Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur at the Wallace Collection, London

From 28 March to 26 October 2025, the Wallace Collection in London hosts Delusions of Grandeur, Grayson Perry’s ambitious contemporary art exhibition. The display is the largest ever contemporary show held at the Wallace, featuring over 40 new works by Perry alongside masterpieces from the Collection that shaped his vision.

About the Artist – Grayson Perry’s Style and Inspirations

Grayson Perry is known for his eclectic blend of fine and decorative arts, social commentary, flamboyant persona, and exploration of identity. His practice spans ceramics, tapestry, printmaking, sculpture, works on paper, and more recently digital media. Perry’s inspiration draws from classical works, decorative opulence, outsider art, and personal history. The Wallace Collection, with its French rococo, decorative armour, miniatures and 18th-century pieces, has been a long-standing source of fascination for him.

The Exhibition Concept & Persona: Shirley Smith and Millicent Wallace

A central conceit of Delusions of Grandeur is Perry’s creation of a fictional persona, Shirley Smith, who believes herself the rightful heir to Hertford House (site of the Wallace Collection). Shirley has another alter-ego, the Honourable Millicent Wallace. Through these invented identities, Perry is able to engage with themes of authenticity, status, outsider-ness and the stories we tell about art and ourselves.

Major Themes Explored

Craft, Perfectionism and Digital vs Handmade

One of the major tensions in the exhibition is between labour-intensive craftsmanship and digital or mechanically aided processes. Perry places painstakingly crafted ceramics, tapestries and sculpture side by side with works using digital media, inviting contemplation of what perfection means, and whether human touch or speed is more valued.

Identity, Gender and Outsider Art

Identity and gender are long-running interests in Perry’s work, and here they are central. He includes pieces by recognised outsider artists such as Madge Gill and Aloïse Corbaz, whose lives and works connect to themes of marginalisation, trauma, and creative impulse. Perry also interrogates gendered notions of decoration, traditional crafts, and the decorative arts.

Home, Authenticity and Mental Health

Through the fictional narrative of Shirley Smith, Perry addresses home as both a physical and psychological space: how we build domestic worlds, what makes art feel safe or alien, and how authenticity can be compromised by fantasy, status, or mental strain. Mental health appears in the backstory of Shirley’s trauma, and in questions about how art can heal or distort

Key Works to See

• The Story of My Life tapestry – a huge piece blending figures from the Wallace Collection with imagined landscapes, reflecting how visitors identify with art and artworks.

• Works by Madge Gill and Aloïse Corbaz – the outsider artists who are shown in dialogue with Perry’s own pieces.

• Sissy’s Helmet – Perry’s armour‐inspired work which plays with notions of protection, decoration and gendered expectations.

• Various ceramics, tapestries, furniture, works on paper that respond directly to paintings or decorative objects in the Wallace Collection (e.g. Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher) in order to set up contrast and conversation.

Why Delusions of Grandeur Is Significant in Contemporary Art

This exhibition is significant for several reasons:

1. Scale and Ambition – It is the largest contemporary art exhibition ever held at the Wallace Collection, bringing together new works across many media in conversation with historical art.

2. Interrogation of Institutional Identity – Perry isn’t simply adding works to a gallery; he is engaging with what a collection means, how museums shape taste and identity, and how artists navigate that space.

3. Blurring Boundaries – Between outsider art and mainstream, handmade and digital, authentic and fictional personas. That blurring is very timely in contemporary art, where questions of identity, authorship and authenticity are central.

4. Emotional & Psychological Layers – The integration of mental health, trauma, fantasy and narrative adds emotional depth. It’s not simply aesthetic spectacle; there is introspection.

Delusions of Grandeur is more than an exhibition; it is a dialogue between past and present, tradition and reinvention. By placing his new works in conversation with the Wallace Collection’s treasures, Grayson Perry challenges visitors to reflect on authenticity, identity and the role of art today. For anyone interested in contemporary art in London, it is an unmissable experience.