The Aid to Russia exhibition was organised in 1942 by the emigré architect Ernö Goldfinger and his wife, the painter Ursula Goldfinger, at their private London house at 2 Willow Road in Hampstead. It was inaugurated on 5 June and was open to the public until  21 June. Aid to Russia, which featured 70 works by contemporary artists, attracted over 1,700 visitors, with the generous opening hours of 3 to 9 p.m. on workdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays undoubtedly contributing to its success. Posters in Underground stations and shops were also used to promote the exhibition.

The 1942 signing of an Anglo-Soviet treaty cementing the political alliance between the UK and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany contributed to increasing the British public's solidarity with its wartime ally. Reports of the fighting on the Eastern front also played a role in garnering public sympathy. Contemporary artists were invited to contribute two works each to the exhibition and in return were guaranteed 50% of the sales price, the remainder to be donated to the “Aid to Russia” fund. Admission cost one shilling and, arranged on the walls of the Goldfingers’ modernist townhouse, were works by Hans Arp, Max Ernst, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Kurt Schwitters and others. A 1937 work by Pablo Picasso, La Niçoise (known today as the portrait of Nusch Éluard) was among the works on display. It had been loaned by Hugh Willoughby; not all works were for sale. The Goldfinger House in Hampstead thus became a focus of solidarity with Russia and the expression of antifascist sentiments. At the same time, modernist art was promoted, and the usual boundary between private and public space dissolved. This was noted in a letter by a visitor to the exhibition: “The clear light, the spaciousness and subtle simplicity of your delightful rooms gave an atmosphere more conducive to 'art appreciation’ than the usual run of shows. I feel that we should aim more at this method of picture showing.” Eighteen works were sold at the exhibition, and the Goldfingers themselves purchased a few works, among them Henry Moore’s sculpture Head (1937).

Ernö and Ursula Goldfinger had been collecting art since their time in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s, purchasing many pieces from their circle of friends and acquaintances or receiving them as gifts. Artists who were part of the private and professional networks of the couple included Man Ray, Max Ernst and Amédée Ozenfant; Ursula Goldfinger had studied under the latter. With the matter-of-fact presence of modern art in their private home, the Goldfingers were promoting the art of their time. Moreover, this art was understood as an integral component of the interior architecture conception, as evidenced for example by the large display frame installed in the living room, which enabled alternating objects, pictures and books to be put on show. At the 1942 Aid to Russia exhibition, it was the aforementioned work by Picasso that was featured in this frame.