Alice provides a painter’s perspective on famous artworks from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Rembrandt and Turner are revealed as artistic risk-takers, whose new combinations of glazes, surfaces, pigments and processes re-defined the language of painting.  

These two forefathers of experimentation lead the way for modern artists such as Pollock and Fontana, who went beyond the brush, the canvas, and the gallery wall itself in search of the meaning of making.  

Explore the mess and methodology of the creative process: from broken brushes to smudged thumbmarks, raw pigment to secret sketchbooks, slashed canvases to immersive light installations, this lecture uncovers a new way of seeing painting.

Come and explore the mysteries of the ocean in a lecture featuring paintings, sculpture and objects from the 18th century to the present, and from Britain to Japan and northern Australia. On our journey we will meet the dreaded Sirens, the much-loved mermaid and their powerful African relative Mami Wata, as well as sea creatures both real and imaginary. Carved figureheads and Australian aboriginal bark paintings appear alongside works by a stellar cast of artists including Edward Burne-Jones, John Tenniel, Eileen Agar and Marc Chagall.

Coastal peoples the world over tell stories of the sea and of life beneath the waves. For millennia, artists have responded visually to such stories and to the wildlife and characters they feature. There are stories of real people, such as the ama, the daring ‘sea women’ of Japan, and real creatures. In different times and places, whale, lobster, octopus, crab and dugong have all provided both food and the material for visual storytelling, from tales of courage to fables and even jokes. We will see how artists have used the techniques and media of their particular time and place to explore the mysteries of the deep, portraying creatures real and imaginary, telling stories and making designs based on marine motifs. We will examine the playful treatment of sea creatures by figures as diverse as John Tenniel (Alice in Wonderland), Salvador Dali and the designers of Shell posters. Of course, one thing we won’t find is an artist who actually painted beneath the waves – or will we? With beautiful works, fascinating folklore and surprises-a-plenty, Undersea is both light-hearted and thought-provoking.

'Great wine is a work of art.  It produces a harmony of pleasant sensations, which appeal directly to the aesthetic sense, and at the same time sharpens the wit, gladdens the heart and stimulates all that is most generous in human nature'   H Warner Allen

In this lively presentation John shares his knowledge and lifelong enthusiasm for wine in general and the huge contribution that ‘wine art’ makes to our colourful world. 

Many of today’s imbibers now seek out wine accessories from the past such as corkscrews, bin labels, drinking glasses and bottle tickets to adorne their ‘cellars’.

There are numerous wonderful paintings of wine being made and wine being drunk in celebration, especially by many of the Impressionists.

Wine or rather the drinking of it also lends itself to wicked and sometimes very funny cartoons. 

Finally, we shall explore wine labels from around the world. Today the high standard of graphic art displayed on wine labels is amazing.  

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the quintessential English landscapist John Constable.  Enormously popular and endlessly reproduced, his paintings today are familiar – perhaps over-familiar.  But his modern reputation masks a radical, experimental artist who pushed the boundaries of art of his time just as much as his near-contemporary (and far more successful) rival Turner.  Tate Britain will be showing a major exhibition of their work from November 2025 until April 2026.  This lecture will examine Constable’s career and propose five reasons why he should be considered revolutionary and Britain’s greatest landscape painter.  Time to re-assess an artist who sold more tea towels than he did canvases in his lifetime.

The son of a famous painter, James Ravilious became a leading British photographer of rural life and landscapes. In this lecture we explore the painter’s composed eye as he tenderly recorded compelling images of the hardships and pleasures of farming communities in a remote corner of Devon. James Ravilious documented and celebrated country everyday life from 1972 to his death in 1999. The writer Alan Bennett notes that, 'he keeps his distance even in the most intimate scenes that he records and it is this mutual respect of photographer and subject that dignifies both'.

The first pots appeared in Britain about 6000 years ago and this lecture will chart the ways in which ceramic production has evolved from this time to the present day. From the hand-formed and bonfire-fired pots of our prehistoric ancestors to the products of both modern industry and individual craft potters, this lecture will examine the major changes that have shaped the ways pots are produced and distributed. Roman industrialisation, the introduction of the potters wheel and kiln, the effects of the industrial revolution on rural potteries and the rise of the art potteries of the 19th century are all part of this evolving story, told through the pots themselves and the potters that made them. This is a genuinely a ‘potted history’.

We all use chairs! But over the past 150 years, artists across the world have been using the humble chair as a conduit for profound ideas on themes from protest, absence and memory to domestic or everyday life. Starting with arguably the world’s most famous empty chair by Vincent van Gogh, we move through 20th century Europe. Egon Schiele, René Magritte, Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys all used empty chairs for personal expression, while across the Atlantic in America, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Kosuth and Bruce Nauman used chairs to develop the exciting new artistic movements arising in the sixties. The Palestinian artist, Mona Hatoum, adapted chairs to explore female identity and the Columbian artist, Doris Salcedo, stacked 1,550 between two buildings to remember anonymous victims of war. Right up to the present day, the Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei, uses chairs to explore East / West traditions and the relationship of the individual to the state.   These are just some of the many diverse artists and uses of chairs we will be looking at in this talk. And as in all my lectures, my personal connection as an artist, who has worked with chairs throughout her career, will aim to bring the subject to life. 

From the beginning of time the fascination with magic and the impossible has been widespread. Egypt was the cradle of magic. Sorcerer Priests used scientific principles to create illusions for the edification of worship and to hold power over the people. Where there was power there was magic. Then there is the age-old skill of sleight of hand, which proves that ‘the hand is quicker than the eye’. Magicians were known as ‘Jongleurs’ lest they be sentenced to death for ‘witchraft and conjuration’ under the edicts of Henry VIII. With the emergence of the Music Hall, Magic gained a new respectability and audiences flocked in their thousands to watch the extraordinary feats of The Great Illusionists. This gave birth to legendary tricks such as pulling a rabbit from a hat and sawing a lady in half. And if magicians guarded their secrets with their lives, how was the Magic Circle formed ? – Home to 10,000 secrets. Even Today in our super technical age of ipods and broadband, the wonder and surprise of magic are as popular as ever, not forgetting the Harry Potter craze. 'Wonder Workers and the Art of Illusion' is a whistle stop tour of the history of mystery from 3000 BC to the 21st century and be careful! – you might be amazed and bewitched.

For a great many members of The Arts Society, the cartoonist Carl Giles was as much a part of the festive season as the Christmas tree, crackers and the Queen's Speech. So popular were the Giles annuals as Christmas presents that they helped to make him Britain's best loved, most successful and wealthiest cartoonist. The talk looks at Giles's life and work with a particular emphasis on his seasonal cartoons, particularly those featuring Grandma and the Giles family. They include some of his funniest cartoons but, as the art historian William Feaver pointed out, they also demonstrate that he had few equals when it came to representing Britain in Winter.  

It is not known exactly when Advent was first acknowledged as part of the Church’s calendar, but it appears to be a tradition that was started sometime in the late 5th century.  Etymologically, Advent is derived from the Latin adventus – coming, arrival - and for many people today, as in the past, it is a time for reflection and spiritual preparation for the birth of Christ on 25th December. Over the centuries Advent has attracted many customs and traditions, and has also inspired a wide range of fine prose and poetry, as well as some first class music.  The lecture follows the ever evolving traditions of Advent and samples a range of inspired poetry and music.

Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942) was the most important British artist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His art forms a bridge between French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism - Edgar Degas was a close friend and kindred spirit - and the traditions of British art.  We know Sickert best for his music hall pictures and scenes of everyday life in Camden Town c.1885-1910, but his later work from the 1920s and 30s is perhaps his most interesting: paintings created from images in newspapers and magazines anticipating Pop Art by thirty years! Sickert was a formidable character, charismatic, opinionated and unpredictable

An American artist in London, James Abbott McNeill Whistler was a leading proponent of the idea of "art for art's sake". He signed his paintings with stylized monogram of a butterfly with a long stinger for a tail – as much a symbol of his love of Japanese art as his assertive and sometimes combative nature. Having lived and worked with the Paris avant-garde he settled in London in 1859 having created a distinctive Post-Impressionist style at a time when many of his British contemporaries had yet to come to terms with Impressionism.

The Norfolk clergyman, James Woodforde kept a diary between 1758 and 1802 in which he daily recorded almost every dinner he ate, whether at home, with friends, at an inn or in the houses of the local gentry. Jane Austen, moving in similar social circles a generation later, recorded food and manners in her letters and novels that illuminate Woodforde’s careful recording of his every meal. This lecture brings together these two with images of paintings, prints, cookery books and the objects of daily life to illustrate the often hidden domestic lives of our Georgian ancestors.

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away. Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer. His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama is played out. 

Discover the ingenious artists and designers who created the popular and enduring images of public information during World War II for campaigns such as: Dig For Victory, Lend A Hand On the Land, Is Your Journey Necessary, Make Do and Mend & Keep Calm and Carry On. Featuring posters and paintings by Evelyn Dunbar, James Fitton, Abram Games, Hans Schleger (Zero), Dame Laura Knight and the story of the brilliant Cyril Kenneth Bird (Fougasse) who devised Careless Talk Costs Lives.

From the sacred shade of Ultramarine, to the ancient roots of Indigo, to the startling alchemy of Prussian, blue has been used to venerate icons since the earliest human civilizations. Enjoy this rich history of colour via two powerful forces: Impressionism and Japanese Print. When Monet’s water-lilies met Hokusai’s Great Wave, the values of art changed forever.

The Easter eggs made by Fabergé for the Russian Imperial family rank amongst the most extravagant and wonderful examples of the goldsmith’s art, with their exquisite design and unfailing ingenuity.  Each year from the mid-1880s to 1917, the eggs commemorated major events and simple themes - from the opening of the Trans-Siberian railway to the icy beauty of a Russian winter; from the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty to the domestic pleasure of petit-point embroidery.  Carl Fabergé drew on the most skilled designers and craftsmen who worked with an astoundingly wide variety of materials.  This lecture is a celebration of these great works and the techniques by which they made them.

Having never left the Russian nor Soviet empires in his lifetime, this Kiev-based artist can only have heard about the new tendencies in Western Art through magazines or publications. Nonetheless, Bohomazov managed to create masterpieces no less exceptional or ground-breaking than those of his European contemporaries. A difficult, at times tragic life, shaped by a passionate love story on a background of major historical upheaval – Oleksander Bohomazov is an artist of revolutionary ideas and unique style. James Butterwick examines the legacy of the genius who many consider the national artist of the Ukraine and how his work is finally moving into the light.

The past decade has seen the meteoric rise of this extraordinarily versatile British designer with his acclaimed Olympic cauldron, the iconic new London bus and designs for a spectacular new HQ building in King's Cross for Google. Over the last thirty years the Heatherwick Studio has used an intriguing combination of curiosity and experimentation to produce a vast range of solutions to design challenges around the world. This talk looks at the problems presented, and the wonderfully creative ways in which Heatherwick and his team have responded. Lecture only – but see study day: Brilliance of British Architects and Designers.

Where better to spend yuletide than in snowy Russia? Imagine yourself wrapped in furs, speeding along in a troika, bells ringing, as you come home from church after celebrating the end of the 40 day Christmas fast. This lecture explores the traditional religious and folk customs associated with Christmas in Russia before the Revolution, the secular celebrations introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, the drastic changes introduced in Soviet times by Stalin, and what Christmas means to Russians today.

In the context of our World War centenaries, anniversaries and the current debate about statues and monuments, the subject of this talk is hugely relevant. In this country, relatively little is known about Germany’s complex post-WW2 process of ‘coming to terms with’ the atrocities of its recent past and the counter memorial movement that started in the eighties and continues to this day.

Germany’s very specific situation rendered all traditional concepts of monuments and memorials irrelevant and inappropriate. Instead of commemorating their own losses, German artists created art forms that responded to questions of apology and atonement: How does a nation of former persecutors mourn its victims? How do you remember what you would rather forget?

The idea behind counter memorials is to keep the memories and lessons of the past alive in the individual psyches of the people. The results are extraordinary, brave and inspiring.

With her Anglo-German roots, artistic background and years of research, Angela is in an ideal position to give insights into Germany’s fascinating and on-going efforts to find artistic forms to remember and apologise for one of history’s darkest periods.

One of the seminal images of the later nineteenth century, Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882) shocked and intrigued audiences when first exhibited in Paris. It continues to beguile and bemuse those who see it today at The Courtauld Gallery, where it presides over a world-class collection of Impressionist art. Manet worked tirelessly on this, his final great work, struggling through pain and fatigue: he died shortly after completing it. What exactly did he paint? What are we looking at? We are standing before a bar at the Folies-Bergère, one of the popular theatres of Paris, looking directly at the barmaid. She stares back at us, blankly. However, everything is not as it seems: behind the barmaid space apparently dissolves, there is another bar and barmaid and even a male customer echoing ourselves! This lecture unpicks Manet’s most brilliant painting and explains why it has proved so popular and influential.

Sarah Ciacci has an MA in History of Art from University College London, and has been a Blue Badge guide for London since 2008., specialising in art, museums and galleries. She has also trained Blue Badge guides since 2008 in the National Gallery and is an art lec turer for trainee guides in Tate Britain, Tate Modern, and, for a period, the National Portrait Gallery. 

Sarah's lecture covers portraiture in the 18th century - both human and equine, and will be a useful taster for anyone who might be interested in our 2025 UK holiday to Suffolk (birthplace of Gainsborough) and Constable country.

The widespread developments in art and industry, in science and technology and social behaviour in the 18th century laid the foundations of the modern Britain that we know today. This was the age of the Enlightenment and of the Industrial Revolution, events that were to change and mould British life for the next two hundred years. This was also the age of Joseph Wright of Derby who painted the very spirit of the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment and whose paintings are still familiar to his many admirers to this day. This lavishly illustrated talk considers his exceptional paintings of both industrial scenes and the many associated characters, such as industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of naturalist Charles Darwin, who were his subjects and friends.

Isabella d’Este (1476-1530), Marchioness of Mantua, known to her contemporaries as ‘the world’s First Lady’, was one of the leading women of the Italian renaissance. She was stylish, cultivated, feisty and – in her own words – ‘hungry for art’. As a female patron in a male-dominated world, she is an exceptional figure: paintings by Mantegna decorated her study, she sat for her portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, scoured Italy for classical antiquities and stole a statue by Michelangelo from her Urbino in-laws. Drawing extensively on contemporary anecdote, this lecture looks at Isabella’s life, personality, predilections and peccadilloes, and of course at the masterpieces of art she owned. 

Using the extraordinary fourteen-foot-long printed panorama of the north bank of the Thames created by the Buck brothers in 1749, this lecture will take us on a journey along the early Georgian river from Westminster to the Tower of London. The luminous paintings of Canaletto will bring the journey to life in sunlit colour and the highly detailed map created by John Roque in 1747 will be our constant guide. Along the way we will encounter wharves, warehouses, watermen and water closets, dukes, criminals, cranes and churches, and even a lost palace or two.

Eric Ravilious was only 39 when he died on active service as a war artist in 1942, yet he had already achieved amazing things. A brilliant wood engraver and designer, he is best known today for his haunting watercolours in which lighthouses, white horses, empty rooms and downland paths become marvels. Over the past decade I’ve explored many of these paintings in depth, teasing out stories and characters hidden in the wings. This entertaining illustrated talk illuminates the life and work of a playful, enigmatic artist, with plentiful examples of his work in watercolour, wood engraving, lithography and ceramics. The paintings are a delight, the Ravilious story funny, sad and full of surprises.

In the spring of 1889 the young Edwin Lutyens, later to become the most famous British architect of the 20th century, met the artist-gardener-craftswoman Gertrude Jekyll for the first time at an afternoon tea-party in rural Surrey. She was a well-known eccentric, of whom her parents had despaired, and a generation older than the young man who communicated with the world through drawings and elaborate jokes.

Though Lutyens always found women difficult (his marriage was an enduring fiasco), he found in the daunting Miss Jekyll someone who empathised with his big ideas regarding design, detailing and distinctiveness. She opened social doors to him, and he brought her theories and experiments in garden-making onto the national stage. Though they always maintained their independence from one another, their joint creations of house and garden became the talk of Edwardian society. His ever-ingenious geometry, soft-furnished by her colour-graded herbaceous borders, his superb textures of terrace and pergola lined and hung with her signature plantings, set a standard of excellence which has been admired ever since. Separately they were interesting, curious, isolated: together they proved irresistible. 

This is one of the quirkiest lectures you will ever hear. There is a universal delight in being deceived and in this lecture Bertie Pearce takes his audience on a whistle stop tour of art which fools, surprises and amuses the viewer. Beginning and ending with the Belgian surrealist, René Magritte, it encompasses Trompe L’eoil, Banksy, Bridget Riley, Arcimboldo and Escher to name a few. Hold on to your seats and get ready to be visually fried.

Vanessa Bell was a founding and leading member of the Bloomsbury Group. Over her lifetime, she produced some of the most important art of the 20th century. Despite her artistic achievements, and despite being the ‘matriarch’ of the Bloomsbury Group, her art and biography are often overshadowed by the international renown of Roger Fry (her lover), by the cutting-edge art theory of Clive Bell (her husband), by the paintings of Duncan Grant (her soul mate) and by the books of Virginia Woolf (her sister). The lecture will place Vanessa Bell’s paintings – which travelled from gentle impressionism to avant-garde abstraction to a celebration of 19th century European masters – within the context of both her own appreciation of modern art and the tangled web of her relationships, including the setbacks she endured in later life. The lecture will aim to leave you with a sense of a life well lived, but according to her own rules, and a body of work that is sometimes abstract and sometimes deeply personal. One of her key friendships was with her sister, and the lecture will give a good account of how that ebbed and flowed over the course of their lives.

Siobhan Clarke BA has worked for Historic Royal Palaces for 20 years delivering tours and lectures on Hampton Court, Kensington, the Tower of London and the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace. Her experience includes education sessions and tours for schools, universities, corporate and private clients.  

She has lectured for the British Museum, National Trust, U3A, Arts Society and Smithsonian and featured on BBC Radio Women's Hour and Television's Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace. Her published work includes: A Tudor Christmas, in collaboration with Alison Weir, (2018), The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, The Golden Age with Linda Collins (2019), King and Collector: 

Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship (2021) and she is currently working on Gloriana: Elizabeth I and the Art of Queenship.

We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, many of our favourite Christmas traditions date back much further. Carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. The Tudor Christmas was a time of feasting, revelry and merrymaking, a twelve-day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway, and convention was thrown to the winds. Christmas was so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in this age of tumultuous religious upheaval. (This lecture is based on my book with Alison Weir A Tudor Christmas, published by Jonathan Cape, 2018).

Expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. Has written extensively on Arabia and is the author of The Discovery Guide to Yemen, Insight Guide to the Silk Road and Berlitz Guides to Libya; The Red Sea; Oman; Cairo; Abu Dhabi and Nile Cruising. As a photographer has pictures represented by four photographic libraries. A broad range of lecturing experience, including to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects. As a film producer and cameraman he has made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.

She is one of the most intriguing and exotic figures in history. Three thousand years ago the Queen of Sheba travelled with a caravan of hundreds of camels, laden with unimaginable riches, through the Arabian deserts to meet King Solomon in Jerusalem. Their coming together is detailed in the wonderful Arezzo frescoes by Piero della Francesca. It is also one of the world’s oldest love stories, as told by poets and artists in Ethiopian and Arabian folklore. Freed from historical constraints, the imaginations of classical artists have run wild with fabulous palaces and surreal landscapes. Finally, we look at the real evidence of the Kingdom of Sheba, the ruins of its capital Marib and see what the queen might really have looked like - and it isn’t Gina Lollobrigida!

Special Interest Day

MA History of Art, University of London. Trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. Was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. Has also lectured for the National Trust, the Art Fund, London University, Buckingham University, l'Institut d'Etudes Superieures des Arts in Paris, a private women's college in Saudi Arabia, on cruise ships and at antiques fairs and interior design conferences in America.

This lecture will focus on two overriding interests of the late 18th century – the study and collecting of Greek vases and a fascination with volcanic activity; encouraged by the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii; and will look, in particular, at the life and collections of Sir William Hamilton, British envoy to the Court of Naples from 1764 to the end of the century. It is based on an exhibition of the same name staged by the British Museum in 1996, and could be followed up by a visit to the Museum’s new Enlightenment Gallery. 

Holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. Was Visiting Lecturer in Art History at the University of Reading in 2005 and 2007, gave lectures and guided tours, plus special talks, at both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery for 18 years. Currently he lectures at the City Literary Institute, Imperial College, London, and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

In the late 18th century, Britain led the way in the major industry of slavery, which although it did not invent, it did industrialise to an extent never seen before in human history. However, the idea that the enslavement of human beings and the dehumanising to the status of animals was in fact wrong was just beginning to take hold of the consciences of some people in England at this time. This lecture will trace the beginnings of abolition through the eyes of Dido Elizabeth Belle a black woman living in Kenwood House in the late 18th century, and the only known portrait of her painted by the German, but London based Neo-classical painter Johann Zoffany (1733-1810). What made her so different from other blacks living in London at this time, how did Dido come to live at such a grand house at the height of slavery in Britain, what exactly was her status and how was she treated? In the light of these fundamental questions, this lecture will take us back in time on a journey that will not only look at the image of Dido, but will also look at a variety of images by artists such as Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851). These artists and their paintings will be seen in the context of abolition, the changing social attitudes towards the industry of slavery, and the first stirrings of the Anti-Slavery movement in Britain.

Historian of gold and silver. Curator of Decorative Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts 1984-89. Director, Partridge Fine Arts 1991-7. Keeper, Gilbert Collection 1997-2000. Consultant Curator, V&A 2000-2010. Prime Warden, Goldsmiths’ Company,  2015-16 and 2019-20. Fellow, Society of Antiquaries 1994. DLitt (Oxford) 2013. Trustee, Wallace Collection from 2013. Trustee, City and Guilds Art School from 2020. Member, Westminster Abbey Fabric Commission from 2018. Publications include: English Domestic Silver (1988); Renaissance Silver from the Schroder Collection (2007); Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean Museum (2009); ‘A Marvel to Behold’, Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (2020); and numerous articles.

One of three titles springing from my recently published book ‘A Marvel to Behold’, God and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII. This lecture looks at the king and his world through a rather special lens of the institutions concerned with gold and silver (the Mint, which made it into money), the jewel house (where the king’s plate was stored) and the Goldsmiths’ Company (which controlled the trade and supplied the king’s goldsmiths). At the heart of all this sat Thomas Cromwell, who we all know now through Hilary Mantel’s novels, but who is seen in a rather different light in this lecture. 

Jo Banham is a freelance curator, lecturer and writer. From 2006-2016 she was Head of Adult Learning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and before that Head of Learning and Access at the National Portrait Gallery, and Head of Public Programmes at Tate Britain. She has also been Curator of Leighton House and Assistant Keeper at the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has published on many aspects of Victorian and early 20th century decoration and interiors. She is currently curating an exhibition on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the Juan March Fundacion in Madrid and the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona. She is also Director of the Victorian Society Summer School.

William Morris considered a beautiful home to be “the most important production of Art” and much of his working life was devoted to the production of household goods that were intended to bring art and beauty into a wide range of homes.  He also expended enormous time and energy on beautifying his own homes, creating first at Red House in Bexleyheath, and then at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, and finally at his country home, Kelmscott Manor, a series of interiors that exemplified his ideas about art and design. This lecture explores not only the decoration, but also the relationships and lifestyles associated with each of these very different homes.

1970-71 Teacher at Marlborough College. 1975-86 Keeper of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery & Museums, Brighton. Since 1986 Director of the Martyn Gregory Gallery, London. Author of several books including Savage Ruskin, Oriental Architecture in the West and George Chinnery, artist of India and the China Coast.

‘Every emperor must have a garden where he may stroll and relax his heart.’ So believed the Qianlong Emperor, whose ‘Garden of Perfect Brightness’ displayed a variety of pavilions, lakes and fountains, blending Chinese and Western elements. Another great park was laid out in the mountains near Chengde; it was much admired by the first British visitors in 1793. By now views of these gardens had reached England, stimulating the fashion for landscape gardening. In the Forbidden City itself are ancient junipers, ‘scholars’ rocks’, peonies and other flowers; ‘Qianlong’s garden’ includes spectacular trompe-l’oeil floral effects, which have recently been restored. 

James Butterwick began collecting and selling Russian Art in 1985 and has established himself as one of the world’s leading experts. He moved to Moscow in 1994, becoming the only foreign member of the Russian Society of Private Collectors and began forming collections, taking part in museum exhibitions and lecturing on Russian Art, including at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 2013 and the Museum of Russian Impressionism in June of this year.

In 2008 James became the only foreign member of International Confederation of Antique and Art Dealers of Russia and the CIS and in 2013 joined the Society of London Art Dealers.

James acts as a source of museum quality paintings with flawless provenance of both the Russian and European School and has access to all the leading experts, private collections and museums in any area of the arts. He travels regularly to Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan where, in October 2013, he opened an exhibition of leading Impressionist paintings.

In 2015 James became the first gallery dealing in early 20th century Russian Art to be invited to exhibit at TEFAF, Maastricht – selling four works to the Kröller-Müller Museum. The following year saw a much-heralded personal exhibition of the Ukrainian avant-garde artist, Alexander Bogomazov (1880-1930) with further sales to both Kröller-Müller and subsequently to the Arkansas Art Centre. James also exhibited at the first TEFAF New York fair in 2017.

His private gallery is in London. He speaks fluent Russian.

The Soviet Avant Garde movement contained some of the greatest names of its generation. Malevich, Chagall, Kandinsky, Exter, Popova, Rozanova, Rodchenko, Tatlin and countless others blazed a trail through Art History for an all-too brief period. With their creativity stunted by the advent of Socialist Realism in 1932, their work disappeared – only to re-emerge in the early 1970’s when Greek collector, George Costakis began to buy up swathes of paintings of the period. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, a flood of newly-discovered works appeared on the Western and domestic markets of which the vast majority, up to 95%, had neither verifiable provenance nor exhibition history, their authenticity supported only by documents from now discredited Russian and Western art historians and erroneous certificates of chemical expertise.

This scandal reached a crescendo in January 2018 with an exhibition of 24 dubious works of the period at the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium. James Butterwick examines the background behind the mass faking of the Soviet Avant Garde, the history of these dubious paintings, universally rejected by museums and the art market, as well as the methods used to ‘create’ authenticity

Paul is an Art Historian and a National Gallery trained guide with many years of experience working in education. As a freelance Paul delivers courses and lectures for a wide range of educational organisations. Paul has also given talks and tours for art associations/societies in Museums and Galleries in the UK and Europe. As a writer, Paul has published a book, which examines the subject of cultural crossovers and appropriations in 20th century painting. Paul has a long-standing commitment, in conjunction with the National Gallery as a tour guide at the Longford Castle art collection and he is also a visiting tutor at Marlborough College and a tutor at MCSS.

The legendary Paris circus, from its beginning as the Cirque Fernando in 1875 (it was renamed the Cirque Medrano in 1897) until its closure in 1963 was an integral part of Parisian cultural life, attracting many writers, painters and poets who have created many works inspired by the Circus. Many painters of the 19th and 20th centuries captured the magic and sparkle and sometimes the hardship of circus life. The performers have been immortalised on canvas by Renoir, Degas, Lautrec, Seurat, Picasso and Leger among others. An intriguing look at the history of a circus through the eyes of the painters of the Montmartre.

Has been lecturing to various groups, including U3A, National Trust, historical societies, Gresham College and business groups since 2008. Previously worked for HM Immigration Service, and has broadcast on local and national television and radio.

The commander of HMS Victoria little expected when he docked in the port of Napier, New Zealand, on 3rd February 1931 that two hours later his vessel would be aground, the port wrecked and the town consumed by fire. The earthquake struck at 10.47 and by the end of the day, Napier was in ruins. But from this catastrophe rose a phoenix for Napier was rebuilt in record time and today Napier has the largest number of art deco buildings in the densest concentration of anywhere on the planet.

This lecture introduces you to pre-earthquake Napier; taking you through the quake and the rescue operation it then looks at the factors influencing the rebuilding. Finally we go on a photographic tour of Napier as it is today so that you can see why Napier is known as The Art Deco Capital of the World.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 35 years' lecturing experience. Organises art and architectural tours in UK and abroad. Previously lecturer for Birmingham University Department of Extra-Mural studies and Tutor in Fine Art, Dept of Continuing Education, Southampton University; Assistant Keeper of Fine Art, Birmingham City Art Gallery. Freelance lecturer throughout Britain and abroad for the National Trust and numerous other organisations. Much involved in the preservation of the architectural heritage of the Czech land and has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Czech government and the Points of Light Award from the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May.

In this lecture we shall trace the development of English gardens from Tudor times through to the twentieth century. Our early formal gardens owe much to the influence of Italy and France, and although most were destroyed in the later vogue for the ‘naturalistic’ landscape park, we can form an excellent idea of their appearance through paintings and engravings. In the 17th century, the more intimate gardens of the Tudor and Stuart period give way to grandiose formal layouts inspired by Versailles and many fragments of great formal schemes survive. However, whereas the formal garden was based on ideas from abroad, the creation of the eighteenth century naturalistic landscape park was a uniquely English achievement, and one that revolutionised the design of gardens and parks throughout Europe. In the Victorian period, we see a return to formality, but in the Edwardian gardens of Lutyens and Jekyll a compromise is reached: the plan is formal and architectural, but the planting is generous and naturalistic. The partnership resulted in some of the finest English gardens, and had a lasting influence on twentieth-century design.

Originally in academic art and design publishing, Sue is also a Fellow of the Huguenot Society, a Freeman of the City of London, a tutor at the City Literary Institute and a Blue Badge guide, conducting a variety of walks and visits. The bleak midwinter held little appeal to the artist for many centuries until Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow in the 16th century. From pristine backdrop to the tempestuous snow storms of Turner to the capturing of ‘snow effect’ by the Impressionists, the ability of artists to convey snow as a symbol of peace but also of grandeur and terror is compelling.

Novelist, broadcaster and critic. Sarah read history at Cambridge, then worked for many years as a cultural journalist in radio and television on such programmes as Kaleidoscope (BBC Radio 4), The Late Show (BBC 2), and Night Waves (BBC Radio 3). She has published thirteen novels, taught renaissance studies at Washington University, St Louis, is a visiting tutor on the MA in creative writing at Oxford Brooks and has lectured around the world at festivals and conferences. Her last five novels have been set within the Italian Renaissance. In the Name of the Family (2017) completes the story of the Borgia family and the remarkable period of Italian history in which they lived. 

Murder, poison, corruption and incest: all perfect ingredients for sensational popular culture. But in an age known for its brutality and church corruption were the Borgias really so bad? This lecture reveals the real family that dominated the Papacy and Italian politics during the last decade of the 15th century: the charismatic figure of Pope Alexander VI, living inside his sumptuously decorated apartments, the career of his son, Cesare, cardinal, general, employer of Da Vinci and the model for Machiavelli’s The Prince, and the journey of Lucrezia Borgia from “the greatest whore in Rome” to a devout and treasured duchess of the city Ferrara. Sometimes truth is more intoxicating than myth.

Angela Findlay is a professional artist, writer and freelance lecturer with a long career of teaching art in prisons in Germany and England. Her time ‘behind bars’ and later as Arts Coordinator of the London-based Koestler Arts, gave her many insights into the huge impact the arts can have in terms of rehabilitation. Though novel, her ideas were effective and in 2016 she was invited by the Ministry of Justice to support the case for the arts to be included in new, progressive programmes of rehabilitation and education. Brexit unfortunately reversed the direction of prison policy but art's role is still vital.Angela has a BA(Hons) in Fine Art, a Diploma in Artistic Therapy (specialising in colour) and her paintings are widely exhibited both nationally and internationally. Her book on the above subjects will be published by Penguin in early 2022.

In this thought-provoking talk Angela offers a deeper understanding of the minds, lives and challenges of offenders. With extraordinary slides of art projects and prisoner’s art, she demonstrates how within the process of creating art of any discipline, there are vital opportunities for offenders to confront their crimes and develop the key life skills so essential in leading a positive and productive life. A frequent response to this talk has been “I had no idea!” and indeed it casts light onto areas of our society where the Arts not only are visual, decorative or commercial, but absolutely vital, hugely relevant and potentially life-changing.

A writer, editor and lecturer, specialising in 20th century culture and the arts. Has published eight books on subjects including official war art, opera and the composer Elisabeth Lutyens. The most recent is the biography of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, published in August 2011. Lectured to a range of audiences, from the Imperial War Museum and British Museum to the Twentieth Century Society and the RSA, most recently at the Cheltenham and Bridport Literary Festivals and the Victorian Society.

How did a German refugee from Hitler, an internee and a jobbing journalist, become the Grand Old Man of English art history? The answer lies in his extraordinary one-man survey of all the architecturally significant buildings in the country, county by county. This lecture explores what Pevsner said, rightly or wrongly, about the buildings in your society’s area – churches, houses, shops, town halls, tower blocks, factories, cinemas – and sets his pronouncements in the context of The Buildings of England as a whole. The series has both detractors and passionate defenders, but no imitators. Pevsner himself said, ‘There won’t be another madman so soon.’

Lecturer, specialist guide, researcher and teacher working at the Royal Pavilion, Preston Manor, and Brighton Museum. Jackie has taught on adult education courses on behalf of the University of Sussex covering architecture, decorative arts, local history, and research skills. Initiates, researches and runs own tours of Brighton Station, Palmeira Mansions and The Old Ship Hotel; local history walks and piers. Has worked on various research projects and books, including the Heritage Lottery

The Royal Pavilion is one of the most recognisable buildings in Britain, typifying the Regency Period, decadent George IV and his opulent taste. George IV was a real patron of the arts , throughout his lifetime he was responsible for amassing splendid collections and sumptuous residences . The use of his flamboyant palace dramatically changed in 1850 , when Queen Victoria sold an empty Royal Pavilion to the town commissioners for a fraction of its value. This is an amazing story about how the Pavilion has been restored and refurnished with original pieces many on loan from Royal Collection.2022 Speaker Programme.

Aaron is a professional scientist and researcher with the University of Cambridge and a prize-winning London Blue Badge Guide and City of Bath Honorary Major’s Guide. He is an expert on fossils and prehistoric life from the first animals to appear on our planet to the evolution of early humans. Aaron published research on the origin of marine animals 480 million years to the Jurassic world. After degrees in Geology & Palaeobiology Aaron gained his PhD from the University of London.

Aaron will introduce us to 19th century palaeontologist Mary Anning and discover how she searched the Jurassic rocks of England's south coast to unearth what where believed to be sea dragons and we now call marine reptiles. We will look the social history and influences of Mary and the 19th century scientists that she would have worked with. We will not only look at these spectacular fossil remains, but also see how palaeontologists have revealed how these ancient extinct animals lived.

A Londoner with a passion for art and architecture, Ian is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations. Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in Best known for his outlandish appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire, Grayson Perry is now a core part of the art establishment, a Turner Prize winner, Royal Academician, popular broadcaster and colourful character. He’s possibly one of the world’s best-known contemporary artists. His works of ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints are highly sought after. Often controversial, he tackles difficult subjects in a poignant yet witty way and holds a mirror up to society. This talk will examine Grayson Perry’s work, his exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions, and the unique character inside the flamboyant frocks.

MA in History of Art from Edinburgh, PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University. With 40 years' experience as a lecturer, Chantal has taught at Sotheby's Institute of Art on the MA in Fine and Decorative Arts since 1989, and as a freelance lecturer for a number of societies in London, Italy and America. 

Caravaggio -A man of proverbial rebelliousness, painting in a style which he knew would drop a bomb on the art world he grew up in. He painted with startling immediacy, rejecting his peers’ obsession with highly artificial designs and stale quotations from earlier works of art. But he was also fortunate to be painting at a time when the Church wanted to harness the power of his art to enforce its message. This lecture considers the unlikely alliance of artist and patrons, considering why the establishment was prepared to accept him, outrageous lifestyle and all, examining why his art is so powerful for us today.

Dr Kate Aspinall is an independent historian, writer, and artist. Based in London, she focuses her art historical work on British visual culture in the 20th century. She teaches occasionally for the Courtauld and Yale in London and has spoken at a range of galleries and public institutions, including Tate, the Towner and Pallant House, among others. In addition to her art practice, she was a long-term consultant for the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.

American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein has captivated the art world since his debut in the 1960s. His paintings, however, remain controversial: executed in a style previously reserved for advertising and comic books, Lichtenstein’s pieces can appear simplistic, tongue in cheek and imitative. And yet the meticulous and monumental works have become ubiquitous and influential.

Focusing on the role of posters and poster artists in the history of advertising, this global-award winning Creative Director of international advertising agencies has lectured extensively on design, illustration and photographic styles as they have influenced the building of brands. He has himself created posters for a number of major brands. Charles is a member of Winchester Arts Society.

Mind the Gap” examines the world-beating graphics, designs, maps and posters created for the London Underground. From early days through the inventive inter-war years, this lecture is rammed with well-known artists and great stories. Modern London was shaped by the Underground. Tunnel Vision has never been so celebrated.

David has been a wine retailer, importer and distributor for 30 years. In that time, he has publicly presented tastings and talks on wine to trade and private audiences. These have taken the form of wine ‘tastings’ or charity events where a particular subject is presented and wines tasted. I have developed a talk, A Brief Story of Wine, a great subject, and full of rich evidence, going back 7,000 years, in the form of paintings, decorated drinking vessels, buildings and literature that contribute to the story.

Bertie has a  BA (Hons) in Drama from Manchester University, and a Diploma Internationale from the École Internationale du Théatre, Jacques Lecoq. A member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star. Past experience includes lecturing and performing on cruise ships, and to U3A, historical societies, festivals, schools and colleges. In addition, has toured the world with a magic cabaret show and a one man show entitled All Aboard. Has written articles for newspapers and magazines on entertainment and theatre. In his lecture Bertie Pearce reveals a Dickensian Christmas with readings, biographical details and conjuring tricks.

Charles Dickens has often been proclaimed as “The Man Who Invented Christmas” and indeed on hearing that Dickens had died, a cockney barrow-girl said: “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?”  Dickens revived the Christmas traditions with his warm portrayal of Christmas in the domestic setting; with plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing  and family cheer by the hearth. Although he celebrated Christmas in numerous works it is his enduring master piece, ‘A Christmas Carol’ published on 19th December 1843 which immortalises the spirit of Christmas Cheer. Dickens was a man of extraordinary energy and talent: literary genius, reformer, public speaker, actor and amateur magician.

Paul is an Art Historian and a National Gallery trained guide with many years of experience working in education. As a freelance Paul delivers courses and lectures for a wide range of educational organisations. Paul has a long-standing commitment, in conjunction with the National Gallery, as a tour guide at the Longford Castle art collection and he is also a visiting tutor at Marlborough College and a tutor at MCSS.

Matisse is regarded, along with Pablo Picasso, as one of the artists who best helped to define the revolutionary developments in the visual arts throughout the opening decades of the twentieth century. During WWI he moved from Paris to the South of France, here his work became more figurative and traditional and he was heralded as an upholder of the French Classical tradition. In later age he had a second flourish as an avant-garde artist and developed his cut-out style, using collage techniques with coloured paper. One of Matisse’s late works was the design and decoration of the Chapel at Rosaire de Vence, A truly important artist of the 20th century and an inspiration to countless generations of painters that followed.

Rosamund Bartlett a writer, lecturer and translator whose work as a cultural historian ranges across the arts. She completed her doctorate at Oxford. She has written on art, music and literature for publications such as The Daily Telegraph and Apollo, and received commissions from institutions including the Royal Opera House, Tate UK, and the Salzburg Festival.

This lecture tells the remarkable story of the fabled Ballets Russes company which Diaghilev established in Paris in 1909. Building on the achievements of Tchaikovsky and Petipa, Diaghilev and his associates brought about nothing less than a revolution in classical dance, which was dazzling to the eye and would have a lasting impact not only on all the arts. The lecture will discuss how artists of the calibre of Bakst, Goncharova, Picasso and Matisse, worked with composers such as Stravinsky, Debussy and Ravel, choreographers such as Fokine and Balanchine, and dancers such as Pavlova, Karsavina and Nijinsky to create ballet stagings of genius.

Suzanne has lectured to a wide range of institutions including universities, museums and adult education groups in the UK and overseas. She is working on her second book on Japanese craftspeople in Kyoto, and visits Japan regularly to continue her research.

Following the opening of Japan to western trade in the 1860s, paintings, prints and artifacts from Japan came to Europe and the West, creating new styles and demand for all things ‘Japanese’: this continued into the 20th century and inspired artists to create daring new designs in architecture, space and design.

Peter is a regular and popular visitor to Sarisbury Green. He is a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Famously, every morning of his adult life, Beethoven measured out exactly 60 coffee beans for his breakfast.  A man who is capable of such discipline over a cup of coffee, can surely apply that exactness elsewhere in his life; and in Beethoven’s case, it was applied to his compositions. In fact, the detail found in his music is often so subtle, that most people don’t even know it’s there. The lecture explores Beethoven’s genius as a writer of music, at the same time setting his extraordinary story against the backdrop of 19th century warfare, revolution and dramatic social changes. Beethoven will be 250 years old on 17 December 2020.

Karin is known for her entertaining lectures on writers and diarists connected with the arts from the mid-18th to 19th century, and moving forward in time with Virginia Woolf. Extensive research into diaries and letters bring lectures to vivid life. Karin illustrates them with slides of contemporary pictures and portraits from varied sources.

Early in the French revolution, adventurous English women writers visit Paris. Some stay there; Mary Wollstonecraft is there for the execution of Louis XV1. Grace Dalrymple Elliott hides the governor of the Tuileries Palace between two mattresses in her own bed; then gets into the bed herself for 4 hours while her apartment is searched, risking her own life. Gainsborough’s striking portrait of the beautiful Grace is in the Frick Museum, New York. Other observers include Fanny Burney, bluestocking Hannah More and the Welsh Jacobin writer Helen Maria Williams. With paintings by contemporary French artists including Louis-Leopold Boilly and Jean-Baptiste Lesueur.

  Alan Read holds Master’s and First Class Honours degrees in History of Art from Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a gallery guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern and the National Portrait Gallery and has lectured at many galleries including the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Plymouth City Art Gallery and the NPG. He is also a London Blue Badge Guide and City of London Guide.

Edward Burne-Jones embodied many of the principles of the Pre-Raphaelites though he was not one of the original seven members.  Inspired by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and encouraged by the Pre-Raphaelites’ great champion John Ruskin, Burne-Jones had a particular talent for story-telling and skill at capturing the melancholy in winsomely beautiful women. This lecture examines the life and career of Burne-Jones from humble beginnings in Birmingham to the title of baronet and a memorial service in Westminster Abbey. It considers the work of this great Victorian artist and his achievements in painting and applied art.

Brian Stater is a Senior Teaching Fellow at University College London. He is a member of the Association of Historical and Fine Art Photography and he works with a pre-War Leica camera, as used by his great hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and many others.

This lecture examines a series of iconic photographs that are embedded in our collective memory. They range from records of historic events, to fabulous portraits and scenes of emotional release and joy. The talk analyses the power of these images, traces the fascinating stories of how they came to be produced, and places them in the context of our appreciation of art.

Roger Butler is a landscape architect and an experienced writer, photographer and lecturer. He has a particular interest in the unique history, architecture and traditions of our canal network and worked on some of the UK’s major canal restoration projects. 

This lecture examines the unique buildings and structures associated with the UK’s canal network, with a vast array of distinctive designs, landmark features and unusual artefacts: only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed structures than our canals. Roger will also reference our own Titchfield Canal which has a fascinating history.

An historian of British art with a particular interest in the work of JMW Turner, on whom he has published widely, including the volume on Turner in Phaidon's Art & Ideas series, and several catalogue essays for exhibitions in the UK, Germany, Italy and Poland. 

On this occasion we have asked Barry to talk about The Beatles and their fascinating links with the world of art.

This is a journey through the 60s in music and images, following the Beatles from the Hamburg Reeperbahn in 1960 to Abbey Road in 1969. The band was always fascinated by the visual arts - the ‘fifth Beatle’, Stuart Sutcliffe, was a much better painter than he was a bass player - and they also learned very early on that artists and designers could help promote their image and their music.

Pamela has MA Hons Art History, St Andrew's University. Over 20 years of lecturing experience to undergraduates, adult groups, and to Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the Adult Education Department's programme of events.

Can a single year adequately encapsulate an artistic environment in British art history? This lecture, The Art of 1935, explores that year’s many aspects of decorative and fine art, demonstrating how these artistic forms reflected the period in a fitting and cohesive manner. Set against the backdrop of the 1935 Silver Jubilee Celebrations of King George V and Queen Mary, audiences are transported back to this fabulous time and learn about this pivotal year. The fully illustrated talk examines the range of contemporaneous art forms; including the work of the celebrated British portrait photographer, Cecil Beaton; magazine, poster and Penguin paperback book design; architecture; Silver Jubilee memorabilia; commemorative stamps; locomotive design and fashion.

 Kingdom of Sweets            Nigel Bates           Nigel is the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet and has been a performer for nearly forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra. He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series. He is a regular contributor to the printed and online content of the ROH.                The Nutcracker has delighted audiences at Christmas for many decades yet it was deemed a failure at its first performances.  We take a close look at how this well-loved ballet now takes its rightful place on stage and how the music of Tchaikovsky along with story-telling, design and dance all come together to make the most magical escape for young and old alike.  Includes several performance video clips.

From Downton to Gatsby             Andrew Prince

Jewellery and Fashion 1890-1929

Andrew Prince has had a passion for the jewellery since he was a small child. In 2002, the V&A commissioned a collection of jewels to accompany the resplendent Tiaras, Past and Present exhibition which became one of their most popular exhibits.The exposure gained by the show then led to Andrew's jewellery appearing in film. In 2005, he was asked to make tiaras and jewellery for Mrs Henderson Presents starring Judy Dench. In 2009, pieces were commissioned for The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt and Miranda Richardson. In 2012, he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for the third series.

For the series Downton Abbey, Andrew was commissioned to produce many jewels for the main characters, and this inspired him to create a talk based on Downton and the changing styles of the time portrayed. Jewellery and Fashion are often seen as two entirely separate and distinct fields of design, but this is very far from the case. In his talk Andrew guides you through the extraordinary periods and events between 1890 and 1929, where the great fashion houses collaborated with the finest of jewellers to produce works of art of outstanding quality and glittering opulence. Along with this he discusses the clients and patrons who commissioned the jewels and how they were worn with the sumptuous gowns.

 Dispelling and Preserving          Jacqueline Cockburn

the Moors in Spain 

A linguist and art historian, with first degrees in French and Spanish and Art History, an MA in Applied Linguistics and a PhD in Art History and Spanish. She is now Managing Director of an art tour company. She has published a book called A Taste of Art.

This lecture will examine how after the ‘Reconquista’ of Spain, which began long before 1492, Christians continued to build in a Moorish style, called Mudejar. The lecture begins in Toledo in 1085 showing buildings which fuse Muslim, Christian and Jewish building styles. It ends in Granada at the Alhambra. It will chart the gradual take back which took 400 years and affected the whole continent. It will examine how the Christians took back Spain, mostly destroying 800 years of cultural heritage yet at the same time there are examples of how they preserved and admired the culture.

O’Keeffe in New Mexico    James Russell

Having studied History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, James Russell enjoyed a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an experience that inspired him to begin writing and lecturing on 20th century art. Of his dozen or so books, one was a Sunday Times book of the year, while his writing has been described by critics as 'insightful', 'informative' and 'enjoyably readable'. The curator of two major exhibitions at Dulwich Picture Gallery, James has lectured across Britain and beyond. 

This colourful lecture explores the relationship between an extraordinary American painter and an equally remarkable place: the picturesque state of New Mexico. Having visited the mountain art colony of Taos for the first time in 1929, she moved permanently to New Mexico after World War II. Fascinated by the mountains and desert, adobe churches and sun-bleached bones, and above all by the brilliant light and vast skies of the state they call the Land of Enchantment, O’Keeffe painted constantly. She was a fearless explorer, setting off alone into the empty landscape in a battered old car, and a tremendous character. Drawing on her twenty-year-long experience of New Mexico and an archive of personal photographs and reminiscences, this lecture brings to life one of America’s greatest artists, and one of its most beautiful places.

 Royal Patrons, Royal Loans     & the Restored Royal Pavilion

Jackie is a lecturer, specialist guide, researcher and teacher working at the Royal Pavilion, Preston Manor, and Brighton Museum. Has taught on adult education courses on behalf of the University of Sussex covering architecture, decorative arts, local history, and research skills. Initiates, researches and runs own tours of Brighton Station, Palmeira Mansions and The Old Ship Hotel; local history walks and piers. Has worked on various research projects and books, including the Heritage Lottery Funded Floating Memories conducting tours on our sea bathing heritage. 

George IV was a real patron of the arts. Throughout his lifetime he was responsible for amassing splendid collections, and sumptuous residences with embellished interiors and magnificent furniture. Work on the Royal Pavilion started when he was Regent in 1815. The Royal Pavilion is one of the most recognisable buildings in Britain, typifying the Regency period, decadent George IV and a homage to the exotic. 

In the summer of 1946 with Queen Mary as patron, there was a growing interest in the Royal Pavilion as a historic building, and encouraged the notion of restoring the palace back to its former splendour. These objects were returned as permanent loans to adorn the rooms as the work to restore the Royal Pavilion continued. They still form part of the royal loans that are on display throughout the building. 

19th June 2020: Musical Adventures in Russia:         Graham Griffiths

In search of the ‘Snow Maiden’ Leokadiya Kashperova                

Graham is a lecturer, conductor, pianist, composer. Music Research Fellow (City, University of London). DPhil., Musicology (Christ Church, Oxford, 2008), PGCE (Cambridge), BMusHons (Edinburgh). He has directed music around the world, broadcast, written and recorded a diverse range of music from Stravinsky, on whom he has a particular experise, to Latin American sacred music. In 2018 he composed a film score and he has researched and performed the work of female ‘forgotten’ composers.

For a historian, there can be little to match the excitement of discovering a forgotten treasure. Dr Griffiths’s eventful research across Russia to unveil the Romantic figure of Leokadiya Kashperova (1872-1940), composer and concert pianist (previously known only as ‘Stravinsky’s piano teacher’), offers the perfect example. Kashperova’s re-discovered music establishes her as the earliest-known female Russian composer of international stature. (Rimsky-Korsakov’s affectionate nickname for her was ‘Snow-maiden’.) Kashperova’s lyrical music and Griffiths’s research were selected by BBC Radio 3 and the AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council) for inclusion in their 2018 celebration of ‘Five Forgotten Female Composers’. This presentation offers narrative, images and musical performance at the piano (*) illustrating ‘what it takes’ to recover the life and works of a composer whom History has completely forgotten. Until now.

15th May 2020: Mind the Gap- 

Graphic & poster design on the London Underground        Charles Harris

Charles is a member of our neighbouring Art Society at Winchester. Focusing on the role of posters and poster artists in the history of advertising, this global-award winning Creative Director of international advertising agencies has lectured extensively on design, illustration and photographic styles as they have influenced the building of brands. 

“Mind the Gap” examines the world-beating graphics, designs, maps and posters created for the London Underground. From early days through the inventive inter-war years, this lecture is rammed with well-known artists and great stories. Modern London was shaped by the Underground. Tunnel Vision has never been so celebrated.

17th April: Why Roy Lichtenstein matters        Kate Aspinall

Kate is a relatively new lecturer for The Arts Society, specialising in researching 20th century British and American art. This can be a period that at first glance seems hard to understand and she aims to demystify and make the works accessible.

 American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein has captivated the art world since his debut in the 1960s. His paintings, however, remain controversial: executed in a style previously reserved for advertising and comic books, Lichtenstein’s pieces can appear simplistic, tongue in cheek and imitative. And yet the meticulous and monumental works have become ubiquitous and influential. This hour-long talk discusses why Lichtenstein’s works are more complex than they appear – a perspective that Kate has gained after half a decade of working for the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and closely examining Lichtenstein’s paintings, sculptures, tapestries and drawings.

Caravaggio: A rebel with a cause

Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe

 Chantal has MA in History of Art from Edinburgh, PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University. With 40 years' experience as a lecturer, Chantal has taught at Sotheby's Institute of Art on the MA in Fine and Decorative Arts since 1989, and as a freelance lecturer for a number of societies in London, Italy and America. Having also trained as a paintings conservator, she brings an understanding of the making and the physical painting to her lectures and study sessions.   

Caravaggio – one of the best known names today. A man of proverbial rebelliousness, painting in a style which he knew would drop a bomb on the art world he grew up in. He painted with startling immediacy, rejecting his peers’ obsession with highly artificial designs and stale quotations from earlier works of art. But he was also fortunate to be painting at a time when the Church wanted to harness the power of his art to enforce its message. This lecture considers the unlikely alliance of artist and patrons, considering why the establishment was prepared to accept him, outrageous lifestyle and all, and at the same time, examining why his art is so powerful for us today.

21st Feb : Field of the cloth of Gold            Jo Mabbutt

Jo is not only an Arts Society speaker but also a decorative artist specialising in gilded decoration, combining gilding, hand painting and painting.

2020 is the 500th anniversary of this extraordinary event, when 6000 Englishmen spent 18 days in a field in Calais where Henry VIII met with Francis I to ratify an Anglo-French alliance and celebrate the betrothal of Henry’s daughter to The Dauphin. 18 days of events & entertainments staged to display the skill and splendour of each king and his country.

17th Jan 20:  The Magic of Pantomime        Ian Gledhill    >WEBSITE<

Ian has over 20 years of experience giving talks on a range of subjects and The talk is interspersed with personal anecdotes from the speaker’s years of working (and appearing) professionally in pantomime.

 The picture shows Ian Gledhill (on the right) in panto with Jeffrey Holland (from Hi-di-Hi) at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, in 2012.

The picture is an offical production photo by QDOS Entertainment, the producers,

The history of this enduring and peculiarly British institution, from its origins in 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte through the influence of 19th century music hall, to the family shows that are still much loved today. On the way we examine the origins of some of the stories used in pantomime as well as such traditions as the (female) principal boy and the (male) pantomime dame.

Zaha Hadid – Architectural Superstar

Prof. Colin Davies

 Colin is a Professor of Architectural Theory. He is former editor Architects Journal and contributor  to magazines worldwide. His books include : Thinking About Architecture, Key Houses of the Twentieth Century,The Prefab Home, High Tech Architecture, A New History of Modern Architecture (published by Laurence King) and monographs on work of Foster, Hopkins, Grimshaw.

Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA was an Iraqi architect. She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2080. She received the UK's  most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011. 

Architectural historians of the future will surely recognise her as one of the most important architects of the early 21st century. She was born in Iraq and her reputation was global, but she made Britain her home. This lecture tells the story of her career from the visionary projects of the 1980s, through the years of frustration when her designs were considered unbuildable, to the prolific crop of successful projects built all over the world in the last decade of her life. Dame Zaha Hadid died on March 31 st 2016 at age of 65. 

Dame Zaha Hadid died on March 31st 2016 at the age of 65.  
Architectural historians of the future will surely recognise her as one of the important architects of the early 21st century.  She was born in Iraq and her reputation was global but she made Britain her home.  

This lecture tells the story of her career from the visionary projects of the 1980s, though the years of frustration when her designs were considered unbuildable, to the prolific crop of successful projects built all over the world in the last decade of her life.

PROFESSOR COLIN DAVIES

Prof of Architectural Theory. Former editor Architects Journal and contrib to mags worldwide. Books: Thinking About Architecture, Key Houses of the Twentieth Century,The Prefab Home, High Tech Architecture and monographs on work of Foster, Hopkins, Grimshaw.

Zaha Hadid website

“The Black-Browed Cantor” – Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel

Karin Fernald

 Karin is an actor, writer and speaker, who researches and creates a vivid picture of a character & historical period.She is  known for her entertaining lectures on writers and diarists connected with the arts from the mid-18th to 19th century, and moving forward in time with Virginia Woolf. Extensive research into diaries and letters bring lectures to vivid life. Karin illustrates them with slides of contemporary pictures and portraits from varied sources.

 A strong influence on  younger brother Felix, the teenage Fanny Mendelssohn composed and played prolifically.  Persuaded by their banker father to take a back seat, she married an impoverished artist who enjoyed collaborating with her. She continued to play and  compose; publishing works under her brother’s name and, after their father’s death, under her own. She died aged 42. Of her exquisite songs Felix said “They prove that true music exists….that the soul is made of music.”       

With songs by Fanny Hensel, portraits by Wilhelm Hensel, watercolours by Felix Mendelssohn and paintings by Caspar David Friedrich.

Fanny Cecilia Mendelssohn (1805-47) was as talented as her young brother Felix. She received the same musical education and composed prolifically in her early teens. Soon, however, she would be persuaded by their father to take a back seat in favour of her brother. Fanny married an artist, Wilhelm Hensel, who was proud of his wife’s gifts, and enjoyed collaborating with her. Fanny continued to compose and to conduct in private, organizing successful Sunday concerts in their Berlin home. Aged 40, in spite of her brother’s disapproval, she finally dared to publish a few compositions, and was beginning to receive public acclaim when she suddenly died aged 42. Of her songs Felix said “they prove that true music exists … as the soul is made of music.”

This words-and-music evening was first performed at Finchcocks, Goudhurst, Kent, on Sunday June 10, 2007.

“In the National Interest”: Art, the Sun King and the Academic Revolution

Richard Whincop

Richard is a professional artist, designer & educator, and graduated in Art History  and English from York University. He lectured at Glasgow & Strathclyde before moving to Chichester in 2010. His knowledge of Art History informs his own artistic practice.

 The Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture was founded in 1648 under Louis XIV of France, the 'Sun King', and placed the visual arts under direct royal control. This lecture looks at the Academy's origins, its philosophy under court painter Charles le Brun, and its development into the most influential art institution in Europe. It follows how the Academy reinvented itself after the Revolution, and how artists rebelled against its official proscriptions for 'great art' – culminating in the Impressionists' attempts to break the monopoly of the official, state-sanctioned Salon Exhibitions.

The art of the steal: Nazi looting during WWII

Shana Isaac

This lecture will cover the following topics: setting the scene in Germany, the Fuhrermuseum, Nazi art repositories, Post War restitution and the Monuments Men, contemporary restitution issues and current international recovery efforts. There are several landmark international cases that will be discussed in detail, including Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer, and the stash of looted art recently found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s flat.

MS SHAUNA ISAAC

Studied at Courtauld Institute and Birkbeck College, London and regularly lectures at the Sotheby's Institute of Art. Currently managing an art recovery company and served on the Looted Art Working Group for the Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague, where she was instrumental in drafting the Terezin Declaration on Nazi looting, which was ratified by 46 countries. Has given talks to the Focus-Abengoa Foundation Symposium in Seville, the Courtauld Institute, the Documentation Centre of World War II Cultural Assets, Sotheby's and Microsoft. Publications include articles for The Art Newspaper, Art & Law Magazine and Art Quarterly.

The Guggenheims: A Dynasty of Art Collectors 

Andrew Hopkins  PhD.

Andrew was previously Assistant Director of the British School at Rome from 1998 to 2002 and since 2004, Associate Professor at the University of L’Aquila. Part of his PhD (Courtauld Institute 1995) on Venetian architecture was awarded the Essay Medal of 1996 by the Society of Architectural Historians (GB). He was a Fellow at Harvard University’s Villa I Tatti in Florence in 2003-2004, and in 2009 was the Paul Mellon Senior Visiting Fellow, Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Amongst his many publications are, with Arnold Witte, ‘Alois Riegl, The Origins of Baroque Art in Rome’ (2010), and ‘Baldassare Longhena and the Venetian Baroque’ (Spring 2012).

What other family in the twentieth century managed to amass such extraordinary art collections, and design or purchase such astounding buildings to display their collections? Compared to the Frick and Gulbenkian, individual collections displayed in single museums, the Guggenheim name was transformed in the late twentieth century into a brand, some would say a chain. With celebrated museums in New York, with the flagship Solomon R. Guggenheim landmark on Fifth Avenue, together with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Grand Canal in Venice, the family foundation did not stop there. They commissioned the celebrated building by Frank Gehry in Bilbao, which opened in 1997, and which is now considered a masterpiece of modern architecture and design. Other expansion plans have not fared so well, with outposts in Las Vegas and Berlin closing after some years, and new building projects in Vilnius and Helsinki have been abandoned after opposition by residents, who were not persuaded they needed a Guggenheim in their city. This lecture looks at the beginning of both Solomon’s and Peggy’s collections in New York City, with artists they acquired such as Kandinsky and Pollock, and traces the development and expansion of their collections over more than half a century, by which time the Guggenheim name had become synonymous with some of the most inspiring art and museums in the world.

Faber and Faber

Toby Faber MBA

Faber and Faber – its history and designs     

Since its foundation in 1925, Faber and Faber has built a reputation as one of London’s most important literary publishing houses. Part of that relates to the editorial team that Geoffrey Faber and his successors built around them - TS Eliot was famously an early recruit - but a large part is also due to the firm’s insistence on good design and illustration. 

This lecture traces the history of Faber and Faber through its illustrations, covers and designs. Early years brought innovations like the Ariel Poems – single poems, beautifully illustrated, sold in their own envelopes. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was an emphasis on typography, led by the firm’s art director Berthold Wolpe; his Albertus font is still used on City of London road signs. In the 1980s, the firm started its association with Pentagram, responsible for the ff logo. Along the way, it has employed some of our most celebrated artists as cover illustrators – from Rex Whistler and Barnett Freedman to Peter Blake and Damien Hirst. 

Slides will range from book covers, advertisements and photos of key individuals, to illustrations of the concepts behind the designs. The talk will also be peppered with personal insight and anecdote. Faber and Faber is the last of the great publishing houses to remain independent. As the grandson of its founder, I grew up steeped in its books. I was managing director for four years and I remain on the board. I am passionate about the firm’s success, and intensely proud of my association with it.

Power, Propaganda and Men in tights: Art under the Tudors

Linda Smith MA

Linda Smith holds two first class degrees in Art History. She is an experienced lecturer and guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. She lectures to Secondary School audiences and Independent Arts Societies. Linda led an outstanding Special Interest day on 20th Century Sculpture at Lytham Hall in April 2010 – our first at Fylde DFAS. We are very exciting about welcoming her back.

This lecture looks at English painting during the so-called “Long Sixteenth Century” ie the tumultuous reigns of the five Tudor monarchs. Significant artistic developments were made during the period, largely by talented immigrants such as Hans Holbein and Marcus Gheeraerts. Important works by these and other artists will be examined ,paying particular attention to the enigmatic and elaborate symbolism. Portraiture dominated the period, and images of the great monarchs and personalities of the age are compared and contrasted in terms of the functions they were intended to fulfil. Other genres like religious subjects and the early beginnings of landscape painting are also featured. The talk ties the works firmly to their political, social and personal context, and will also address the intriguing issue of why the degree of naturalism used in painting varied widely during the period.

Leonardo da Vinci : The Science behind the Art

Guy Rooker

  Guy came  to The Arts Society not with a background in the arts but from the world of science in general, and surgery in particular. Guy is a retired surgeon with a lifelong passion, fascination, and admiration for the work of Leonardo da Vinci. The contribution he has made to both the world of art and the investigation of scientific concepts to be quite unique and extraordinary in the way that so many of his pioneering investigations have contributed to the understanding of our world today. The utmost fulfilment of Leonardo the scientist is seen in his artistic creations.  These reveal the most amazing  and inseparable affinity of his scientific and artistic concepts’  -  Ludwig Heidenreich  1958 Leonardo would say nature must be his guide and that art was based on a scientific understanding of everything depicted. He used his powers of draughtsmanship and astute sense of observation in his scientific drawings making an incredible contribution to our early understanding of anatomy, aeronautics, warfare, cartography and water engineering to name but a few. It would take centuries of science and technology to catch up with his thoughts. This talk follows Leonardo’s pursuit of these investigations whether they be on his own initiative, his pursuitof remunerative employment or in response to a particular set of circumstances in his life.

Special Interest Day

Christchurch College Oxford Cathedral  VISIT

The Trembling Strings

Sarah Deere-Jones LRAM LGSM ARAM

 Sarah is a graduate and prize-winner from the Royal Academy of Music and in 2015 was elected an Associate. She performs, writes and lectures about the harp regularly in America, Australia, Europe and UK. All lectures are presented digitally and include live music and songs on harps and other instruments depending on subject matter. 

Using her own restored Regency pedal harp and the music of some forgotten English 19thC harp composers, Sarah explained how the development of the double action pedal mechanism in 1810, lead to an explosion of popularity in the harp, which is further illustrated by the many beautiful paintings there are of Regency ladies and their harps, revealing how fashionable and elegant it was considered in England. Sarah’s research has also lead her to discover the lost English Regency instrument the Harp-Lute, invented for harpists to use on the ‘grand tour’ but was abandoned by 1840. Sarah performed authentically on two of her restored instruments using repertoire she has uncovered from museums, libraries and private collections. 

Lecture notes

SARAH DEERE-JONES website

Plants in Art and Science- How Plants created society

February 2019 Lecture

Dr Mark Spencer FLS

 Originally a horticulturist, Mark says “I studied horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I also studied botany and mycology at university, after which I worked as a field botanist for a regional conservation organisation. After 12 years as a senior botany curator at the Natural History Museum, London I am now a consultant forensic botanist, public speaker and occasional radio and TV presenter. I am the honorary curator of Carl Linnaeus’s herbarium at the Linnean Society of London, one of the most significant collections in the history of science. I have a strong interest in the history of botany and botanic gardens, invasive non-native species and the flora of North-West Europe.”

In recent years, the concept of ‘plant blindness’ has been coined to identify our tendency to overlook plants. Yet, plants are the dominant aspect of the natural world around us, few of us notice London Plane trees on our way to work. Conversely, we often talk of our own cultural identities in terms framed by language referring to plants – thus the ‘English’ oak is a symbol of national endurance and steadfastness. Or we use motifs based on plants such as Acanthus to decorate our public spaces or Convolvulus to embrace a picture in a frame. The plants we place around us denote our emotional state of being, white lilies for mourning or laurel for celebrations of victory. We are plants.

Link to Dr Martin Spencer - Interview

The Power and Glory of our Country House

January Friday 18th  Lecture 2019 

Anthony Russell BA

Anthony has travelled much of the world, combining painting with tour lecturing - principally to American university students on bespoke tours. Spent six years as a consultant for Luke Hughes and travelled the country advising on the furniture needs of prestigious buildings, including museums, palaces, schools and cathedrals. Now based in London, spends much of his time lecturing and undertaking research, while assisting at the British Museum with outreach events and visiting lecturers. As an advocate of non-violence, he is the author of the book Evolving the Spirit - From Democracy to Peace, commended by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Laureate recently released from 15 years of house arrest, as meaning a great deal to her.

 It is often argued that Britain possesses the finest collection of "living" stately homes in the world. It is harder to deny that they represent one of the country's greatest assets and its greatest contribution to the decorative arts worldwide.  
 

This lecture went back in time to explain their origins in British history, the changing nature of society and the way country houses have evolved. This journey through their history illustrated the most magnificent examples in all their grandeur and beauty, while considering the impact they have had on society and its development.  

Consideration is given to changing roles and if they can still exert a powerful hold on society. How should we look on them today and how are they to survive and evolve in the future? 

December Lecture 2018

Val Woodgate

The Art of Christmas  >LINK<

  Val Woodgate is Lecturer and Guide in Tate Britain and Tate Modern, also at many other London galleries. Former member of the teaching team at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Lecturer and runs courses at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.

Only Matthew and Luke describe the birth of Christ and the circumstances leading up to it, they give very few details. Matthew describes some wise men and their gifts; Luke writes of the shepherds led by an angel. Nowhere do they mention the stable, the arrival of Kings, or the presence of an ox or an ass. Over many centuries the limited information in the Gospels has been expanded into a rich blend of legend and fact.

 This lecture explained how the wise men became Kings , how it was decided that there were three of them, the symbolism of their gifts how animals turned up at the event, why the stable is always in ruins, and much more.

The theme of Christmas, took us from the Annunciation to the Adoration of the Shepherds and of the three Kings, has inspired some of the greatest and most moving works of art ever created. 

Thinking Big: The Ups and Downs of the London Coliseum

Sarah Lenton BA

Sarah has spent most of  her working life in the theatre, principally the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and English National Opera. She writes programmes, articles, and lectures on the repertory and live opera. The Coliseum has had many incarnations since its beginning as a Variety Theatre and Music Hall. It has hosted The Ballet Russe plus a string of American and British musicals . The Coliseum is enormous-the stage, the number of ghosts and the size of its problems. This lecture covers it all, together with music and clips from some of its shows and operas 

The home of English National Opera and the theatre that hosted the Ballet
 Russe, Annie Get Your Gun, Music Hall and Cinerama. Everything about the London Coliseum is enormous – the stage, the auditorium, the number of its ghosts, the size of its problems. This is my theatre, I’ve been working here since 1979 and seen practically everything. I know how many tons of sand we can tip on that stage, why there is a knife hanging from the flys, and how we got away with Don Giovanni inadvertently bursting into flames. I even knew some of the ghosts (while they were still alive...)

Apart from writing and directing many shows for them to explain the rep, she lectures on the rep, does live opera broadcasts and podcasts for BBC Radio 3 and 4, and writes programme articles and websites.

Special Interest Day

Votes for Women! Art and the Suffragettes

Dr. Caroline Shenton MA DPhil (Oxon) FSA FRHistS

...Caroline is a public historian, archivist and writer who loves giving talks to groups and is a highly-rated Arts Society lecturer. Her book The Day Parliament Burned Down won the Political Book of the Year 2013.
In 2018 it will be 100 years since the passing of the Representative of People Act 1918. This lecture  explored the story of the suffragettes through portrayals in art and their own artistic productions. It  also considered how contemporary artists depict female politicians and the controversies surrounding these portraits with regard to power, dress and gender: a theme so familiar to the suffragettes. 

Caroline Shenton is Director of the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster. 

To mark the centenary of women first getting the vote, which falls in 2018, this lecture will explore the story of the suffragettes through portrayals in art and their own artistic productions, and  looked at how contemporary artists choose to portray female politicians in our own time and the controversies surrounding these depictions.  

The Orpheus Legend In Music and Art

Jeremy Barlow MA ARCM ARAM

Jeremy specializes in English popular and dance music from 1550 to 1750, and also has a particular interest in the illustration of music and social dance over the centuries. He arranged the music of Beggar’s Opera for the BBC TV production directed by Jonathan Miller

This lecture brings the Orpheus drama to life through excerpts from fine recordings of Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Euridice, plus equally inspiring paintings from artists such as Poussin, Rubens and Corot. 

Jeremy is a performer and writer on music. Two recent books include The Enraged Musician: Hogarth’s Musical Imagery and The Cat and the Fiddle: Images of Musical Humour from the Middle Ages to Modern Times. He contributed more than 150 entries to the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. His many CDs include the complete Beggar’s Opera which received an Edison award.

Orpheus. The first musical superstar; a man of such prodigious gifts that he could tame beasts and animate trees or rocks. So stricken was he by the death of his wife Eurydice, that he was permitted to lead her back to earth as long as he didn't check that she was following. But at the last moment he had to look round, and Eurydice vanished. Two thousand years later, Renaissance musicians and scholars in Italy took the Orpheus legend as a basis for recreating the sung drama of ancient Greece. What they actually did was to invent opera, with experiments that culminated in Monteverdi's Orfeo.

Picture shows:  Giuseppe Cades: Orpheus Charming the Animals, 1780, Pen, ink, wash; 14.5 x 38 cm,
Gallery: Louvre, Paris.

The Silver Thread; silver filigree and traditional arts in Kosovo

Elizabeth is an experienced university lecturer and broadcaster on radio and TV, regularly contributing to From our own Correspondent. She writes for both The Independent and various magazines as well as being the author of books such as “Travels in Blood and Honey; becoming a beekeeper in Kosova.”
From the early Kosovan silver mines, through 20th century politics concerning the mines, which resulted in both a war and golf course, a silver thread winds through Kosova’s history. 

This lecture, by Elizabeth Gowing, looked at an ancient craft that spread across the former Ottoman Empire. From the early Kosovan silver mines, which are mentioned in Dante, through the 20th century politics over Kosovo’s mines, which resulted both in a war and a golf course, a silver thread winds through Kosovo’s history.
Its most intricate tanglings are in the country’s cultural capital, Prizren, where a seventh generation of filigree artisans, both men and women, use ‘filum’ and ‘granum’, zigzags, ‘mouse-tooth’ designs, and other twists and turns, to make lacy creations from dull sticks of raw material. They turn into dragons as they puff fire, sprinkle silver dust, make thick silver rods into fine wire and, then, into lacy jewellery, boxes, buttons and religious artefacts/ornamentation and the talismans of superstition. This was a fine narrative of Kosovo’s history and traditions.
Elizabeth is an experienced  public speaker, with regular speaking engagements at branches of the WI, the U3A, English Speaking Union, Rotary Clubs, and schools. 
The last few years have also brought speaking engagements at the Albanian Presidency, at the invitation of the First Lady, in London at the Royal Anthropological Institute (2014) and the Royal Geographical Society (2009). 
She has appeared on the BBC World Service, Radio 4, Australian ABC Radio, and BBC Radio Oxford.
 

Laurence of Arabia: tortured hero of troubled times

Neil, is one of two academic directors of the Great Arab Revolt Project which has been exploring the archaeology of the First World War in the deserts of southern Jordan since 1996. This project has been at the forefront of new approaches to the investigation of modern conflict using both rchaeological and anthropological techniques. .
This lecture  contrasted the legend of Lawrence with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916-18. Is the legend a myth? Was Lawrence, as some claim, a liar and a charlatan? Or does the legend reflect reality? Was he, in fact, a brilliant military commander and sincere advocate of the Arab cause? 

Neil posed these questions before giving us his conclusions at the end.  
Lawrence of Arabia was one of the greatest celebrities of the 20th century. He was also one of its most controversial figures – for some, a real-life hero and brilliant guerrilla commander, for others, a self-promoting charlatan. Where does the truth lie?

Portrait by Augustus John, 1919

Masquerades, Music Lessons and Monkeys

Jane who trained at the V&A, continues to lecture there and was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years later becoming Deputy Director of Sotheby’s UK.

This lecture explored the taste and fashion for porcelain, figure sculpture in the 18th century, beginning
as a form of table decoration and gradually moving on to the mantelshelf and china cabinet. Jane illuminated these figures as a reflection of 18th century life in miniature. We met characters from the Commedia dell’Art, English stage as well as exotic figures, shepherds and shepherdesses, gods of Olympus – even the occasional monkey. 

 Biography : MA History of Art, University of London. Trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. Was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. Has also lectured for the National Trust, the Art Fund, London University, Buckingham University, l'Institut d'Etudes Superieures des Arts in Paris, a private women's college in Saudi Arabia, on cruise ships and at antiques fairs and interior design conferences in America.

Sir Stanford Raffles: Art Collector and Discoverer of Singapore

Denise is an art historian, author, lecturer, photographer and journalist, her speciality being Southeast Asia. She has also appeared on TV and radio, leads tours to Southeast Asia and Europe as well as lecturing on cruise ships.
Raffles whose name is synonymous with a luxury hotel, was the enlightened colonial administrator of Java, Indonesia, who discovered the 8th century temple of Borobudur. A scholar and polymath,
his vision inspired the architectural heritage of Singapore, which he founded as the most important trading port in the East. 

Raffles, whose name is synonymous with a luxury hotel rather than the greatest Buddhist temple in the world, was the enlightened colonial administrator of Java, Indonesia.  In 1804 he discovered the 8th century temple of Borobudur, hidden under volcanic ash.  He went on to acquire wondrous artifacts in Java which are now in the British Museum, and founded Singapore, the most important trading post in the East.  This lecture tells the story of Raffles, a scholar and polymath, looks at the art objects he collected, reveals the mystical temple and its radiant carvings and shows the architectural heritage of Singapore inspired by his vision.

Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture

A medievalist by inclination, Rupert is qualified to speak on a broad range of historical periods and themes inspiring audiences with his light and humorous touch. He specializes in the domestic and social life of the past and is the author of series of popular histories of places, including” Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village.” One of the most derided towns in England, renowned for its dullness, Basingstoke is distinguished only by its numerous roundabouts and absurd Modernist architecture. Rupert will reveal the nobler Basingstoke that is buried beneath the concrete and a few historic gems that have survived recent development. 

 Rupert explains that the post-war planner, who inflicted such features as the “Great wall of Basingstoke” on the town were politically motivated and bent on destroying all traces of its past. He reveals a nobler Basingstoke that is buried beneath the concrete, and a few historic gems that have survived the holocaust. Hilariously told, it is a story that neatly illustrates the ugliest episode in Britain’s architectural history. As Betjeman wrote prophetically, “What goes for Basingstoke goes for most English towns”

Rupert Willoughby specialises in the domestic and social life of the past. He is the author of a series of popular histories of places including Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village, writes regular obituaries as well as other articles for the Daily Telegraph and occasionally broadcasts to the nation.

More history of Basingstoke >Click Here<  and also >Click Here<

Velazquez: In Search of Status

From the humble origins of painting eggs (fried etc.), this sensational Spaniard  produced a portrait that raised the eyebrow of a Pope and astonished the Italians and a painting that was described by a contemporary as the ‘theology of painting’. Valazquez’s desire for proper recognition of his talents was only fully sated at the end of his life, and this talk  established how this ambition was undoubtedly the driving force behind his brilliance.

Dan Evans is an educationalist with a passion for all things Italian. Formerly head of History of Art at Wycombe Abbey School, Daniel is now Deputy Head of Sixth Form at Cheltenham College. He has been lecturing since 2001 and has spent 9 years working as senior tutor for Art History Abroad. He was voted the British winner of the World Guide of the Year award in 2008 and offers stimulating study trips to a range of destinations in Italy. He last visited us in 2010 presenting his very popular lecture - Michelangelo: Paper, Stone and Flesh.

Diego Velázquez Artist

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV, and one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. Wikipedia

Born: 1599, Seville, Spain

Died: 6 August 1660, Madrid, Spain

Period: Baroque

Spouse: Juana Pacheco (m. 1618–1660)

Siblings: Roque Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, more

Inspired by Stonehenge

While reading Archaeology at Reading, Julian realized that prehistory was, for him the most interesting area of study. Various jobs followed including one at Wessex Archaeology, where he was introduced to Stonehenge. 7 years followed working for the BBC, developing and presenting “Meet the Ancestors” and “Blood of the Vikings”. Since 2004 he has worked freelance as an archaeologist, writer and educator. Our perceptions and understanding of Stonehenge have changed over the centuries from the Magic and Druidism of the Middle Ages, to the archaeological science of today. Julian  lead us through the sophisticated architecture of Stonehenge as well as illuminating how it has been an inspiration to artists, such as Blake, Turner and Constable, while more recently been used to sell such diverse items as lawn mowers and Guinness! 

Stonehenge is unique, a national treasure and global icon. In this talk Julian Richards, archaeologist, writer and broadcaster, examined the sophisticated architecture of Stonehenge, the product of stone tools, determination, organisation and strongly held beliefs.  A brilliant well illustrated talk and received a well deserved appreciation at the end.

History of Stonehenge

Christopher read Geography at Oxford and was formerly Head of Geography at Downe House Newbury. He runs  regular summer school courses for Marlborough College Summer School as well as lecturing for the National Trust and NADFAS.

 From the 13th century onwards, stained glass artists have produced spectacular and original images of familiar  Christmas stories. Survivals of pre-Reformation glass are rare, but with improved technology the 19th century saw a spectacular increase in fine images, notably from the workshop of Morris and Burne-Jones. 

Images of the Christmas Story in Stained Glass  Click Here

Barbara, who has lectured to us previously (November 2015), is a Blue Badge Guide and acknowledged expert on Windsor Castle. She offers walking tours and visits to Windsor as well as in and around London.    

This lecture examines how the restoration of the Castle ( reputed to be the Queen’s favourite home) after The Great Fire of 1992 has made the present reign a key period in the castle’s post medieval development. 

Pictures of the Restoration of the Great Hall               BBC Report

To become an Architectural Historian, Caroline trained at the Courtauld and now lectures at the V&A, for the Art  Fund and Royal Oak Fund in the US. She has written a history of Kensington Palace as well as many articles on architectural and social history plus the history of travel.

The Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington House is a familiar place to many NADFAS members. Its Summer Exhibition and its series of excellent exhibitions draw in crowds of visitors. If you have ever wondered how this institution began, what was its purpose and who were its founder members, this lecture provided the answers.

The Royal Academy                         RA Summer Exhibition details

Linda Collins lectures at the Historic Royal Palaces, the National Trust, the Tate Modern and the National Gallery. 

She is an organizer of London Independent Lectures  and a member of the association of Art Historians.

After two years of meticulous research the Cumberland Suite has been returned as closely as possible to William Kent’s original scheme for a Georgian prince. It now houses a changing display of artworks such as those by Holbein, Van Dyke, Rembrandt and Caravaggio from the Royal Collection, which was explored in this lecture.

More information of the Cumberland Art Gallery click here

Sam Moorhead is the National Finds Advisor of Iron Age and Roman coins in the department of Portable Antiquities Treasure at the British Museum. He has lectured to numerous organizations in Britain and has been a guest lecturer  on many Swan Hellenic cruises. He is currently involved in fieldwork projects in Devon and Wiltshire.

The Arts Society webpage >Click Here<

The Frome Hoard coins, which have been saved for the Museum of Somerset are being conserved and studied at the British Museum. This discovery enables us to appraise Carausius  (AD 286-93) Britain’s ‘forgotten emperor’.

The Frome Hoard is a hoard of 52,503 Roman coins found in April 2010 by metal detectorist Dave Crisp near Frome in Somerset, England. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and is also important as it contains the largest group ever found of coins issued during the reign of Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from 286 to 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain.

The hoard was discovered on 11 April 2010 while Crisp was metal detecting in a field near Frome where he had previously found late Roman silver coins.The late Roman coins, eventually totalling 62, were probably the remnants of a scattered hoard, 111 of which had been found on the same farm in 1867. Whilst searching for more coins from the scattered hoard he received what he called a “funny signal” and on digging down about 35 cm (14 in) he found a small radiate coin, and the top of the pot.Realising that this must be an intact coin hoard he stopped digging and filled in the hole he had made.

More Information

Following a career in investment banking and management consultancy Tony Faber became managing director of Faber and Faber the publishing firm founded by his grandfather. He has written two works of narrative history including Stradivarius and has given lectures across  both  the UK and the United States. 

This lecture explored the mystery of Stradivari’s inimitability by examining his life and then following several instruments from his workshop to the present day. Illustrations include some short musical recordings.

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive, their quality unequalled by any subsequent violin-maker.

More information Click Here  >More Images<

Ann, who has visited us before, has wide experience lecturing both at home and abroad. Earlier works includes cataloguing English watercolours and drawings for the Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester, research for the Paul Mellon Foundation and university lecturing.

       Art history is peppered with sons following in their fathers’ footsteps but far, far rarer are the lives and careers of Mother and Son -Valadon and Utrillo. The background to their often, turbulent relationship was Montmartre, then the centre of artistic life in Paris. This lecture explored these two remarkable characters and their highly individualistic paintings.

Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo were famous French artists. He was noted for his urban scenes of Montmartre in Paris and she for her nudes.When Suzanne Valadon died in 1938, she died as unconventionally as she had lived. Formerly a poor shop girl from Bessines, she spent the last years of her life painting at Chateau Beaujolais, a medieval stronghold built by the Knights Templar.

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Since 2007 Susan, has been the Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework . She has visited us previously to talk about Dyeing. Having dyed lots of wool herself in the course of her research, she has then used some to create her own contemporary tapestries. 

This lecture l examined some key sets of tapestries made by both the Belgian weavers and those made for the current Queen of Denmark by the Gobelins factory. It  explored how tapestries are designed, and produced and how the finished tapestries then fare over time in terms of colour changes.

The most expensive wall decorations in the Middle Ages and beyond, tapestries, often commissioned in sets, took years to produce before gracing European courts. Susan examined tapestries weaved in Belgium (for Henry VIII), and by the Gobelins factory (or Louis XVI & Queen of Denmark). We learned how they were made, how designs changed, & how they've fared over time. 
Susan, Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, has a long-standing interest in textiles, particularly colour, about which she published a book in 2013. She was recently made a Fellow of the Society of Dyes & Colourists. 

Aliki  Braine is an associate lecturer for the University of Arts London and has taught short courses for the Slade School of Fine Art. She is also a practising artist who regularly exhibits her work on the international stage.

This lecture explored the little studied instances of anthropomorphic images inserted in paintings in landscapes. From ancient classical times, writers and image-makers have noticed the fortuitous ability of rocks, trees and clouds to take on human form. This lecture charted the inclusion of such quasi-miraculous nature-made images in paintings of landscapes.

Aliki studied at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, the Slade School of Fine Art London and the Courtauld Institute before becoming a regular lecturer for the National Gallery in 2001. She is an Associate Lecturer for the University of Arts London and has taught short courses for the Slade School of Fine Art. Aliki is also a practicing artist who regularly exhibits her photographic work internationally.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

"It is the wilful refusal to deliver a conventionally complete or clearly described picture that characterises Aliki Braine's work, compounded by the equally wilful damage imposed on her films and prints" wrote John Hilliard in the catalogue that accompanied Aliki Braine's show "Hands On" Aliki’s primary impulse is in exploring how a photograph can be transformed into an object. Often cutting, drawing with ink, punching holes or overlaying the negatives with adhesive labels, she violates the pristine surface of the photograph forcing the viewer to look towards the texture of the photographic paper and opens up a new understanding of the photographic process and image making. Through her methodology of blocking, erasing and obscuring parts of the image she unsettles our understanding of what is familiar. She teases us with recognisable symbols and visual references that appear to provide us with a certainty of what we are looking at. But we left to ask; is this a landscape? Is this a photograph?

Aliki works as both an artist and lecturer. Having studied for her BFA in Fine Art at Ruskin School, Oxford University followed by an MA at The Slade School of Fine Art Aliki then went to the Courtauld Institute to do an MA in the History of Art. This grounding in both the practice and theory of art is combined in her work as she draws upon the recurrent themes of the historical painted landscape.

Legends of Czech Glass

Mark Hill is an antiques and 20th Century design specialist as well as an author, publisher, lecturer, dealer and TV presenter (Antiques Roadshow). He is also co-author of the biennial International Miller’s Collectables Price Guide.

The 1950’s-70s saw a renaissance in Czech glass design that re-established the Bohemian region’s global reputation in this area. Until today, the designs that these skilled designers produced have been typically forgotten or misattributed. This lecture reveals the work of influential designers of cut, blown and pressed glass, as set within their very specific economic and political context.

From behind the Iron Curtain, skilled designers pushed the boundaries of 20th century glass design to produce unique art glass masterpieces that went on to inspire visually stunning, highly innovative and commercial ranges. Until today, the designs they produced have been typically forgotten or misattributed. This lecture reveals the work of several influential designers across cut, blown and pressed glass and considers the economic and political context that affected it.

Mark Hill is an antiques and 20th century design specialist, author, publisher, lecturer, dealer and TV presenter. He publishes ground-breaking books on new areas of 20th century design and the decorative arts and is co-author of the biennial International Miller’s Collectables Price Guide. Mark is an expert on BBC Antiques Roadshow and was also co-presenter of BBC2’s primetime antiques and interior design show Cracking Antiques, Antiques Uncovered and Collectaholics.

The long-established Czech glass industry was torn apart by the Second World War until the communist regime set about reviving it. Factories were rebuilt and a new educational structure enabled students to learn all aspects of glass design and manufacture. 

From behind the Iron Curtain skilled designers pushed the boundaries of 20th century glass design and produced unique masterpieces that inspired striking and innovative commercial ranges. However the designers responsible were rarely named. Until today the designs they produced have typically been forgotten or misattributed. 

This lecture reveals the output of seven influential designers in cut, blown and pressed glass and examines the economic and political context in which they worked. Although collectors and museums have already snapped up most of the unique items there are many others which could prove to be a worthwhile investment.

Since 2001, Mark has been the 'Collectables and 20th Century Design' specialist for an international series of books and he has also published books on Medina glass, Dartington glass, West German Ceramics and Czech glass design. He is an avid collector of 20th century glass and 19th century writing instruments.  He regularly appears on "The Antiques Road Show"

Hans Holbein was the first great mainland painter to spend much time in England, bringing with him a sophistication and skill with far reaching consequences for the island’s artistic development. His “Ambassadors” is recognised by the National Gallery as one of its greatest treasures. It dates from a tradition in the arts when no object was without meaning and symbolism. However, practically all this meaning has been lost to the modern observer. This lecture considers the tempestuous circumstances of its creation and the hidden messages concealed within it. The painting tells us much about the state of Europe at the time and the hopes and fears of its major players.       Click Here for more details

Anthony Russell is a cultural historian, writer and artist.  He has travelled extensively combining painting with tour lecturing, and spent six years as a consultant advising on the furniture needs of prestigious buildings throughout Britain. Now based in London he spends much of his time lecturing and undertaking research, while assisting at the British Museum with outreach events and visiting lecturers. Click here for more details about Anthony Russell

Hilary Hope Guise trained as a painter at Central St Martin’s, exhibiting most recently in Berlin and France. She lectures in the main museums in London for American universities having toured widely in the US, worked for the Art Fund, taught courses for Cambridge University and been a guest speaker on several cruises.
Have you ever wondered why every Nativity scene has to have an Ox and an Ass? Are they there just to add authenticity to Christ’s lowly birth in a stable? Or could they have a long history of meaning. This lecture, amply illustrated with a wide range of images from catacombs to Greek vases, aims to explain. 

Picture shown:   The ox, the ass, and the infant Jesus 
in one of the earliest depictions of the nativity, 
(Ancient Roman Christian sarcophagus, 4th century)

"Where there are no Oxen, the manger is empty. But from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest" Proverbs 14: 4 Early interpreters of the Scriptures would have known that verse, thus the ox would indicate the full manger. An ox was the strongest and most useful animal on the farm therefore of great value as it stood for strength and endurance.

But the bull or ox also has a long and important history in Greek mythology and religion as a beast of royal sacrifice. It represents not only the sacrifice to the gods, but the gods themselves. And offering a hecatomb of oxen involved sacrificially slaughtering a hundred beasts. The bull was an image of power in the Ancient Near East, and also the key image in the cults of Minoan Crete. It was also the sacred animal of Poseidon and Zeus. The bull's blood had a purifying function in certain Greek cults and was a key image of sacrifice in the cult of Mithraism in Rome.

The ass seems to be a representation of humility as it carries Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. And the humble donkey also carries the new baby and his mother on the flight into Egypt.

The ass also appears on certain Roman Christian amulets from the 3 rd century AD along with the name of Christ - thus suggesting that in the early church the ass was a sign for Christ rather like the Fish-Ikthus. Tacitus, among several other classical writers, attested to a contemporary belief that the Jews worshiped an ass, and that the ass-headed god of the Egyptians, was seen to be associated with the Hebrew God. There is a graffito dated c200AD found on the wall of a Roman barracks depicting an ass-headed man on a Cross which no one has satisfactorily explained, but it may not be a mockery as most scholars suggest. The ox and the ass might both be reminders of different aspects of Jesus' character and of his sacrifice. The lecture moves on to draw together all the threads in the some of the most beautiful paintings of the Nativity from the early Flemish masters through to Murillo and Caravaggio. The research is illustrated with a wide range of images from the catacombs, from Greek vases and Roman coins, and early Christian mosaics, to the orthodox imagery that we all know so well.

Stephen Duffy, a curator of some 20 years standing of Nineteenth-Century Paintings and Exhibitions at the Wallace Collection. An experienced lecturer who aims to stimulate, inform and entertain his audiences.  He was a curator of the Collection for a number of years.
This lecture told the fascinating story of the Wallace Collection’s formation, the most notable collector being the 4th Marquess of Hertford and his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace who lived most of their lives in Paris.The Collection was bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace in 1897.

None of the exhibits have ever been lent out nor have other items been added or shown there.  This was a condition of the bequest by Lady Wallace to the nation.

A third of our members said they had visited the Collection and all members were fascinated by the detailed story.   Members who had not been were urged to go next time they were in the West End of London (situated behind Selfridges)

The Wallace Collection  to see details of the artworks, etc.

Martin Lloyd has published a range of books, from humorous travel, thrillers and romantic fiction including a book of erotic short stories under the pseudonym K.T. Yalta. He aims to lecture as he writes with humour and enthusiasm for his subject.

This lecture took us back over three centuries to demonstrate how passport design developed from the handwritten paper to the technically complex document that we use today and how art and artisanship has played an important, yet secret, part in the desire to confound the forger. 

Report given by another NADFAS Society on Martin Lloyd's recent lecture.  click here

This lecture was not  as originally shown on the 2016 Programme. 

We were therefore pleased to welcome Frank Woodgate who is a lecturer and guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, and for the Tate on cruises.  He also lectures for Dulwich Picture Gallery

His lecture  examined the provocative and often beautiful work of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the context of dissident art in China, Europe and South America, and examine some of his sources of inspiration, including the Russian Constructivist, Vladimir Tatlin and the leading Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp.
Ai Weiwei collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron in designing the Beijing National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest) for the 2008 Olympics, but the following year was arrested and beaten by police, necessitating emergency brain surgery. 
While his Sunflower Seeds installation was still on display in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2011, he was arrested again and detained in prison for 81 days, during which he was subjected to mental torture.  Part of the problem of course was the provocative nature of his work.  While producing beautiful objects such as Descending Light (2007), he was also involved in performances, often photographed, which criticised various elements of the Chinese state.
Between 1995 and 2003, he produced an extensive series of photographs, each of which was called Study in Perspective, in which he made an offensive gesture in front of famous locations.  Those relating to the White House and the Eiffel Tower caused no problem in China of course, but that in Tiananmen Square (on the fifth anniversary of the notorious demonstration, when hundreds of people were killed) was clearly highly contentious.
In 2013, Howard Brenton’s play, The Arrest of Ai Weiwei, based on Barnaby Martin’s book, Hanging Man, had a highly successful run at Hampstead Theatre.  The book was based on interviews with Ai, who still lives in China and continues to be a thorn in the side of the political establishment.

Brian MacDonald, dealer, consultant and lecturer, spent many years in both Iran and Afghanistan the 1970s which resulted in his abiding passion for the wonderful weavings produced by nomads on basic ground looms. This lecture illustrated the woven art of the nomads as they move over territories they have travelled for generations. The symbolism contained within these weavings was explained plus some of the stories and adventures he experienced whilst looking at them. 

Brian has been a dealer and consultant in antique oriental rugs and carpets since 1979 after his return from Iran. He is the author of Tribal Rugs - Treasures of the Black Tent which was originally published in 1997 and was re-printed in April 2010. Brian is one of few western dealers to have lived and worked among tribal groups in remote areas of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1970s and then again, after the Iranian Revolution, in the 1990s. In 1990 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his work amongst the Persian tribes. He has lectured for NADFAS since 1986. 
Brian has returned to Iran several times in recent years, travelling and collecting amongst the Bakhtiari, Qashqa'i and Shahsevun tribes. For the past 22 years he has been based in the Cotswolds where he still acts as a lecturer, dealer and consultant, specialising in antique Eastern rugs, carpets and tribal dowry weavings.
He is currently working on a new book, Woven Art - Dowry Weavings of the Persian tribes.

"My time spent in Iran and Afghanistan during the 1970s began to foster a passion for the wonderful weavings produced by nomads on basic ground looms and the symbolic representation contained within this woven art. My subsequent visits were spent travelling and searching amongst nomadic tribes for these exquisite 19th century weavings, which have become harder to find and have now virtually disappeared.

Today, these nomadic people no longer weave spontaneously and the language of symbols is lost. The meanings may now be forgotten by the weavers but the magical and mythical symbols remain - pan of the endless cycle which has linked countless women for thousands of years.

This lecture illustrated the woven art of the nomads as they move over the territories they have travelled for generations. The audience had the opportunity of looking at and examining vanity-bags, salt-bags, bedding-bags, wheat sacks, bread and dining flat-weaves. The lecture also explored the symbolism contained in these fabulous weavings and some of the stories and adventures Brian experienced whilst looking for them."

This lecture offered an insider’s view of the project to catalogue every oil painting in public ownership in the UK. Some unusual collections were described, some intriguing paintings uncovered, and the detective work involved, assisted by enthusiastic NADFAS members, was explained. Mary also gave details of the "Detective" Project to request more information about some of the pictures.  A "Tagging" facility is being set up to help with this.

 Mary Rose Rivett-Carnac, Copyright Officer at the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF), who has lived in Richmond since 1975. Mary Rose described the hunt for publicly-owned oil paintings that without the PCF might have remained obscured from public view.

The PCF was founded by Dr Frederick Hohler in 2003 to photograph and record the enormous oil painting collection held by the State, Local Authorities and charitable trusts. His idea was sparked by a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum and subsequent collections, where he discovered that they did not hold catalogues and that 80% of their collections were in store rather than on display. Initially the concept was met with scepticism. Ten years later, after raising £6m, organising 3,000 site visits and photographing 212,000 paintings by 40,000 artists, the project is complete.

Negotiation was required to encourage collections to allow access. Concerns were raised about security and the burden on staff. Mary Rose also suggested that some may have been embarrassed about the condition of their pieces. Eventually almost every collection took part in the project. 

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Anna Sebbs started by giving  us an insight into Bankes' predalictions  when he was an MP and the subsequent court cases resulting from his, at the time, scandalous activities.   The last one meant that he might face jail, so he exiled himself to Spain, but continued to give instructions to the improvements to his home in Kingston Lacy.  He never came back to Dorset to see, his now, magnificent home again.  

When William John Bankes began to travel at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the rest of the world was poor. Thus the Englishman could get by on very little and put his learning, and especially his Protestant arrogance, to good use. Whilst at Cambridge, where he encouraged choristers in certain rituals (or so it was said), and when not corrupting Byron, Bankes became well grounded in the Classics. After Cambridge, everyone travelled. War tourism was fashionable and Bankes headed for the Iberian Peninsula. The Duke of Wellington, a friend of the family, found him well motivated and tenacious. He then moved on, shopping for trinkets in a zigzag through Europe, to the Balkans, Asia Minor and Egypt. 

IN 1815 Bankes was little more than an informed tourist. Within five years he was recognised as a leader of the celebrated school of English amateur explorers. He then became a precise epigrapher; his recordings of hieroglyphics in Egypt were sophisticated for the time. Henry Salt, then the British Consul in Cairo and himself a good Egyptologist, thought Bankes gifted and a scholar “possessing a fund of anecdote and good humour.”

Bankes was also brave, or foolish, or, when he needed to be, both.He penetrated further into the desert than most Europeans to sketch and record the stone cuttings of tombs and monuments and was only the second European to visit Abu Simbel.

Anne Sebba has lectured throughout UK and US including for the English Speaking Union, the  National Trust and the British Library. she has broadcast documentaries for both Radio 3  and Radio 4  as well as being an author of at least nine books including biographies of Jennie Churchill, William Bankes  and Laura Ashley.  She last gave a talk to SGDFAS in January 2015.

2016 sees the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and to celebrate his longevity, the lecture  looked at his life, the influences of the Renaissance Age and how his work has impacted on the global stage. How did a modest glove maker’s son from Stratford, with just a grammar school edu- cation create such outstanding works? What did he look like? Are any of the portraits attributed to him proven? How successful and popular were his plays to the Elizabethan audiences? What were the first open-air theatres really like? How did the plays survive and who was responsible for saving them for posterity? All these questions were answered along with many more concerning the most famous writer in the literary world. 

Mrs Jane Tapley

As Special Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal in Bath, Mrs Tapley interviews visiting actors, writers and directors. Today she shares with us their views about the most famous writer in the literary world in this, the 400th anniversary of his death.

Barry Venning told us ‘A Child of Six Could do it’  in a lecture which took a sidelong  look at 150 years of modern art through the eyes of leading cartoonists of the day.

Ever since the nineteenth century, modern art has been (and remains) a popular subject for satire. Constantly changing and often seemingly bizarre, it made an irresistible target for a host of cartoonists, humorous writers and wise-guys. The cartoonists could be funny, cruel and at times, extremely perceptive, from the French humourist Cham, to the brilliant Matt of the Daily Telegraph, they provide an absorbing  and illuminating side-long view of 150 years of Modern Art. 

Barry Venning is a historian of British Art with a particular interest in the work of J M W Turner and John Constable. His interests and teaching also extend to contemporary British Art. He is currently an Associate lecturer with the Open University and a freelance lecturer for Christie’s education amongst other organizations.

Art by 6 year olds ?    No way! click here

Salisbury Cathedral The Making and Unmaking of a Masterpiece    Christopher Rogers

Begun in 1220, the cathedral at Salisbury, built to replace a smaller building at Old Sarum, was completed in as little as 38 years. It is the first and most complete Early English cathedral in the country. Built on the existing foundations which are only four feet deep, the spire reaches just over 400 feet, the tallest in England. The glory of the building was captured by both Constable and Turner just as it was being unsympathetically restored by James Wyatt ‘The Destroyer’. The building was subsequently ‘re-restored’ to its Medieval glory by George Gilbert Scott after 1860.  We explored the different phases of the Cathedral’s history and focused on the 18th and 19th century restoration and the controversies generated. 

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Christopher Rogers read Geography at Oxford before going on to teach  Geography, eventually becoming  Head of Geography at Downe House School, Newbury. During his time at Oxford he became interested in country house architecture and has lectured on the subject ever since. He now holds regular 5 day summer school courses for Marlborough College Summer School as well as lecturing for NADFAS and the National Trust and being a guide around Salisbury Cathedral.

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Carl Dolmetsch – The Recorder was his life

This lecture portrayed the creative life of Carl, son of the early-music pioneer Arnold Dolmetsch and explored his pivotal role in the 20th century recorder renaissance. From the age of 7, when he accidentally left the bag containing his father’s antique Bressan recorder on a platform at Waterloo Station, Carl’s destiny was inextricably linked with the recorder and we relived the exciting journey that followed this childhood disaster. This included his unexpected debut at the age of fifteen playing the recorder in a live broadcast of Bach’s fourth Brandenburg concerto, to the launch of his career with his recording of the first recorder disc for Columbia at the age of 21. Surprisingly, his work on aircraft components during WW11 led to him to design the first plastic recorders in 1945, whose introduction into schools transformed musical education for thousands of children and turned ‘recorder’ into a household name.

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Jeanne Dolmetsch comes from a famous family. Her grandfather , Arnold, being a celebrated pioneer in the worldwide renaissance of early music and instruments, while she was trained by her father, Carl, to play the recorder, viol and harpsichord, later studying the violin and piano at the Royal Academy of Music. She is a specialist in the interpretation of 16th,17th, and 18th century music and has given concerts and recitals all over the world. She worked with her father for many years on the production of handmade wooden recorders and from 1972 - 2001 was assistant director and then director of Halsemere Early Music Festival. Jeanne has lectured with NADFAS since 1974 on early music and the recorder, illustrating her talks with live music.

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The Christmas Tree presents us with over five centuries of art and meaning. Vital to both Paganism and Christianity, it was, and still is, shrouded in legend. The forest fir made first made the transition from Viking Carvings to German Romanticism and Scandinavian Naturalism before taking its place in the modern festival of Christmas. This lecture tells us about its hidden significance and the ways in which it has been used to celebrate Christmas.

for more Christmas Tree history click here

Dr Claire Walsh has worked at the Victoria & Albert Museum and lectured at the University of Warwick and now lectures for the Open University, She has also lectured at the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the OU,  the Costume Society and the Museum of London. Her PhD in History is from the European Institute, Florence. Currently lectures widely in the UK as well as having numerous publications.

'We had a brilliant lecture by Bertie Pierce when he gave us an illustrated talk, incorpoating theatrical readings with short extracts from Dickens' books covering the life of the author '          

SGDFAS member's quote 

2012 was be the bicentenary of the birth of Charles John Huffam Dickens. He brought into the world a staggering array of wonderful characters with orphans, starving children, misers, murderers and abusive school teachers among them. People such as Mr Mcawber, Fagin and Abel Magwitch remain in one’s literary psyche long after the books are put down. Largely self educated, Dickens posessed the genius to become the greatest writer of his age with 15 major novels and countless short stories and articles. In his lecture Bertie Pearce looked at the life and places of Dickens while interspersing the events with readings of his works. A truly Dickensian experience. 

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Bertie Pierce  is becoming a regular to our society for his entertaining lectures. Has a BA in Drama and  Diploma from the Ecole Internationale du Theatre. He is a member of the Magic Circle with Gold Star and has toured the world with a magic cabaret show.

This lecture looked at British Interior Design over a century of enormous change when technological advances completely altered the appearance and comfort of our homes. This humorous and informative presentation journeyed from Victorian velvet and Edwardian classical through 1930’s chrome, 1950’s formica and 1970’s orange plastic.

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Matthew Williams lectures widely on the subject of design and is a recognized expert in the work of the designer  William Burges. He has been the Curator of Cardiff Castle for over 20 years and has published widely in art and architectural journals.

Thomas Hardy’s Wessex is the land of his creative imagination – a sort of ‘dream Dorset’ based on the county of his birth – which provided the rich and complex background for his passionate and original novels and poems of pastoral life. The talented watercolourist Henry Moule was a friend of Hardy’s, who late became curator of the Dorset County Museum. Walter Tyndale was a Victorian painter who specialized in landscape and architectural watercolours whose detailed yet delicate application of watercolour imbibed his work with a vivid sense of colour and life. Looking at their paintings of rural Dorset and its surroundings, through Hardy’s own words we were able to explore his vision of Wessex during the Lecture by Elizabeth Merry.  ****º

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Elizabeth Merry BA MA PGCE, who has spoken to us before on “Illustrating Alice”, has over 25 years experience lecturing to adults in the UK, Europe and Australasia on various subjects including literature and poetry, classical art and architecture and aspects of visual arts. She has worked for a variety of bodies including the Jane Austen Society, Thomas Hardy Society and Dorset County Museum. In the UK Elizabeth has run many study weekends on Jane Austen and the Brontes, as well as Thomas Hardy which naturally is based in Dorchester near to her home town of Cerne Abbas.

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Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest continuously occupied castle in the world and has been the home of English monarchs for over 900 years. It is home to some of the greatest paintings and works of art in the Royal Collection. This lecture traced the development of the castle from an 11th century fortress into a magnificent palace and illustrated how it had been enlarged and rebuilt, focusing in particular on the four monarchs whose reigns have been seminal periods in the Castle’s development: Edward III, Charles II, George IV and Queen Elizabeth II. Windsor Castle is reputed to be the favourite home of the Queen and her reign is a key period in the Castle’s post-medieval development.

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Barbara Askew BA Hons History, Dip Ed MITG is a Blue Badge Guide and an acknowledged expert on Windsor castle who offers tours and visits within the Castle, as well as in and around London. Growing up in Eton, Windsor Castle was part of her daily view but her career started with 15 years of teaching History before qualifying as a Blue Badge guide. She is now a rota guide at the British Museum, the Houses of Parliament and the Albert Memorial, which together with her work as a lecturer, examiner and course director on Blue Badge training courses, more than justifies her suitability as a NADFAS lecturer.

for more information click here

June 19th 2015 Lecture by Nigel Arch

The Knight in Shining Armour Dressed: Art, Battle and Pageant

This lecture revealed the enduring attraction of the concept of Knights in Armour. But where did they come from and how did armour develop? Did it all die out in the middle ages?

The origins of mounted soldiers within European warfare and their protective clothing were discussed, together with the role and ideal of the knight, himself. We saw how plate armour became more sophisticated while stylistically reflecting the wider influences in artistic development. As the knight’s activities were not exclusively confined to the battlefield, his role in tournaments and pageants are another important part of his story. Although developments in military technology led to a decline in the wearing of armour, it never really vanished from the battlefield; nor do the perceived ideals of the knight fade from our vision.

Re-Enactments and Jousting Tournaments are regular features by Historical Societies around England to give everyone a chance to see armour  and costumes.

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Nigel Arch, a former Director of Kensington Palace, Historic Royal Palaces, has spent his career working in royal palaces and museums, looking after collections of arms, armour and ceremonial costume. Since 1982 he has worked at Kensington Palace, latterly managing the whole public side of both Kensington and Kew Palace. He has written many articles in academic journals and co-authored books on royal ceremonial dress and royal wedding dresses. His most recent publication is the essay on Uniform in the Berg Encyclopaedia of World Dress. He is now chairman of Dorking Museum, a post he took up after reading about their need for volunteers in the local newspaper.

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Hanne Sutcliffe has lectured extensively to museums, art and historical societies. She has been a guide, lecturer and researcher on sixteen tours to China as well as taking part in lecture tours to Australia, South Africa and the US.   More detailed information.

Wonderful Copenhagen: The story of Four Magnificent Royal Palaces in the Kingdom of Denmark

Hanne discussed four of the fourteen Royal Palaces in Denmark.

Photographs of the grounds and many of the exquisite interiors were shown.

 
Rosenborg Palace
The Small early 17th Century palace of Rosenberg is one of true renaissance genius in Copenhagen. It was built by the famous Christian IV as a leisure palace and a place to store his vast treasure.
The outstanding and rare bejewelled renaissance gold crown is the finest example of its kind in existence. The palace has an exceptional and large collection of silver furniture, including a silver throne and three rare and famous full size silver lions guarding the kings and queens of Denmark.
Fredriksborg Palace
Denmark’s most beautiful palace is situated north of Copenhagen, set in a large garden and park, with fountains and lakes. It was built in 1560. Later in 1602, a larger building was created next to the older smaller palace as a pure Renaissance creation with green copper roofs.
King Christian IV created outstanding interiors; rare paintings, tapestries and furniture. A beautiful Royal Chapel was used from 1671 to 1870 to crown Danish monarchs. The chapel contains a very rare silver altar from 1606.
Amalienborg Palace
The elegant palace complex consists of four identical rococo buildings around an octagonal square, which has a superb equestrian bronze statue of King Fredrik V cast in 1771. The four splendid French Rococo-style palaces have housed the Danish Royal Kings, Queens and their families since that time and it is their winter home.
Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik live in the Christian IX palace. Superb sculptures, paintings and furniture adorn the halls. Many are made over the centuries by Danish Artists: Torvalsden the sculptor and Anker the painter. Sumptuous receptions, dinners and balls are regularly held by the Queen.
Amalienborg Palace overlooks the large harbour, gateway to the Baltic and had a splendid view (very close to the Little Mermaid!)
Fredensborg Palace (Palace of Peace)
This exquisite French and Italian neo-classical palace is the Danish Royal families’ favourite summer residence and has been since 1720. The light, airy complex consists of 28 separate buildings, all painted white. It gleams in the summer light, set in a wonderful large forest by the Esrum Lake.
The superb state apartments are filled with outstanding art. They can house most of the large, later European Royal families. In the 1880s King Christian and IX and his Queen, Louise, entertained Prince Edward of Wales and Princess Alexandra, the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, the King and Queen of Sweden and the King and Queen of Greece.
King Christian IX was called Europa’s ‘Father-in-Law’ and to commemorate the event had the entire royal party immortalised in a large famous painting created by Laurits Tuxen in 1882.
The lecture included the life stories of many of the royal Danish families.

The Rosenborg Castle (Pictured) was used by Danish regents as a royal residence until around 1710. After the reign of Frederik IV, Rosenborg was used as a royal residence only twice, and both these times were during emergencies. The first time was after Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794. 

Leslie Primo has a BA in Art History and a MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. He gives lectures and tours at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. He has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Instiute.

Iconography: The Hidden Stories in Art

How does the modern viewer recognize and interpret the hidden stories told through signs and symbols iconography in paintings when visiting art galleries? Were paintings merely illustrations of the text, and if so which texts, or did they carry some deeper meaning? In order to unravel this hidden content, more familiar to viewers of the Italian Renaissance than now, the modern viewer needs to reacquaint themselves with what was common knowledge during the Renaissance –religious and mythological signs and symbols. Most often these stories originated from antique literary sources from the middle ages, but were the preserve of the wealthy and cultured elite. This lecture aims to reveal the hidden language of stories in paintings, thus equipping the modern viewer with an antique language and new way of looking, using signs and symbols iconography.

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Leslie, a graduate of Birbeck College, specialized in early Medieval and Renaissance studies including among other subjects, Italian Renaissance Drawing. He has worked at the National Gallery for over 15 years and taught on a variety of Art History courses at Reading University. He currently lectures at the National and teaches at various London Colleges including Imperial College. In 2013 Leslie presented his lecture on Art in the South Pacific: Cook to Gaugin, to us in his own unique and entertaining style.

Following MAs from Cambridge and the Courtauld Institute, Lois Oliver  gained her PhD on The Image of the Artist. After working at Harvard University she joined the V&A and later the National Gallery, but since 2006 has been Assistant Professor in History of Art at the University of Notre Dame in London.

Marking the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, this lecture  complemented a major exhibition to be held at the Royal Academy in the Autumn 2015. The contrasting views presented by both British and French artists were considered as well as the insatiable public appetite for rather less elevated art forms.          

Picture shows: The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch, 1822 (oil on wood) by Wilkie, Sir David (1785-1841); 97x158 cm; Apsley House, The Wellington Museum, London, UK; Scottish,  out of copyright

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John Iddon is a lecturer and guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. He has  lectured to National Trust and Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice, also on cruises. He ran an MA course on Heritage Interpretation at St Mary’s University College. Also deals in Modern British Art.

Many now famous and revered works of art once shocked and scandalized  their contemporaries. From Manet nudes through to Whistler’s nocturnes and Tracy Emin’s notorious bed, this lecture  examined why so many works have caused controversy and outrage.

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Anne Sebba has lectured throughout UK and US including for the English Speaking Union, the  National Trust and the British Library. she has broadcast documentaries for both Radio 3  and Radio 4  as well as being an author of at least nine books including biographies of Jennie Churchill, William Bankes  and Laura Ashley.

The lecture was based on three years research into why this Baltimore woman, born in 1896 into relative obscurity, was so demonised by the British establishment, yet became, as the Duchess of Windsor one of the world’s best dressed women. Was she simply a clothes horse for designers or did she have a heart that was never fully understood?

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Sarah Lenton has spent most of her working life in the theatre.  She regularly writes articles for the Royal Opera House programmes, lectures at study days and gives pre-performance talks. She has written and directed more than 20 shows for the Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre.  She does live commentary for BBC Radio 3 opera broadcasts and writes scripts for Radio 4. She is also a cartoonist.

The lecture  encompassed 300 years of Christmas shows at Covent Garden, one of London’s greatest theatres.  Forget Callas and Domingo – Covent Garden Theatre is a panto house!

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Karin Fernald is an actress (Silver Medalist RADA) writer and researcher.  She has played roles from Hedda Gabler to Sally Bowles and Anne Forsyte in the Forsyte Saga on TV.  Specialises in 18th and 19th century diaries and letters. Appears at the National Portrait gallery, Dr Johnson’s House, Oxford Festival and numerous other venues. She has published a book for children on Queen Victoria’s fraught childhood, “The dumpy princess”.

As a child Hans Andersen made puppet costumes, taught by his cobbler father.  Later in life he sketched, though he never had lessons. The lecture showed his sketches, paper-cuts and collages, with illustrations of his stories by artists from all over the world.

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Ian Kelly is an award winning actor and author of three acclaimed historical biographies.  His Beau Brummell was adapted as a major TV film.  He has appeared on the Richard and Judy show and in a Harry Potter film. He is a familiar face to many from his stage appearances.

Beau Brummell cut a dramatic swathe through late Georgian society, from his early years as favourite of the Prince of Wales and arbiter of taste in the Age of Elegance, to his final precipitous fall into poverty and madness. The lecture examined the complex and scandalous world of Regency London.

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Helen McCabe lectures widely on the English and French Country House and Garden.  Author of “Houses and Gardens of Cornwall”.  She has studied at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris, where she lived for three years. She grew up in Cornwall and returned to live in her childhood home. She is a keen gardener, restoring her own walled garden and planting a woodland stream garden.

The lecture evoked the Normandy immortalised by painters and writers alike. The houses and gardens, which include moated manor houses, quirky seaside villas and Monet’s Giverny Garden, reflect France’s history and culture and reveal the links with our own medieval past.

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Lecturer and guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, and for the Tate on cruises.  Lecturer at Dulwich Picture Gallery and scriptwriter for the Living Paintings Trust (art for the blind and partially sighted).

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Mary Acton recently retired as a Course Director at Oxford University, but she continues to teach there. She is author of “Learning to look at Paintings” and “Learning to look at Modern Art”.

Much more than just the painter of brothels and night clubs, Lautrec was in touch with all the avant-garde ideas in the art of his day. In his paintings and lithographs he advanced the techniques of poster design and advertising and helped to spread the stylistic tendencies of Modernism. 

for more images of his paintings click toulouse lautrec

Barry Venning is an Associate lecturer for the Open University, teaching advanced courses on Modern Art, Italian Renaissance and “Art and its Histories”. He is author of books on Constable and Turner.

The lecture examined Saatchi’s rise to prominence as an advertising magnate and as a tastemaker, charting the changing shape of his collection and his effect on artistic reputations.

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Juliet Heslewood has published nine books, including “The History of Western Painting” and recently books on artists’ mothers and lovers. She lived for thirty years in France where she led many art study tours.  She now concentrates on writing and lecturing.

Childhood has been portrayed in many different ways, from the sentimental to the disturbing.  The child’s world belongs to a short period of time that, once over can become distorted in memory. So how do artists view their own children’s childhood? 

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Daniel Evans is Head of Art at a girls’ school and is also Senior lecturer for Art History Abroad. He is an award-winning travel guide throughout Italy, Paris and London. He lectures for the Art Fund and to many universities and schools.

Michelangelo was grumpy, dirty, ugly and tight-fisted but produced sculpture, painting and architecture of startling beauty and originality. The lecture aimed to all but summon the great man into the room by examining his drawings, poetry and finished and unfinished works.

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Marina Vaizey is a Broadcaster, Exhibition Curator, Journalist, former Art Critic for the Financial Times and Sunday Times. Author of several books. She has lectured for major institutions at home and abroad.

The lecture looked at the pioneers of photography, the leading photographers of the 20th century, the artists who use photography, such as Hockney, and  artists for whom it is their primary medium.

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