Fifty years after the Brazilian government donated the War and Peace panels to the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, Rio de Janeiro hosted the 'War and Peace by Portinari' exhibition. The display took place at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, the same venue where the panels were exhibited once before in 1956.
Inaugurated on December 21, 2010, the exhibition was marked by special appearances by singer Milton Nascimento, choreographer David Parsons (who presented new compositions inspired by the panels), actress Fernanda Montenegro and dancers Ana Botafogo and Alex Neoral.
The panels were exhibited for 13 days, with free admission, attracting more than 40,000 visitors. After this exhibition at the Municipal Theater, the panels went to the Gustavo Capanema Palace, where they were subjected to meticulous restoration work in a studio open to the public.
