão (1896-1993) mentioned:

“(…) We still intend to present the exhibition with the whole collection in our Temporary Galleries (…). I think that the exhibition should include all the works in order to give the most complete picture of British Contemporary Art as well as to show the real value of the Foundation's collection of British Modern Art. (…) our Fine Arts Department will then select a number of works, approximately 50% of the collection, that will remain here definitively. The other part will be returned to London after the closing of the exhibition” (Letter from José de Azeredo Perdigão to Charles Whishaw, 3 Sept. 1970, Gulbenkian Archives, SBA 13733).

During the exhibition a conference was held on February 2nd, 1971, delivered by the British curator and critic Edward Lucie-Smith, and entitled “L'Art Britannique Contemporain des Années 60”. During the same month a cycle of guided visits was conducted by Edward Lucie-Smith, Rui Mário Gonçalves, José-Augusto França and Fernando Pernes.

In April 1972 an exhibition of English Contemporary Art of the FCG collection was launched in the Cooperativa “Árvore” (in Porto), presenting a total of 48 pieces selected from the nucleus that remained in Lisbon, at the FCG headquarters, after the exhibition was held in early 1971. The Porto exhibition marked the inauguration of two multipurpose halls in the facilities of the Cooperativa “Árvore”, a project that was supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.