John Constable R.A. was born on June 11 1776, 250 years ago. Constable’s exuberant, almost abstract, brush and palette-knife work shocked audiences a full 50 years before the advent of Impressionism. In fact, the handling is so avant-garde that it is literally impossible to tell what these paint strokes depict! Most people will be astonished to learn that he only sold 20 or so paintings to English collectors, family and friends during his lifetime, as their rough and ‘specky’ surfaces horrified audiences with their lack of 'finish'

Sarah Cove ACR has worked as a painting conservator, technical art historian and lecturer since the mid-1980s. She founded the Constable Research Project in 1986 and is now the recognised authority on John Constable's painting materials and techniques. She is a consultant to international museums and galleries, private collectors and salerooms. She has published widely including essays in Tate's 'Constable' (1991) and ‘Constable: The Great Landscapes' (2006) exhibition catalogues. She has lectured for The Arts Society since 2003 and at major museums, galleries and conservation venues.

Image - Constable - Detail of the foreground of 'Landscape with Cottage with Red Roof'  copyright Sarah Cove

Dramatic struggles, speaking portraits, ecstatic nuns and dynamic fountains are among the works discussed in this lecture. We will survey Bernini’s career as a sculptor from his beginnings as a child prodigy to his final years managing a prolific workshop. We look at the important role played by his patrons and champions, his techniques and his subject matter. 

Dr Antonia Gatward Cevizli is an independent art historian. She has an MA in History of Art and specialises in both Italian Renaissance art and Ottoman Art.

She has taught art history at Sabancı University, Istanbul. Antonia is a Course Leader at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, teaches at the V&A  Academy, at the Courtauld Institute of Art Summer School and the National Gallery. She has lived in Siena, Venice and Istanbul. 

Image - Cornaro chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome

The Wallace Collection owns over 330 miniatures dating from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. In a British context it is unique in the range and quality of its French miniatures, though it also contains some fine and important examples by artists of other schools, particularly the British, Swiss and Italian. This lecture explains what miniature painting is. It also looks at the formation of the miniatures collection and considers in depth at some its greatest works, including examples by such artists as Samuel Cooper, Richard Cosway, Peter Adolph Hall and Jean-Baptiste Isabey.

Stephen Duffy was educated at New College, Oxford, and formerly Senior Curator of the Wallace Collection where he had particular responsibility for exhibitions and nineteenth-century paintings. He has given countless tours of the Collection for visiting groups and many lectures on its art and other related subjects. His latest publication, The Discovery of Paris, is a book on early nineteenth-century watercolour views of Paris by major British artists.

Image - Jean-Urban Guerin - Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Foster

The cartoonist, Carl Giles, once said that he loved his creation, Grandma Giles – that fearsome, black-clad, gambling, drinking battleaxe – because she allowed him to say things through his cartoons that he was too polite to say in person. She helped him to poke fun at authority in all its forms, from Hitler to traffic wardens and even his employers at the Daily Express, who didn’t trust him and had sub-editors scouring his cartoons for subversive background details. His admirers included Prince Charles, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Tommy Cooper, and it was no surprise when he was voted Britain’s best-loved cartoonist in 2000. 

Few people realise, however, that this likeable and humane satirist was also a war correspondent who witnessed the horrors of Belsen, where he found that the camp commandant, Josef Kramer, was also a great fan of his work. Giles gave us a remarkable picture of a half-century of British life. He was also, as his editor John Gordon put it “a spreader of happiness’ and ‘a genius…with the common touch’.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and abc Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate. 

Image - Grandma Sculpture, Gile Circus, Ipswich

Monet lampshades, Degas chocolate boxes, Van Gogh wallpaper, Picasso mugs, Jackson Pollock silk scarves, Tracey Emin tea towels… it’s easy to think of modern art as an effortless lifestyle adornment. But each great leap forward in art was accompanied by – if not a direct result of – radical ideas and world-changing manifestos. This lecture charts the rise of radical thinking in modern art, from its origins in the 1870s – sparked by the choice of a single word – to the revolutionary movements of the early 20th century and the conceptual experiments of the 1960s, unearthing truly radical thought in everything from an apple to a bicycle wheel.

Jackie Klein is an art historian, publisher and broadcaster specialising in 19th-century, modern and contemporary art.  She is passionate about sharing her love of art through books, public talks, gallery tours, consultancy work, radio and TV.
With a background in curating, art book publishing and museum education, her interests range from Impressionism to contemporary tech art, the history of the avant-garde to the body in art.

Image  - Van Gogh Tote Bag

In 1882 Gertrude Jekyll wrote a short but seminal article in The Garden in which she urged the readers to “remember that in a garden we are painting a picture”.  As an accomplished watercolour artist, Miss Jekyll was familiar with the principles of using colours, but she felt that in gardens these principles “had been greatly neglected”.  This talk looks at how to apply these principles in designing a border, but it also looks at the ways in which a border is different from a painting.  However, it goes further than this and looks at how contemporary work of the likes of Turner, Monet, Rothko, Jackson Pollock evolved in parallel with ideas about what a garden or border should be.

Timothy Walker studied botany at University College Oxford. A BBC presenter, he is also a Master of Horticulture at the Royal Horticultural Society of London and a Fellow of the Linnaean Society of London. He worked at Kew and The Savill Garden Windsor and for many years he was Director of the award winning Oxford Botanic Garden.           

Image - Sissinghurst Cottage Garden

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.

Bertie Pearce is an Arts Society Accredited Lecturer who has toured the country extensively. He is also a Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star.

Aside from performing Bertie loves the calm of the Sussex countryside  where he has lived all his life. He loves gardening, forestry, making things and is very involved in his local church All Saints Church Crowborough. He is married and has two children, six light sussex chickens, two pigs and a border terrier called Buttons.

Image - Fezziwg's Ball , A Christmas Carol

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 for Google. Over the last twenty 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.

Ian Swankie is a Londoner and has spent more years than he cares to remember working in and around London. He is a guide, a cruise speaker and a lecturer with a special interest in art and architecture.

Ian is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society, a fully qualified City of London tour guide, a City of Westminster guide and a green badge holder from the Institute of Tourist Guiding. He is an official guide at Tate Modern and Tate Britain, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Guildhall Art Gallery. Not least he is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars.

Image - Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town

London’s sumptuous Victorian and Edwardian department stores changed the capital – and changed its women. Shoppers of every rank were lavishly wooed, seduced and often undone by the temptations laid out before them in these new ‘cathedrals of desire’.  

A chance to step back in time, via fabulous period images, to a vanished era of glamour, confidence and style. We'll tour the West End like an Edwardian 'shopping woman' before heading off to the suburbs, via Gamages toy department, the flamingos in Derry & Toms roof garden and D. H. Evans' pioneering ankle reduction service

Tessa Boase is a social historian and journalist who loves a good story and is addicted to digging deep in the archives, joining the dots, and bringing to life 'invisible' women from the late 19th and early 20th century in highly readable narrative non-fiction. 

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.  

Alice White is an Oil Painter, Art Lecturer and Tutor at University of Arts London.
She is a Consultant/Collaborator on the AHA! Art and Human AI project at the Science Gallery London (2023/2024). Co-Lead on the The Art of Science at the Scott Polar Research Institute. Culminating in a series of workshops at the Cambridge Univeristy Festival.

Alice exhibited at the Palace of Nations in Geneva during the Geneva Health Forum 2022 and her artworks have been acquired for the Polar Museum Collection.

Please Note: this meeting will be preceeded by the AGM at 10.50am

PLEASE NOTE: Arnett Hills School will be making a short presentation prior to the talk about the art project that was funded by TASR.

More successful than Van Gogh in his lifetime, why is he now unknown?

John Peter Russell. Australian artist and friend of the Impressionists of whom the sculptor Rodin, said would be as famous as himself and their friend Monet. Matisse said that Russell had taught him everything he knew about colour. During their lifetimes Russell was more successful than his friend, the unknown van Gogh. What reversed this situation? How do artists become famous, and who writes the canon?

About Lucrezia

Lucrezia Walker, BA, MA, lectures at the National Gallery and teaches the London Art History Programme for the University of North Carolina. She has 20 years’ experience of leading cultural tours in major European cities, and has lived, studied and worked in Italy. Lucrezia is the author of several books, and was previously Galleries Correspondent for The Tablet.

For the Tate Gallery's Development department she speaks to their corporate sponsors in their offices and at their private receptions in both Tates. She teaches US undergraduates on their Study Abroad semesters in London. She was Lay Canon for the Visual Arts at St Paul's Cathedral 2010-2014.

Few artists are as rooted in a place as Stanley Spencer and his beloved home village of Cookham. This Thames-side village was not only his birthplace, his home for most of his life, and even his nickname, but it dominated his imagination and was the inspiration and location for many of his greatest paintings. This lecture will look at Cookham’s place in Spencer’s art, and how it was central to his unique vision of English domestic and spiritual life.

Amy Lim is an art historian, researcher, writer and curator specialising in the visual arts in England in the seventeenth to twentieth centuries as well as the work and life of Sir Stanley Spencer.

She is curator of the Faringdon Collection at Buscot Park, Oxfordshire, and of the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham. Amy has degrees in History and Literature & Arts from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. She runs an online art dealership, and has published articles and essays on a variety of art-related topics from gothic garden monuments to female patronage.

An experienced auctioneer explores the dynamics of the art market.

The subject of countless daytime TV shows as well as high-end international trade, how do all the elements fit in together? Are we all charlatans? Who are the main players and how has it changed during the last 40 years? When I started, there was no Internet and cheap air travel was yet to change the way we move about the world. Governments, both domestic and International, have had a profound effect, alongside a general demographic change. After 40 years in the profession, all but 18 months of which as an auctioneer, this talk is based on my continuing fascination with the dynamics of the art world and explores these and many other themes. Why is a George III bureau worth so little?

Biography - Clive Stewart Lockhart

With a wealth of experience and a depth of knowledge gained over nearly five decades in the industry, Clive is well respected in the UK art sector, and has long established contacts with auctioneers, collectors, dealers, academics and art institutions, both nationally and internationally.

Clive studied on the Sotheby's Works of Art course and has been working in the fine art world for 50 years. Now an independent art advisor, Clive was, until recently, a Director of Woolley and Wallis, one of the UK's leading regional firm of auctioneers, in Salisbury, and was a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow for 25 years between 1991 and 2016. Has also lectured on cruise ships as well as for many other groups, and recently published a major article in the Journal of the Furniture History Society on Betty Joel. Clive is a Founder Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars

1951, The Festival of Britain, A Nation Celebrated. Art, Architecture and Design in Post War Britain

In 1951, up and down the country, the nation celebrated. It celebrated with events from the lavish displays on the South Bank of the Thames and at Battersea to the events held on village greens and in village halls across the land.  A nation still recovering from the physical, financial and mental struggles of the recent World War decided to hold a party for the country. This talk will consider the reasons why the Festival was held, some of the characters involved, what motivated them and the resulting events and the wonderful design, art and architecture that flourished during the Festival year.

About Matthew

Matthew Denney is an auctioneer, valuer, lecturer, writer and educationalist who works in many aspects of the fine and decorative arts. He is currently a senior valuer and head of department at Lawrences in Crewkerne, one of the country's leading provincial auctioneers. 

He has been a full time Senior Lecturer at graduate and post-graduate level for many years and has written on a number of  subjects.  He finds that in particular the history of the Great Exhibitions are fascinating as they offer a really interesting picture of a nation at a particular moment in time and there is so much that can be learnt from them about our shared national and international histories.

2024 marked the bicentenary of the founding of the National Gallery.

This lecture tells the story of the establishment of the NG collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s government purchased 38 paintings for £57,000 from the collection of businessman and philanthropist John Julius Angerstein. The paintings were initially displayed at 100 Pall Mall, Angerstein’s townhouse and by 1838, it was decided that a purpose built building was required, giving us the William Wilkins designed building we know and love on Trafalgar Square. 

During the course of the lecture we examine some of the high (and low) points of the early years of the gallery including suffragette sabotage, bombs and theft. We also take a close up look at some of the original "Angerstein 38” paintings.

Simon Whitehouse

Simon is a (recovering) actor, lecturer, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher and award winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and also lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion and art history but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it.

The little-known nomadic textile cultures of the Kyrgyz, Turkoman and Karakalpak are explored in this lecture, along with the rise and fall of nomadism and where nomadism fits within the modern world.

Houses made from wool that warm in the depths of winter, carpets that tell stories, woven bands that appease ancestors, embroideries that ward off evil, and kilims that store kitchenware, with everything ready to be packed and carried on yak, or camel at a moment’s notice; the little-known nomadic textile cultures of the Kyrgyz, Turkoman and Karakalpak are explored in this lecture, along with the rise and fall of nomadism and where nomadism fits within the modern world.

Chris also shares from his own experience of working with nomadic yak herders in the High Pamirs for three years.

Chris Aslan

Chris Aslan was born in Turkey (hence the name Aslan) and spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying Media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries, and becoming the largest non-government employer in town. Chris then spent several years in the Pamirs mountains of Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down. When he’s not lecturing for The Arts Society, he writes. His latest book, Unravelling the Silk Road. Chris also takes tours to Central Asia, returning whenever he can, having left a large chunk of his heart out there. 

A look at how food and feasting is depicted in paintings

Christmas is historically a time for feasting and celebrations, in large part because it occurs in the middle of the dark and cold days of winter, so a mid-season celebration with lots of food and drink helped spur people on towards the spring. In this talk we will look at how food and feasting is depicted in paintings, and hopefully help us through the dark days of winter as well!

Sarah Ciacci has an MA in History of Art (Late 19th century French Painting and 20th Century Art) from University College London. She has been a Blue Badge Guide for London since 2008, specialising in art, museums and galleries, so relevant tours and visits for talks can be arranged. Since 2008 she has trained Blue Badge Guides in the National Gallery and is an art lecturer for trainee guides in Tate Britain, Tate Modern and for a period the National Portrait Gallery. She is a gallery educator and Adjunct Faculty at Richmond University (since 2008) teaching the History of British Art, the History of Museums in London and the History of London, and runs regular courses and independent lectures on a variety of art historical periods. 

This lecture covers almost 2000 years of London's history illustrated through its stained glass windows - these cover 19th century, 20th century and contemporary glass makers.

Anna Warrillow

Anna Warrillow studied for her BA in History of Art & Italian at the University of Sussex and did her MA in Renaissance Decorative Arts & Design at the Royal College of Art.  She worked for 6 years as a curator in the Sculpture Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum as well as in smaller collections such as the Henry Moore Family Trust. 

As well as guiding she is an adjunct lecturer at Richmond The American International University in London where she teaches undergraduates The History of London.  Anna graduated as a Blue Badge Guide early in 2013 and lectures regularly for art, history and academic societies.

How music is depicted in paintings with live demonstrations of the instruments.

About the presentation

So many of our historical references for musical instruments can be found in works of art. Not only can these windows into the past show us what the instruments looked like but also the social context in which they would have been played. Music and different instruments also play a strong role within symbolism in art. 

Historical musician and instrument maker Sophie Matthews explores the links between the visual and the aural in this one-hour presentation. Drawing on the works of great painters such as Brueghel, Hogarth and Bosch, Sophie presents a variety of images of historical woodwind instruments in their original social context. The symbolism of music in mediaeval and Renaissance arts is also explored, along with live performances of historical music upon authentic instruments.

About Sophie

Sophie began playing flute at the age of ten but is now more well-known for her prowess on the English border bagpipes and has become one of the foremost players of the instrument in the UK. She also plays a variety of early woodwind instruments such as shawm, rauschpfeife and recorder. She’s also one of a handful of British players of the baroque musette, an 18th century French bagpipe similar to the Northumbrian smallpipes.

Sophie is also recognised as a superb interpreter of narrative song with a clear, pure and unaffected soprano voice. When not touring with modern-day balladeers GreenMatthews, Sophie also makes instruments (she made her own baroque oboe) and works with respected luthier Tony Millyard on his flutes. She’s previously worked with The Oxford Waits as well as the respected early music collective Piva. Sophie is self-taught on all of her instruments.

Andrew was inspired to produce this talk after visiting the National Portrait Gallery. Seeing all the Tudor, Stuart and Hanoverian monarchs, dressed in their finery, he wondered where had all their spectacular jewels gone?

About Andrew

Andrew has had a passion for jewellery since he was a small child.  Two weeks after his 16th birthday, Andrew started work in London’s Bond Street, working for The Antiques Roadshow expert Ian Harris. Under his guidance, Andrew developed an appreciation for jewels that were valued for their quality of design and craftsmanship.  He realised that beautiful jewellery didn't require expensive stones, and that it was the elegance of the design and the quality of the workmanship that truly mattered. . In 2012, he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for the third series. The characters played by Maggie Smith, Shirley Maclaine, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery were all adorned with elegant tiaras, combs, earrings and necklaces designed and created by Andrew Prince

Like almost everyone else, I have felt deeply shocked but also helpless in the face of recent events in Ukraine. But as an art historian with a long-standing interest in the relationship between art and war, art and displacement, art and adversity, one thing I CAN do is to alert people to the huge contribution refugees from conflict zones around the world, past and present, make to the culture of the country that takes them in.

I’d like therefore to offer you a brand new lecture, entitled Island Sanctuary: Refugee Artists in Britain from the Huguenots to the Present Day, which will celebrate the achievements against the odds of artists as diverse as miniaturist Isaac Oliver in the sixteenth century, painters James Tissot in the nineteenth and David Bomberg and Lucian Freud in the twentieth - and many more as we move into the later twentieth century and beyond.

And as a small gesture, I’ll donate a portion of my fee for each lecture to a charity which supports refugees fleeing Ukraine right now

Picture - Josef Herman, Refugees, c.1941. Copyright Josef Herman Estate, with kind permission Ben Uri Collection.

Monica Bohm-Duchen    

London-based freelance lecturer, writer and exhibition organizer. Has lectured for Tate, the National Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Open University, Sotheby's Institute of Art and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck College since 2005, and has led many tours. Publications include Understanding Modern Art (1991), Chagall (1998/2001), The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001),The Art and Life of Josef Herman (2009) and Art and the Second World War (2013). She is the initiator and Creative Director of the nationwide Insiders/Outsiders arts festival (see https://insidersoutsidersfestival.org/), and contributing editor of the companion volume, Insiders/Outsiders: Refugees from Nazi Europe and their Contribution to British Visual Culture (2019).

Movable canvas pictures for interiors - quadrati riportati - were introduced by Titian's generation. These paintings were not ‘hung’ in the modern sense, but incorporated into architectural schemes.
What we now call picture hanging evolved slowly over time. The talk traces hanging fashions across three hundred years, from formal Palladianism and early private art galleries to a variety of more informal arrangements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We end with practical tips for today’s homes - without needing to re-arrange the furniture! 

Artists, designers and houses: Tintoretto and The Scuola di Sn Rocco; Daniel Marot at Het Loo; Arthur Devis and Palladian interiors in the conversation piece; Galleries at Stourhead and Corsham Court; picture hanging in Dickens' novels and some of the speaker’s own work hung in private collections.

Stephen Taylor                

Artist and art historian: studied John Constable as a post graduate at Essex and Yale, taught art at Felsted School and went on to became Head of Painting at The Open College of the Arts and course director for the Inchbald School of Design. In 2000, Stephen turned to landscape painting with early shows at King's College Cambridge, Meisel’s New York and Vertigo in London. Now has pictures in private collections world-wide and his book Oak: One tree, three years, fifty paintings was featured in The Guardian, The New Statesman and on Oprah Winfrey’s website.

In the aftermath of World War II art, architecture, fashion, film, music and theatre changed radically. Through the Abercrombie plan to remake London and create new towns, architects remade cities in modernist, brutalist ways. Angry young men and new forms of musical theatre emerged. In Soho, rock’n’roll was born and artists flocked to the Colony Rooms. After the gentle Ealing comedies came social realism. The Festival of Britain highlighted the artistic communities and showcased a brighter future for every citizen. In fine art, Hepworth and Heron, Bacon and others were forging bold new directions. From buttoned up deference to ‘fings aint wot they used to be’ this lecture will take you from the the end of WWII to the dawn of the Swinging Sixties. Unburdened by the expectations of the past, a new Elizabethan age was one of unlimited possibilities.

Russell Nash     

Russell trained and worked as an actor, writer, puppeteer and theatre maker for 15 years. In 2015 he qualified a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide. Around this time he rekindled his love of art and art history. He now regularly guides the major galleries and museums in London such as the National Gallery, Tates Modern & Britain and the British Museum. He has delivered lectures for institutes and museums, as well as numerous U3A groups and other societies. During Covid lockdowns he devised and delivered more than 30 different virtual tours and lectures to groups from the UK and across the globe.

A deliberately provocative title - Paul Cézanne struggled all his life to achieve an art of absolute beauty that would act as a revelation - helping himself and those who stand before his paintings to savour the full richness of experience that we can so easily lose sight of in our daily lives. He sought to make all things new, to re-discover the familiar and the original freshness of vision that Adam or Eve might have felt on looking at Paradise for the first time. We might glimpse such moments in our own lives now and then, Cézanne, like Bach in music, makes it solid and durable - a joy for ever. 

Original works by Cézanne and other relevant artists will be available for viewing at the lecture.

Michael Howard             

Michael is a familiar face to The Arts Society. He is President of The Arts Society Bolton and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Although retired, he continues to teach at the Manchester School of Art. He has published widely on European art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, his books include: L. S. Lowry: A Visionary Artist; The Impressionists by Themselves; The Stations of the Cross / The Captive Figure and the award-winning dramatic interpretation and publication of material originally performed by the Zurich-based Dadaists of 1916. A New Order: An Evening at the Cabaret Voltaire. His book on Gauguin, was written in association with the Gauguin Museum, Tahiti, and his book on Monet for the Musée Marmottan, Paris.  One of his most recent books concerns his wife’s life and work: The Human Touch: Ghislaine Howard. (Ghislaine is also an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society). 

Michael is a practising artist, and has exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New York Art Fair and elsewhere. He is represented in Manchester Art Gallery and in many private collections both here and abroad. He has appeared on television and radio many times and in 2004 he and Ghislaine worked the film, Degas and the Dance which has awarded one of the prestigious Peabody awards. 

For all the things that have been written about the great Sun King, Louis XIV, he is best remembered for the creation of Versailles; the immense chateau which he built on the site of his father’s old hunting lodge and which became the seat of French government, the setting for all grand court ceremonial and the envy of every other European monarch. This lecture will be an introduction to the sumptuous state apartments, the vast gardens and pleasure pavilions, the spectacular entertainments which took place both inside and out, the collections of the King and the whole etiquette of life at one of the greatest courts in Europe.

Jane Gardiner

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.

Wonder workers and the art of illusion - the history of magic through art and pictures

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.

Bertie Pearce    

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.

Join Margaret for a seasonal hour of Christmas bygones and entertainment as she brings to life the joy of music through the ages at this time of year.

Keeping to a brief history of the harp, she concentrates more on the incredible pedal mechanism invented for the harp and demonstrates on her own instrument through a variety of music. Exploring some of the old Christmas Carols and their origins, Margaret will play a selection of festive favourites to get you in the mood for Christmas.

Margaret Watson   

Margaret studied harp under the late Sidonie Goossens OBE and Sussex harpist Helen Arnold. She holds a Diploma in Music Performance on the harp and is also a Fellow of The Guild of Musicians and Singers.

Now one of the busiest harpists in the Southeast, Margaret has played for Royalty, given concerts at National Trust properties, played at City Guildhall, Clarence House, The Garrick Club, The Savoy, Ritz, Dorchester and Hilton Langham Hotels in London, Glyndebourne Opera House, Covent Garden and for many weddings, private parties, group meetings, receptions, launches, corporate, civic and charity functions. Margaret is a very active member of the charity ‘Music in Hospitals and Care’ and gives bedside concerts for patients and mentally or physically disabled people in hospitals, hospices, and specialist care centres and nursing homes. With her very varied repertoire and often resplendent costumes, she has delighted numerous audiences throughout the UK.

Western European painting is not lacking in celebrated women artists; from Marcia in antiquity to Eva Gonzalès in the nineteenth century, from Sofonisba Anguissola in the Renaissance to Michaelina Wautier in the seventeenth century, artists who managed to break the norm of western European society by making a name and a living for themselves in a world of men. Yet, despite achieving fame and recognition in their own time and being celebrated for their talent and skill, they were subsequently erased from the mainstream narrative of art history. This lecture will reintroduce these artists, asking why and how their own paintings and self-portraits were already - in their own time - engaged with this fundamental problem of recognition.

Aliki Braine

Born in Paris in 1976, Aliki studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, The Slade School of Fine Art, London and The Courtauld Institute where she was awarded a distinction for her masters in 17th century painting. After working for National Gallery for 20 years, she now teaches for Christie’s Education and the Wallace Collection, and is an Associate Lecturer for the Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts London. Aliki is also a practicing artist who regularly exhibits her photographic work internationally.

Sir Christopher Wren, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Inigo Jones, Joseph Paxton....all these outstanding architects began with modest buildings which give glimpses of their future accomplishments. This lecture traces the littleknown and highly entertaining story of how Rogers and Foster struggled to complete a terrace of three beautiful houses in 1960s north London. We look also at a charming brick pavilion attributed to Jones and the bizarre use to which it was put in the 20th century. And we examine Wren’s first commission, a beautiful college chapel, and a tiny glasshouse by Joseph Paxton, who went on to build the mighty Crystal Palace. 

Brian Stater        

Brian Stater lectured at University College London for 25 years, retiring in 2021 as a Senior Teaching Fellow. His principal academic interest lay in the appreciation of architecture and he has a lifelong enthusiasm for photography. He therefore offers lectures to The Arts Society on each of these subjects.

He has written on architecture for a wide range of publications and an exhibition of his own photographs was held at UCL. 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.

Brian is an engaging and amusing speaker who seeks to entertain as well as inform his audience.

The remarkable untold story of Carry On actor Peter Butterworth, and his wife, Britain’s first female tv impressionist Janet Brown, best known for her impression of Mrs Thatcher. 

Using classic film and tv clips, personal mementos, and rare photographs and letters from his family’s unseen collection, Tyler reveals the private story behind his parents’ public lives.

It’s a journey that takes in MI9, the building of a theatre in the notorious WW2 Prisoner of War camp Stalag Luft III, nights at Chequers with a Prime Minister, This Is Your Life, and many more moments in their long, shared life in the theatre.

Tyler Butterworth

Tyler Butterworth grew up in a theatrical family and spent twenty five years as an actor working extensively in film, television, theatre and radio. He then worked as a development producer in television documentaries and was closely involved with NASA on a landmark commemorative tv series. Now, he works as a voice actor, recording audiobooks, documentaries and voiceovers, and he produces walking audio guides to cities across Europe for private clients on whatever subject he’s commissioned to do. They’re just like the audio guides you get in art galleries and museums but they’re out on the street. He lives in Sussex where he walks on the South Downs and the South Coast.

Looking over the Artist's Shoulder – the Italian sketchbooks of JMW Turner

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Italy was the country of every artist’s dreams. This lecture recreates a visual tour of Italy in the company of J.M.W. Turner. By studying rarely seen drawings from his travel sketchbooks we will take a privileged look into the world of the artist, following in his footsteps through Venice, Rome, Tivoli and Naples. Through his most intimate and private sketches we will recapture the excitement and dangers of nineteenth-century tourism, and the British love of Italian culture and history. In addition to on-the-spot sketches documenting where he went and what he saw, we will examine Turner’s artistic response to his Italian experiences, tracing the evolution of his ideas from preparatory studies to finished watercolours and oils.

Nicola Moorby. An independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

This lecture serves as an introduction to the teapot collection at Norwich Castle Museum which has the largest specialist collection of British ceramic teapots in the world, housed in the Twining Teapot Gallery. It looks at the changing role of tea from its introduction in the 17th century as a fashionable and expensive drink of great exoticism associated with courtly and aristocratic circles through to its eventual position at the centre of the British psyche as the ‘national drink’. This lecture also examines the development of the teapot as it reflects the technological advances and developments of general British ceramic history. The lecture combines both art and social history to trace the unique position teapots and tea drinking occupy in British culture.

Christopher Garibaldi Independent Researcher. 2010–2019 Director of Palace House, Newmarket (National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art: www.palacehousenewmarket.co.uk). 2008–2010 Co-Director of the Attingham Summer School for the Study of Historic Houses and Collections. 1998–2003 Senior Curator & Assistant Keeper of Art (Decorative Art) at Norwich Castle Museum: co-curator of Flower Power – The Meaning of Flowers in Art and Eat, Drink and Be Merry, the British at Table 1600 to 2000. 1994–1997 Catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal residences.

Image copyright Christopher Garibaldi, 2023 

Chagall’s floating figures, dreamers, brides, and lovers, exist in a rootless universe where gravity has no pull, and where there are no sure foundations, and his only recourse was to trust in the narratives of his ancient people and draw on the strength of his God. As the quintessential alien in exile, his ever-present sense of loss resurfaces in dreamlike, childhood memories of his Hassidic Russian Jewish roots. His early Cubism in Paris gave way to a narrative style in his large Old Testament paintings in which Ultramarine dominates. It is the colour of wisdom and of the cosmos and is also radiant in his stained-glass windows. Blue came to represent the fragility of human love, and thus it unified his last works which were windows made as a gesture towards German Jewish reconciliation

Hilary Guise

Lectures in the main museums in London for American universities and has toured widely in the USA and lectured for the Smithsonian Institution. She has also worked for the Art Fund, taught courses for Cambridge University, has been a guest speaker on cruises. Trained as a painter at Central St Martin’s, she exhibits abroad, most recently in Berlin and France. Hilary lives in London and in Provence.

A fully illustrated talk with in excess of 60 images exploring the relationship between the making of an image and the way in which it is perceived by the viewer. Further discussion around the eye and the brain being an extraordinary double act made up of visual references and intellectual interpretation.

Charlie Waite One of the world's leading landscape photographers, he has lectured for 25 years throughout the UK, Europe and the US. Has held numerous one-man exhibitions in London, exhibited twice in Tokyo, and was awarded the prestigious honorary Fellowship of the British Institute of Professional Photographers, as well as a Direct Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society. In 2007, he launched LPOTY - UK Landscape Photographer of the Year. Amongst many publications, the most recent includes Landscape; the Story of 50 Photographs (2005), and Arc & Line (2011). He was invited by the Royal Academy to exhibit in 2015's summer exhibition.

William Morris was a man of prodigious energy, talent, and versatility. He was a designer, a craftsman, a writer, a lecturer, a conservationist and a revolutionary socialist. He is bestknown today for his wallpapers and textiles but he also designed embroideries, stained glass, mural decoration, books and tapestries. And his firm, Morris & Co., was the foremost decorating company of his day. His over-arching passions were a love of art and making, and a hatred for what he perceived as the greed and inequality that characterised contemporary society. This lecture reviews Morris’s life, ideas and achievements, exploring not only the highlights of his career but also his relationships with his wife Jane, and other artists and designers with whom he worked, and the reasons why he is still so important and influential today.

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.

The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world. We will examine the reasons behind his incredible rise, looking at some of his famous stunts and discuss what his influence has been on the art market today and look at what his legacy, if any, might be.

Pepe Martinez I qualified as a London blue badge tourist guide in 2011, graduating at the top of my class. Since qualifying as a guide I have specialised in the graffiti and street art of East London. Prior to becoming a London blue badge, I was a tour manager for 15 years, travelling extensively, all over the world.

Diamonds have long fascinated us with their beauty – they literally outshine the other gemstones with their unique qualities of reflection and brilliance. This lecture examines the reasons why and how they do this by looking at the use of the diamond in its different cuts and settings throughout the ages. Diamonds have traditionally been sourced in India, Brazil and South Africa, they are now being mined in widespread areas such as Australia, Russia and Canada. They have been worn by Maharajah’s, Renaissance King’s and Queen’s and actresses on the red carpet. Diamonds are a fascinating and unique stone with a story to match.

Patricia Law is a Fellow of the Gemmological Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Registered Valuers. Having spent twenty-five years working for International Auction Houses preparing jewellery sales for London, Geneva & New York, she established her own valuation business in 2015. Currently based in the UK she values jewellery providing legal documents for such purposes as Insurance, Inheritance Tax and Open Market. Patricia enjoys a role in teaching gemmology and jewellery history to newly qualified brokers within the insurance industry as well as lecturing to private associations and charitable groups.

Cartoons are great and so are cartoonists. Become part of this elite branch of the arts at one of my exclusive cartoon workshops. Learn how to transform a flat piece of paper into a riot of laughs, an explosion of adventure, a cacophony of sound and a gobsmack of disbelief. All shot through with the real emotion that comes from drawing eyebrows in just the right position. Discover the many uses of the humble asterisk, how to do a caricature, when to use a speech bubble and what the Eskimo brothers said to each other in my favourite joke ever. Have pen, will travel! The workshop has already been performed in schools throughout the UK, at the Edinburgh festival and at team building events in Dublin, Sicily, Rome, Basel and Budapest.

Harry Venning I graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth with a BA in history, formed a touring theatre company bringing new plays to audiences in rural Wales, was then employed for a year as an actor/writer with the Channel Theatre Company in Ramsgate, Kent, before giving up acting and becoming a cartoonist instead.

I have had work published in the UK and abroad, including the strip Clare in the Community which has been a weekly feature in The Guardian since 1996. In 2016 I was awarded Strip Cartoonist of the Year by the UK Cartoon Trust. I am also a Sony Award winning writer of radio comedy, including the shows Coach Karen’s Half Time Team Talk and Clare in the Community starring Sally Phillips, currently recording its twelfth series.

For the last ten years I have been performing my cartoon workshop Release Your Inner Cartoonist in its many different guises, to audiences as diverse as schoolchildren, business executives and festival goers.

I can’t draw hands or horses.

(Note this is a hybrid lecture held both at the Village Hall, Sarratt and as a Zoom Lecture. Log on details will be emailed to members before the event)

This is the keystone lecture of the Poster Series relating the technical innovation combined with creative genius and remarkable craftsmanship that enabled the Poster to become the world’s first effective method of mass communication. From ‘Les Chats’ by Edouard Manet to ‘Saxoleine’ by Jules Cheret and ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Divan Japonais’ by Toulouse-Lautrec, you’ll see inspirational work by generations of superb artists who made the poster great: magnificent Mucha, socially-conscious Steinlen, and many more. Learn how an effective poster is designed and how it plays on the mind; and why most posters today go unnoticed

Charles Harris 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 major brands including British Airways, Nestlé, Sony, General Motors and Shell. His travel writing and photography has appeared in various airline magazines as well as Time. He has also written and produced several hundred TV and Radio commercials and corporate video programmes. A member of The Arts Society Winchester.

Paying tribute to the lives and work of the great songwriters who defined popular music during the first half of the last century – and the unforgettable legacy they left behind for us all. Enjoy their beautiful songs, as fresh and inspiring today as when they were first written, and learn about these musical geniuses who cast their spell on us all.

Pip Burley began his musical career playing Rock'n'Roll in the 60s and 70s as well as working with the big bands - including Sydney Lipton, Joe Loss and Ken Mackintosh. He went on to compose and record music for commercials, theatre, film and television and, in 1990, won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Television Theme music for The Darling Buds of May - a TV series he also produced (discovering Catherine Zeta-Jones in the process). Other television successes include the multiaward winning series A Touch of Frost, the most watched police series of all time, created for and starring David Jason. As a sideline he also managed to start and run an advertising agency! Since then Pip has been lecturing widely about his career based on his book Briefest Encounters and, more recently, has devised a series of six talks entitled 'The Golden Age of Song', featuring the lives and music of six great composers of popular song, lavishly illustrated with slides, videos and occasional demonstrations on the piano. These lectures have been presented both ashore and on cruise ships.

From the wax seal to the microchip, man has exploited the skill of the artist and artisan in his attempt to manufacture a forgery-proof document. Taking you through three centuries of passport design, this lecture explains the overt and uncovers the covert to illustrate the defences built in to the passport and the tricks the forger uses to defeat them. You will never see your passport in the same light again! 

Martin Lloyd as 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.

PLEASE NOTE - this will take place at Sarratt Village Hall and will NOT be online 

Alexandra Epps - John Singer Sargent: Power of the Portrait

From the scandal of the painting of Madame X to the trials, tribulations and triumph of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, discover the rise, the fall and rise again of John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of his age - the age of elegance. Discover an artist who devoted his entire life to the creation of beauty.

Official Guide and Lecturer at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Guildhall Art Gallery. Pallant House Gallery Lecturer. Qualified Guide to the City of London, offering lectures and walks about many aspects of the arts for societies, corporations and private individuals. Member of the City of London Guide Lecturers Association. Co-author of the book Lord Mayor's Portraits 1983-2014 (2015). Alexandra’s background is in design having practised as a graphic designer running her own design consultancy for many years. BA Saint Martins School of Art, MA London College of Printing.

April   12th

Andrew Davies - Charles Dickens: His Life, Times and Work

Novelist, magazine editor, actor, performer, philanthropist, business man, brilliant letter-writer, tireless walker, father of 10 children, great hater and good friend, nearly MP for Reading - and the owner of a 'love nest' in Slough - Charles Dickens was a man of inexhaustible talents and interests.

We will explore the tempestuous life and times of this volcanic genius, truly a 'once in a lifetime' figure.

Extra-Mural Tutor for London, Essex and The Open University; Author of 9 books, including The East End Nobody Knows; frequent contributor to radio and television; has lectured all over the world; organises walks to complement his lectures.

March 8th 

Timothy Walker – Paradise Lost and Restored: 400 years of Garden Design in Oxfordshire

The history of English garden design can be told in different ways, but rarely can it be told "through the lens" of one garden.  The Oxford Botanic Garden was founded at the beginning of the 17th century and its design bears all the hallmarks of 17th century design.  Through the next 400 years successive Horti Praefecti (head gardeners) changed the features reflecting the art of gardening, and very occasionally the science of botany.   This talk looks at how the art of gardening has changed, or perhaps has not, in four centuries in Oxfordshire and how the Oxford Botanic Garden now reflects garden design at the beginning of the 21st century.  The title of the talk refers to the fact that one of the motivations for garden design remains the desire to create paradise on Earth.  The meaning of paradise may now be less rooted in the Biblical account of the rise and fall of man, but there is still a clear vision of what we would like the world to resemble.

 Since 1986 I have given 1,500 public lectures. This was originally part of my work as director of the Oxford University Botanic Garden from 1988 to 2014. Botanic gardens are often described as living museums, and garden curators lecture about them in the same way as museum curators talk about their collections. Since 2014 I have been a college lecturer and tutor at Somerville College Oxford. Gardens are often thought of a place where science and art meet on equal terms. My lectures investigate this relationship.

February 8th 

Toby Faber - The Genius of Antonio Stradivari

Two hundred and fifty years after Antonio Stradivari’s death, his violins and cellos remain the most highly prized instruments in the world. Loved by great musicians and capable of fetching fabulous sums when sold, their tone and beauty are legendary. Every subsequent violin-maker has tried to match them. Not one has succeeded. How can that be? This lecture explores that central mystery by following some of Stradivari’s instruments from his workshop to the present day. It is a story that travels from the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, and from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings. Toby Faber’s book Stradivarius: Five violins, one cello and a genius, was described in The New York Times as ‘more enthralling, earthy and illuminating than any fiction could be.’ The lecture is illustrated with pictures of violins and of key individuals and locations, as well as with some short musical recordings. 

Toby is an experienced lecturer and public speaker who has been accredited by The Arts Society since 2012. His career began with Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has been through investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board. He is also non-executive Chairman of its sister company, Faber Music and a director of Liverpool University Press.

Toby has written three narrative histories: Stradivarius – Five Violins, One Cello and a Genius; Faberge’s Eggs; and Faber & Faber – The Untold Story, as well as a novel, Close to the Edge. Of these, only the obvious one is published by the family firm.

January 11th 

Gavin Plumley - A Hungarian Metropolis: Art and Culture in Budapest

Budapest was formed in 1873 by the unification of Buda and Pest, situated on either side of the River Danube. The new capital was the focus of resurgent Hungarian nationalism, which found expression through lavish new buildings, the continent’s first underground railway system and myriad paintings featuring specifically Hungarian subjects and locales. Meanwhile, in the countryside, composers Bartók and Kodály began to collect the music of their compatriots. Placing these endeavours in a historical context, this talk explores how the Hungarians came to understand national identity through cultural means. 

A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for history of art societies and The Art Fund. 

December 14th

Rupert Willoughby The Threads of the History: The World of Bayeux Tapestry

Commissioned by the Bishop of Bayeux who fought at Hastings, executed by skilled English craftsmen, the Bayeux Tapestry is the last survivor of a vanished art form. Rupert Willoughby presents a lively introduction to the tapestry – so much more than the story of Hastings – in which he unravels some of its mysteries, places it in the context of its age and firmly establishes it as a landmark in the history of Western art. With its lively illustrations of languid, party-loving, moustachioed Englishmen, of the cavalcades of noble huntsmen and of the snorting Norman cavalry poised to charge into battle, the Tapestry is the next best thing to a moving picture from the time. 

Rupert Willoughby is an historian and Classicist, a poet, a father and a wild swimmer with a passion for castles, lakes and uncovering the layers of the past. A graduate with First Class Honours in History from the University of London (where he immersed himself in the ‘Byzantine’, or medieval Greek Empire), he is the author of the best-selling Life in Medieval England for Pitkin, and of a series of popular histories of places, including Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village, and the whimsical, yet scholarly Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture. Rupert also contributes regular obituaries to The Daily Telegraph. Accredited to the Arts Society since 2011, he is an experienced lecturer, who is known for his light, humorous touch, his love of narrative and his vivid evocations of the past. Rupert’s forefathers were Vikings and his foremothers were Tatars.

November 9th 

Adam Busiakiewicz – The Queen of Instruments: The Lute within Old Master Paintings

The lute holds a special place in the history of art: painters of the Italian Renaissance depicted golden-haired angels plucking its delicate strings, evoking celestial harmony; in the sixteenth century, during the rise of humanism, the lute was a becoming pastime of educated courtiers, as depicted by the likes of Holbein and Titian; throughout the seventeenth century, the instrument continued to play a key role in emphasising the intimate, debauched and transient pleasures of interior scenes by Jan Steen and portraits by Frans Hals. This lecture looks at the lute, and other musical instruments, as devices to express various aspects of the human character throughout the ages.

Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, Lecturer and Lutenist. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in History at University College London in 2010 he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. He is currently finishing his doctorate in Art History at the University of Warwick for which he received a full scholarship. 

Adam is a Lecturer / Educator at the National Gallery and Guide Lecturer at the Wallace Collection, where he has organised several events and courses on Music & Art as well as other subjects. He has also given talks and performances at the Royal Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. 

Alongside his publications and scholarly articles, Adam is the co-editor of arthistorynews.com, one of the internet’s most popular art history blogs.

October 12th 

Caroline Knight – Grinling Gibbons: Carver to the King

Gibbons (1648-1721) came to England from the Netherlands, and developed a virtuoso style of carving, well suited to the Baroque interiors of late 17th century England. His limewood carvings with their festoons of fruit, flowers, fish and game embellished Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, and Kensington Palace, as well as country houses such as Petworth and Belton. His work was commissioned for public buildings and churches, and he also worked in marble, making church monuments. Two superb wood carvings are in the Victoria & Albert Museum: his Lace Cravat and the relief panel of The Stoning of Stephen

Architectural historian, trained at the Courtauld and specialising in 16th to 18th century English and Scottish architecture. Lecturer at the V&A on year courses and short courses, and lecturer for the Art Fund, and for the Royal Oak Foundation in the US. Researched and wrote a history of Kensington Palace. Contributed to a book on the Cecil family, and has written several articles on architectural and social history and the history of travel. Wrote London's Country Houses (2009). Contributed a chapter to a history of the Royal Academy (Yale, forthcoming).

September 14th

Gail Turner – Painter of  Sunlight: Joaquin Sorrolla

Sorolla (1863-1923) was a highly successful artist of international renown in his lifetime, but outside Spain and the United States he is largely forgotten today. Some of his best work is on show in the house and studio he built for himself in Madrid – one of the city’s ‘hidden secrets’. While Sorolla admired the great Spanish traditions of Velázquez and Goya, his delightful paintings of women and children at the seaside, landscapes and the great series depicting the regions of Spain, are full of sunlight and optimism.

Historian, art historian, and painter. Lecturer for The Arts Society since 1992, lectures regularly for the V&A High Renaissance and Baroque course, Art Pursuits, and the Art Fund. Has taught on Cambridge University International Summer Schools, the Courtauld Institute Summer Courses, Inscape, Gainsborough’s House and other arts organisations. She has led tours to Spain for The Arts Society and other tour companies. Lectured in the Prado and Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid 1983-5, was Deputy Curator of Keats Shelley Memorial House, Rome 1978-80, manager of the Courtauld Slide Scheme 1977, and a Christie’s consultant (Ill. MSS) 1976. Gail has recently given a course at the National Gallery, on Sorolla. In 2015 Gail was awarded the Encomienda de Isabel la Catolica (the equivalent of the CBE) by the King of Spain for promoting Spanish culture among British audiences, and was recently elected President of The Arts Society Colchester.

 13th July 2021 Fresh Encounters: Contemporary Sculpture and the Public Space

The role of sculpture has changed substantially in recent times. Here, I consider how the concept of monument and memorial, familiar since classical antiquity, shifts towards other concerns.  I discuss how sculpture now plays a vitally important role in terms of site in the city; how the sculpture park comes into being in Britain in the mid-20th century, thanks to the efforts of Sir Henry Moore, and grows exponentially across the globe; how water has attracted artists to make exceptional works in or alongside it; and not least, how sculpture has become a challenging and exciting space for social encounter.  Among others, I include Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Richard Long, Claes Oldenburg, Cornelia Parker and Rachel Whiteread - artists who also feature in my book, Sculpture Now. 

Anna Moszynska

I am a London-based lecturer and writer specialising in contemporary art. During the 1990s, I oversaw the development of the first British Master’s Degree in the subject at Sotheby’s Institute. I have also taught at institutions including The City Lit, the Royal Academy and Tate London, as well as lecturing in cities ranging from Dubai to New York. I currently teach at academic institutions in London and Paris and run my own courses. My books include Abstract Art (1990, enlarged ed. 2020) and Sculpture Now (2013), both published by Thames & Hudson. I enjoy introducing art to audiences in a lively and approachable way to make modern and contemporary art both accessible and interesting.

8th  June:  The Magnificent Maya: Fact and Fantasy

 The major achievements of the Maya and common misunderstandings

The Maya created one of the most sophisticated civilizations in the ancient world.  Their achievements in the arts and sciences, along with their complex social, political and economic systems, make them one of the most remarkable culture groups in the Precolumbian Americas. These people brought us an intricate calendar system, complex hieroglyphic writing, some of the largest pyramids in the world, a form of ballgame that was like no other and most importantly chocolate! This lecture will discuss the major achievements of the Maya as well as pointing out the common misunderstandings we have of this remarkable civilization.

Diane Davies

Dr Diane Davies is a Maya archaeologist and honorary research associate of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. She completed her PhD at Tulane University, New Orleans. Little is known about the Maya in the UK and so aside from carrying out research in Guatemala and teaching, Diane is an educational consultant for schools giving workshops to both teachers and children on the Maya. She has created award-winning resources, organizes trips to the Maya area and is also the Chair of Chok Education, a charity supporting the education of Maya children. Diane organises conferences on the Maya as well as lecturing to a variety of organisations, including the City Literary Institute, London and the Historical Association.

11th May:  Canal History and Heritage

Canals as a 'poor man's art gallery'

This lecture provides a colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular. Features range from sweeping aqueducts to tiny bollards; from colourful historic narrowboats to 'Roses and Castles' artwork; from grand World Heritage Sites to quirky listed buildings. A well-known architectural historian once described our canals as a 'poor man's art gallery'.  

Roger Butler

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. He has also acted as a consultant to bodies such as Waterways Ireland, Natural England and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

He regularly contributes to waterway and heritage magazines and writes and provides images for a range of countryside and outdoor titles. Roger is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. He lives near Stratford upon Avon and lectures to groups such as the National Trust, RSPB, U3A, history societies, etc across the Midlands and further afield.

13th April: The Treasures of the Fan Museum: An Introduction to the World’s first Fan Museum and its Extraordinary Collections.

An introduction to the world’s first fan museum and its extraordinary collections.

Occupying a pair of early Georgian townhouses nestled in historic Greenwich, the story of how The Fan Museum came to fruition is interwoven with the fascinating biography of its founder, whose personal collection forms the basis of the Museum’s holdings. From an especially rare Elizabethan-period embroidered folding fan to contemporary examples decorated by street artists, discover some of the key objects within the Museum’s collection of 5,000+ fans dating from the tenth century to the present day.

Jacob Moss

Having obtained a postgraduate degree in Fashion Curation from London College of Fashion in 2010, Jacob took up a position at The Fan Museum, Greenwich, the UK’s only Museum dedicated to the history of fans and craft of fan making. As the Museum’s Curator, he is responsible for co-organising its temporary exhibition programme and overseeing loans from the Museum’s extraordinary collections to organisations such as the Palace of Versailles and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During 2020 Jacob will curate an exhibition of The Fan Museum’s treasures at SCAD FASH, Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently working with the National Trust on a landmark exhibition to be staged at The Fan Museum in 2021, the year in which it celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.

9th March:  Art Behind Bars: The Role of the Arts in the Cycle of Crime, Prison and Re-offending.

The talk casts light onto areas of our society where the Arts are absolutely vital, hugely relevant and potentially life-changing

Years of working as an artist within the Criminal Justice System in England and Germany have given Angela unique insights into the destructive and costly cycle of crime, prisons and re-offending. In this thought-provoking talk she 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.

This talk is moving, informative and very original. Interspersed with personal accounts of humorous or slightly horrifying situations, these talks have kept audiences across the country engrossed. 

Angela Findlay

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 Trust, gave her many insights into the huge impact the arts can have in terms of rehabilitation. Her ideas were novel but effective and in 2016 she was invited to the Ministry of Justice to present the case for the arts to be included in their new rehabilitation and education policies. Since Brexit, the direction of prison policy has reversed. In the past decade Angela’s Anglo-German roots led her to research Germany’s largely unknown post-WWII process of remembrance. So completely different to the British one, the arts once again play a huge and vital role, this time in expressing the apology that underlies the country’s unique culture of counter memorials.  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. 

9th February:  Habitat Catalogued

A rare insider’s view of how Terence Conran’s vision and determination changed the way we lived then and now. 

In 1964 Terence Conran opened the first Habitat shop in London’s Chelsea. Habitat’s clarion call to colour and contemporary design saw off the lingering shades of post war austerity and revolutionized British Retailing. From the beginning Conran spread the word of this new lifestyle look though twice yearly Habitat catalogues: copies are now collected and traded by a new generation of interior decorators and designers. In the early 70s, then a design journalist, I worked for Terence Conran copy writing and editing the Habitat Catalogue. Crazy, demanding and inspiring times, full of tension and humour, working with some of the best designers, art directors and photographers in the UK. This is a rare insider’s view of how Terence Conran’s vision and determination changed the way we lived then, and the way we live now. 

Caroline Mac Donald-Haig

A Design and Decorative Arts journalist and author. A London Blue Badge Guide, specialising in themed tours for American Museums and Art Galleries. Her specialist subjects include the history of glass and London's history, galleries, museums and architecture. She is a freelance lecturer for Adult Education Groups.

12th January:  Who was Bruegel?: Discovering the Master Through his Sons

This lecture will introduce Bruegel and consider the ways in which his revolutionary images were transmuted and popularised after his death in the works of his two sons

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569) was an undisputed master; his small body of surviving paintings demonstrating his supreme ability to depict the daily life of the peasants with both humour and humility. This lecture will introduce Bruegel as a distinctive artistic voice in the sixteenth century, and consider the ways in which his revolutionary images were transmuted and popularised after his death in the works of his two sons, Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564/5-1638) and Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625). Examples are drawn from the exhibition Bruegel: Defining a Dynasty (2017, Holburne Museum, Bath) which I co-curated.

Amy Orrock

Amy Orrock is a Curator at Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park where she is currently curating the exhibition  Cranach: Innovation and Inspiration (spring 2020). Amy completed her BA Hons at University College London and received her PhD from the University of Edinburgh with a dissertation on Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting Children’s Games. She has published and lectured widely on Northern European art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and in 2017 co-curated the exhibition Bruegel: Defining a Dynasty at the Holburne Museum in Bath.

 1st December: The Twelve Days of Christmas

In this lecture-recital Peter explores the wealth of Christmas music, traditions and curious legends that are connected with them.

The celebration of the period following Christmas can be traced back several millennia, and to at least two cultures – neither of them Christian. One of them is the southern Roman feast of Kalends on the 1st January, and the other, the northern Nordic festivals of Yuletide surrounding the celebrations of the Winter solstice. However, it was Pope Julius I who decided to subvert the gluttony, drunkenness and sun worship to Christian purpose, and by choosing the 25th December to celebrate the birth of Christ, he neatly bridged these cultures and paved the way for future Christmas festivities. And so it is that many of our modern Christmas customs and carols bear references to traditions that have nothing to do with the birth of Christ. Nonetheless, each year, Christ’s birthday on 25th December signifies the beginning of twelve festive days of celebrations and music making. In this lecture-recital Peter Medhurst explores the wealth of Christmas music, traditions and curious legends that are connected with them. Music performed includes: Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, The Coventry Carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Wassail Song, The Three Kings – Cornelius. 

Peter Medhurst

Peter appears in the UK and abroad as 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.

10th November: Turner vs Contable The Great British Paint Off

The story of the epic rivalry between the two Giants of British Art

Nicola Moorby: An independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

The life of Picasso through the lens of his friendships and loves

 Squiggles, doodles, sketches, caricatures, drawings and ravishing portraits. This lecture will consider the life of Picasso through the lens of his friendships and loves, charting his varied and extensive career through a variety of media. It will discuss how he formed lifelong friendships with Spanish and French men and women and represented them in ways which allow us to peep into these intimacies. Often comic, particularly with male friends, he captured the very essence of the sitter without flattery or idealisation.

Jacqueline Cockburn

  ‘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 is currently publishing a book called A Taste of Art.

Julia Musgrave: Caravaggio: Murderer or Genius?

Caravaggio’s paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more, from Orazio Gentileschi to Peter Paul Rubens, Gerard van Honthorst and Rembrandt.

Each absorbed a different aspect of his work. His style spread across Europe and gave rise to the international movement known as ‘Caravaggism’. Yet for many, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is famed as much for his art as for his criminal record. Was it the violence of his times or his own violent spirit that inspired the dramatic lighting and intense naturalism of his work? This lecture follows the dramatic incidents of the artist’s life and looks at why and how his influence spread so far.

Julia Musgrave: Julia Musgrave got her first degree in Chemical Engineering and went on to become a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and IT project manager. In 2008 she decided that life was too short for just one career and decided to become an art historian.

She now has a Graduate working towards her Ph.D. at the University of York the involvement of Roger Fry and the Bloomsbury Group in the development of the Contemporary Art Society from 1910 to Diploma in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. She is currently 1937. She is a lecturer in Art History at the City Literary Institute (City Lit).

10th March 2020

Tim Redmond; A Tour of Big Ben

Big Ben is one of the most iconic buildings in the world – it identifies the UK and democracy in the Western world. But there is a lot more to this tower than the beautiful external gothic architecture; and Tim will prove this to you. Using stunning images, he will take you on a virtual tour of the interior, saving you the effort of climbing 334 spiral stairs. He will explain the historical background and discuss the friction between the often controversial personalities involved in the building and designing of the tower. Tim will then take you behind those magnificent clock faces; show and explain the workings of the enormous clock mechanism; before finally taking you into the belfry and presenting before you – Big Ben, the most famous bell in the world!  After all that excitement Tim will ensure you safely descend the stairs ready for your well-earned cup of tea!

Tim Redmond: Tim spent his earlier career as a detective in the Metropolitan Police, working on murder, kidnap and anti-corruption investigations as well as in covert criminal intelligence. He finally retired as a Detective Superintendent and as the first police adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. During his career Tim often gave presentations to large audiences, either for operational briefings or at conferences.

On retirement Tim decided on a complete change of direction, becoming a City of London tour guide and working for a London tour operator, specialising in tours around the UK. He then used the knowledge gained to become a guide within the Palace of Westminster, specialising in tours of Big Ben. His many guests on tours of the clock tower have included people such as Michelle Obama, Bill Gates and members of both houses of parliament. He also appeared in UK and overseas documentaries of the tower. Big Ben is now closed for a lengthy refit but Tim still guides people on tours around parliament and continues to talk on many aspects of history and stories relating to parliament.

11th February 2020

Susan Kay Williams: Imperial Purple to Denim Blue: The Colourful History of Textiles

This lecture explores the fascinating story of how dyes were discovered, made and used, focusing on some of the social implications of colour at different times in history. The lecture takes us from pre-historic man to the middle of the 19th century and geographically from Europe to the Middle East, India, Turkey, north America, Mexico and Peru. It is a story of exploration, invention, war, the church, money, power and sex.

Susan Kay-Williams: Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes. Susan has a longstanding interest in textiles, especially colour, and published her first book, The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury) in 2013. She has extensive lecturing experience and has been invited to lecture in the USA, Canada, China, Japan and Taiwan as well as for the V&A and across the UK. 

14th January 2020

Gavin Plumley: The Magic of Prague: Czech Art and Culture

As part of the Habsburg Empire, Prague was beloved of kings and princes. During the 19th century, however, the Czechs sought to reclaim the city for their own. Looking back at ancient mythology, they imagined a new future by means of art, architecture, literature and music. From Romanticism to cubism, the Czechs re-conceived various artistic movements in specifically patriotic ways. Looking at painter and decorative artist Alfons Mucha, artist Karel Svoboda and composers Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák, this talk shows how the Czechs created a capital that was fit for a new independent nation.

Gavin Plumley: A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for history of art societies and The Art Fund. 

3rd December 2019

Caroline Holmes: Messenger or Missile: Angels with glad tidings, doom, gloom or perdition

Angels, familiar and fantastic, playing major and minor roles, can be seen in centuries of paintings, engravings, illustrations and sculptures. Archangel Gabriel and the Annunciation or Archangel Michael fighting the good fight. Angelic references also abound in Islamic and Jewish traditions, the latter beautifully evoked in Chagall’s Bible Message. Time to contrast the beauty and light of cherubims and seraphims with the dark, fiery abyss of Satan and contemplate the Angel of the North.

Caroline Holmes: Has lectured in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe and Japan, and in 2017 returns to The Arts Society in New Zealand. Lectures for the University of Cambridge ICE (Course Director for International Summer Programme), the Royal Horticultural Society, museums, travel companies and Clio Voyages for francophones. Consultant designer specializing in evoking historic, artistic and symbolic references. Author of 11 books including Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s water lilies; Impressionists in their Gardens; Follies of Europe: Architectural Extravaganzas; Monet at Giverny and Icons of Garden Design. Theatre productions: How does your garden grow Mr. Shakespeare and Impressionists in their Gardens: living light and colour. Presenter and contributor on television and BBC Radio 4. 2017 recipient of the Herb Society of America ‘Elizabeth Crisp Rea Award’

12th November 2019

Nicola Moorby: Murder and Modernism: Walter Richard Sickert and the Camden Town Group

The Camden Town Group was an innovative circle of painters united by the desire to paint works of a modern character. They combined the techniques and visions of European Post-Impressionism with the changing modernity of Edwardian London. This lecture introduces the core members of the group, led by Walter Richard Sickert, and tells the story of their brief but significant association. We will examine the key themes addressed within their work: urban life, popular entertainment and the lower social classes, as well as Sickert’s infamous series of paintings inspired by the notorious Camden Town murder. 

Nicola Moorby: An independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

8th October 2019

Susie Harries: The Art of the Joke

Artists have always used jokes to make serious statements – about themselves, about the world, about the nature of art. This lecture looks at artists’ jokes through the ages, from medieval monks doodling graffiti in the margins of manuscripts to Banksy turning supermarket walls into social satire. Caravaggio put his own face on Goliath's severed head as an apology for a racy lifestyle, Michelangelo hid a self-portrait on the hide of St Bartholomew on the Sistine ceiling to express the agony of creation. When Van Gogh attacked formal art education and Salvador Dali got at Picasso, they did it in paint. Trompe l'oeil, parody, visual puns, the moustache on the Mona Lisa - all in fun, all deadly serious: artists' jokes tell you a lot once you know.

Susie Harries: A writer, editor and lecturer, specialising in 20th century culture and the arts. Has published eight books

Peter Webb: David Hockney: Art as Biography

David Hockney remains one of the best known and most admired artists in the world. The lecture begins by analysing certain of  Hockney’s paintings of the sixties and demonstrating how in these paintings Hockney made use of coded and ironic references in creating self-portraits and portraits of people important to his personal and fantasy life.

California’s life style, including beaches, swimming pools, modern architecture, and showers, was an eye-opener to a twenty-six year old from the back streets of Bradford.  His paintings concentrated on this exciting new world, using the bright shining colours of acrylic paint.  His Californian pool paintings have become his trade mark, even though they form a tiny part of his output.

The lecture will also discuss Hockney’s work for the theatre, and his later work which has reflected his rich store of intellectual knowledge about the nature of art. It  concludes with his recent landscapes of Yorkshire.

Dr Peter Webb has degrees from Cambridge, an Academic Diploma from the courtauld Institute, and a PhD from the University of East Anglia.  Lectures at art galleries and universities in England, the United States, France, Italy, Canada. Hong Kong and Mexico.  Publications include Sphinx: the Life and Art of Leonor Fini (2009), Death, Desire and the Doll: the Life and Art of Hans Bellmer (2006), Portrait of David Hockney (1991) and The Erotic Arts (1975)

Rimpa Art: Literary inspiration for design – Meri Arichi

With the establishment of military government in Edo (present day Tokyo) in the early 17th century, Japan enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity. Artists in Kyoto flourished with a new vigour to satisfy the demand of the newly affluent townspeople. The Rimpa artists were unique in the way that they were not tied with a teacher-pupil relationship, but they shared the style and the visual language that were inspired by the courtly literary themes from the past. The distinctive style of Rimpa Art, most prominently displayed in the works by Ogata  Korin (1658 – 1716), is characterized by the abstraction of natural elements and the bold asymmetrical composition. The Rimpa style is considered by some as “the most quintessentially Japanese” art. This lecture will analyse the masterpieces by the Rimpa artists, and discuss what makes them “Japanese”.

Dr Meri Arichi studied Art History in London and Florence, and worked at Christie’s in Kings Street, London, from 1989 to 1993. She returned to university to study Asian Art at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 1993, and completed a Post-graduate Diploma in Asian Art (1994), MA (1996) in History of East Asian Art, and PhD (2003) for her thesis on Shinto-Buddhist syncretic Art. She has been teaching History of Japanese Art in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS as a Teaching Fellow since 2007. She has also run courses at the Birkbeck College, V&A, British Museum, and the Courtauld Institute of Art Summer School. She has led tours to Japan and lectured on cruises. 

14th May 2019

Great Lengths- on the art and architecture of historic swimming pools and lidos. – Simon Inglis

Swimming is Britain’s second favourite form of physical recreation (after walking). Almost everyone has memories of visiting their local baths. But whilst not all these memories might be positive – drooping knitted cozzies anyone? – for many swimmers the baths themselves are cherished. Some, particular those built in the late Victorian and Edwardian years, are rich with decorative tilework, stained glass, polished wood and terracotta detailing. This sense of municipal pride continued into the 1920s and ’30s, when Art Deco and Modernist lidos became the urban beaches of their day. In this lecture, Simon highlights the treasures of aquatic art that survive, and considers how the pools of today compare. 

Writer and historian Simon Inglis specialises in the architecture and heritage of sport and recreation. Since 2004 he has edited the Played in Britain series for English Heritage. Although sport and recreation might seem an unlikely subject for The Arts Society, non-sporty types need have no fear. Simon’s themes are architecture, design, heritage and popular culture. After a history degree at University College London, he freelanced for various publications, including the Guardian, Observer and Radio Times. He has curated exhibitions for the Building Centre and the British Council, been a regular contributor to radio and television, has travelled and lectured extensively, and written a number of books. Two were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, while another, on British football grounds, was chosen by journalist Frank Keating as the best sports book of the 20th century. A recent highpoint in his work for English Heritage was the listing of a 1970s skatepark in Essex, a world first that made the 10 o'clock news.

9th April 2019

The Cult of the South Pacific; from Cook to Gaugin –Leslie Primo

This lecture will look at the enduring Western obsession with, and invention of the so called ‘exotic’ or ‘noble savage’ starting with the first discovery of the Island of Tahiti in1767 and charting the impact, through painted images of the island and their people, of the English and European influence in this part of the world through the eyes of not only Captain Cook and those who came before him, but also through the eyes of the artists that accompanied these pioneering voyages and into the 19th and early 20th century with the images of Gauguin. And to this end the lecture will Look at how romanticised depictions of the island and its peoples by artists such as: William Hodges (1744-1797), Benjamin West (1738-1820), John Webber (1751- 1793), and John Cleveley (c.1712-1777), and indeed those of Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903), not only bolstered these notions in the minds of Europeans, but helped to perpetuate and invent the Western notion of the exotic and the myth of paradise. This background of England’s exploration abroad also sees the involvement of Royal academicians such as its first director Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792), Johann Zoffany (1733 – 1810) and the botanist Joseph Banks (1743 – 1820). This lecture eventually comes into the modern period and looks at what happen to these notions of the exotic in the 19th century explored through the Impressionist and Post Impressionist work of this period’s most notable visitor to the island of Tahiti also looking for the exotic and paradise - Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903). His experiences, vibrant evocations of paradise through his paintings, and his discoveries and eventual death in the South Pacific bring this exploration of the exotic to its conclusion.

Leslie Primo 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, and gives lectures and guided tours, plus special talks, at both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Also lectures at the City Literary Institute, and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

12th March 2019

Henry Moore: a revolution in British Sculpture – Jo Walton

Henry Moore is one of the most popular and important British sculptors of the twentieth century, revolutionising the way people thought about the human figure and sculpture, and making beautiful forms that grew out of his love for the landscape. He was often inspired by the art of the past and of other cultures, but he was also at the forefront of modernism – creating a new language of sculpture, full of abstract shapes, holes and magisterial forms. This talk explores his life and works, as well as the vibrant artistic world of mid-twentieth century Britain. 

Jo Walton has combined teaching and lecturing with a career in art bookselling and has been a volunteer guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Now a freelance lecturer for The Arts Society, the Art Fund, and Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery and local art societies.

3rd century mosaic from Zeugma on the Euphrates depicting the god Poseidon

12th February 2019 - Rescuing Zeugma from the Floodwaters of the Euphrates - Louise Schofield

In Spring 2000 an archaeological drama began to unfold on the banks of the Euphrates river in Turkey, close to the border with Syria. A small team of French and Turkish archaeologists found a Roman city on the banks of the river, with mosaics and wall-paintings finer than those of Pompeii. However, just beside them was the almost completed Birecik Dam, and the Turks had begun to flood the great reservoir behind it, taking the city under water. This lecture tells the story of the extraordinary archaeological rescue excavation that then took place (racing the waters for four and a half months as they rose at a rate of two feet a day) and the fabulous treasures recovered, including mosaic floors depicting colourful scenes from myth and legend.

Louise Schofield is an archaeologist who was Curator of Greek Bronze Age and Geometric Antiquities at the British Museum from 1987-2000.  Her  book, The Mycenaeans, was co-published by the Getty Museum and the British Museum in 2007. She now writes, lectures and runs international archaeological projects - previously in south-eastern Turkey, Greece and Albania and currently in Ethiopia.

8th January 2019

Foundations of Fashion: The History of Underwear from the 18th Century to the 20th Century - Kate Strasdin

Covering almost two hundred years of changing silhouettes, this lecture looks at how both men and women have shaped their style through a range of undergarments. Looking at corsets and crinolines; calf pads and sleeve puffs the range of unusual objects is always a surprise!

Kate Strasdin has worked as a curator of textiles and dress for over 20 years and is now the Deputy Curator at the Totnes Fashion and Textile Museum. Is a Senior Lecturer in History and Theory at Falmouth University and a Special Visiting Lecturer for the DeTao Masters Academy in Shanghai. Publications include  An Easy Day for a Lady (Costume Journal, 2008) and  Empire Dressing - the Design and Realisation of Queen Alexandra's Coronation Gown (Journal of Design History, 2012). Kate's book on Queen Alexandra's wardrobe will be published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2018. She is one of the youngest practitioners of the dying art of Honiton lace.

4th December 2018

‘Christmas at Covent Garden: 300 years of Christmas Shows at one of London’s Great Theatres’ - Sarah Lenton

The London Christmas season was invented at Covent Garden. The first theatre on the site was the home of Harlequin and Columbine and 300 years later on Harlequin and Columbine are still dancing in ‘The Nutcracker’.  Most of what we now consider to be quintessential Pantomime – principal boy, fairy tales, transformation scenes and the dame, can be traced back to the operas and ballets put on at Convent Garden during its first 200 years.  

Panto has moved on to the Palladium, but you can see its basic components in the seasonal operas and ballets the royal Opera House puts on every year: Rossini’s ‘Cenerentola’ (Cinderella) for example or Humperdinck’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’, Tchaikovsky’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ or Ashton’s ‘Cinderella’.  The repertoire changes every year and this lecture is updated to include current ROH Christmas offerings.

Sarah Lenton has spent her working life in the theatre, principally at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and English National Opera. She writes programme articles and websites, she gives lectures on the operas and ballets in the rep. and does live opera broadcasts and podcasts for BBC Radios 3 and 4. She has written and directed many shows, including more than 20 for the Royal Opera House Linbury Studio Theatre and for Glyndebourne Touring Opera. She is also a cartoonist.

13th November 2018

The Other Side: Counter Memorials Germany’s Post WWII Culture of Apology and Atonement - Angela Findlay

In these years of World War 2 Anniversaries the subject of this talk is hugely relevant. Relatively little is known in this country about Germany’s complex post-war process of remembrance and the counter memorial movement that started there in the 1980s 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 Germany artists looked to creating art forms that would respond to questions of apology and atonement: How does a nation of former persecutors mourn its victims?

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 for the remembrance of the victims of one of history’s darkest periods.

Angela Findlay is a professional artist, writer and freelance lecturer with a long standing interest in the role the arts and the creative process can play in bringing about changes, on a personal level or within societies. Her long career of teaching art in prisons and Young Offender Institutions in Germany and England, followed by her role as the former Arts Coordinator of the Koestler Trust in London, gave her many insights into the huge impact the arts can have in terms of rehabilitation. She is currently advising the Ministry of Justice and presenting the case for the arts to be included in their new rehabilitation and education policies.

In the past decade Angela’s Anglo-German roots led her to discover and research Germany’s largely unknown but fascinating post-WWII process of remembrance. So completely different to the British one, the arts once again play a huge and vital role in expressing the apology and atonement that underlies the country’s unique culture of memorials and counter memorials.

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. 

The History of the Celtic Harp

 The fascinating story of the history and development of the harp in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany, how it differed from harps and their music in England and the rest of Europe, and how it evolved into a symbol of proud identity with political significance.

Sarah illustrates this lecture with live music and songs on medieval, Regency and modern Celtic-style harps. 

Sarah studied harp and singing at the Royal Academy of Music and while in London played with the major Symphony orchestras, clubs and hotels in the UK, and appeared on prime time Television on several occasions as half of the 'London Harp Duo'. She later worked in the Middle East and on the cruise liner QE2 for many years where she gave lectures and recitals. She performed many times as a recitalist for various organisations and festivals, including South West Arts, and the Buxton, Cheltenham and Great Elms Music Festivals. She has also performed on the Celtic harp playing at Folk Festivals all over the UK.

11th September 2018

Votes for Women! Art and the Suffragettes - Caroline Shenton

This lecture explores the story of the suffragettes through their ‘pro and anti’ portrayals in cartoons, postcards and paintings - as well as their own artistic productions. It will also consider the Suffragettes’ impact on the Houses of Parliament itself and how the Parliamentary Art Collection has responded to criticism that its own collection is too ‘male, pale and stale’. By turns amusing, infuriating, enraging and ultimately inspiring, you will come away from this talk with a new appreciation of how the campaign for equal electoral rights was won by and through art.

Dr Caroline Shenton is an archivist and historian. She was formerly Director of the Parliamentary Archives in London, and before that was a senior archivist at the National Archives. Her book The Day Parliament Burned Down won the Political Book of the Year Award in 2013 and Mary Beard called it ‘microhistory at its absolute best’. Its acclaimed sequel, Mr Barry’s War, about the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster, was a Book of the Year in 2016 for The Daily Telegraph and BBC History Magazine and was described by Lucy Worsley as ‘a real jewel, finely wrought and beautiful’. Caroline was Political Writer in Residence at Gladstone’s Library in 2017, has appeared at the Cheltenham, Hay and Henley literary festivals and on BBC radio and TV.

A gripping hour-by-hour story of the fire through contemporary depictions of the disaster

In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses, the great conflagration destroyed Parliament's glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it.  Based on the acclaimed book of the same name, this talk takes the audience through the gripping hour-by-hour story of the fire through contemporary depictions of the disaster by Turner, William Heath and others.

Caroline Shenton is an archivist, historian and author. She was formerly Director of the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster and a senior archivist at The National Archives at Kew. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society and has appeared on national TV and radio and reviews books for The Spectator. Her first popular history book, The Day Parliament Burned Down, won the Political Book of the Year Award in 2013. 

From delicate, moulded pies, to flamboyant stuffed turkeys with lobster tail wings, we’ll explore the idea of food as the ultimate in ephemeral art.

This lecture looks at the art of cooking purely through its results upon the table. Using paintings, illustrations and photographs, we will go on a culinary journey from the late Tudor period to the mid 20th century, considering both how food presentation was influenced by the wider trends of each era, and how that presentation reflects notions of edibility through time. From delicate, moulded pies, to flamboyant stuffed turkeys with lobster tail wings, we’ll explore the idea of food as the ultimate in ephemeral art. Raw ingredients can be transformed beyond all recognition, their presentation agonised over for weeks with the result presented with an artist’s flourish – but within each dish is the recognition that its destiny is utter destruction. The lecture will be enhanced by the lecturer’s own experience in cooking historic food, and with pictures of her very real creations. 

Annie Gray is one of Britian’s leading food historians. She has degrees from Oxford, York and Liverpool, and remains connected to academia as a research associate at the University of York. She is also a popular lecturer, writer, consultant and broadcaster. She works as a consultant on historic food for organisations such as The National Trust and Historic Royal Palaces, as well as training staff in live interpretation, having run a team of professional costumed interpreters for many years for English Heritage. She also writes both popular and academic content, including articles for BBC Good Food Magazine, and is currently working on her first book. Increasingly in demand from the media, you may well have heard Annie as the resident food historian on BBC Radio 4’s culinary panel show, The Kitchen Cabinet, or you may have seen her on The Great British Bake Off, or in one of her regular slots on James Martin: Home Comforts. She recently advised on, and co-presented, Victorian Bakers, a living history-based documentary for BBC2. 

An examination of their lasting legacy

The Huguenots came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century bringing a wide variety of skills - as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers, horticulturists etc. Names such as Paul de Lamerie, Samuel Courtauld and Jean Tijou spring to mind. In virtually all areas, they were innovators and more advanced than the English who were forced to improve their own skills or go out of business. Although the majority settled in London, others found their way to East Anglia, Macclesfield and Canterbury. This talk examines their lasting legacy. 

Sue Jackson: Originally in art and design publishing (Phaidon and Yale University Press), now lectures for the National Trust, U3A, City Literary Institute. A qualified Blue Badge Guide, she gives guided walks on various themes and has published work on the lost world of the River Fleet

A new assessment of Lawrence’s role and achievements and the relationship between art and reality in the creation of ‘celebrity’

On the basis of sensational new evidence from archaeological fieldwork, Neil will contrast the legend of Lawrence of Arabia with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916 to 1918. 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 a sincere advocate of the Arab national cause?

‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is an early 20th century instance of celebrity culture. Neil will analyse the invention and re-invention of the legend from 1919 onwards through memoirs, photos, films, paintings, biographies, and documentaries.

The historical context for the legend was the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918. The numerous well-preserved archaeological remains of the conflict, mainly along the line of the former Hijaz Railway, have been the subject of a ten-year programme of field research led by Neil and his close colleague Professor Nick Saunders. Neil will summarise the key findings. Some representative archaeological objects will be on display.

He will also offer a new narrative and analysis of the war based on the archaeological evidence, leading to a new assessment both of Lawrence’s role and achievements, and of the relationship between art and reality in the creation of ‘celebrity’.

Neil Faulkner: Educated at King's College Cambridge and Institute of Archaeology UCL. Works as lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster.

Dr Neil Faulkner and Professor Nick Saunders, both of Bristol University, are the joint academic directors of the Great Arab Revolt Project (GARP), which has been exploring the archaeology of the First World War in the deserts of southern Jordan since 1996. They are leading First World War archaeologists, and GARP has been at the forefront of new approaches to the investigation of modern conflict using archaeological and anthropological techniques.

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN LAWRENCE THERE IS AN AREA STUDY DAY ON HIM BY THE SAME LECTURER ON 27 FEBRUARY 2018. LOOK UNDER  THE STUDY  DAYS TAB FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

They have been working on two new books, one on the military history of the war, one on the archaeological discoveries. Neil’s book ‘Lawrence of Arabia’s War: The Arabs, the British and the Remaking of the Middle East in WW1 was published in 2016.

Major TV appearances include Channel 4's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, Channel Five's Boudica Revealed and Sky Atlantic's The British.

How and why the ‘City of Dreams’ became a cultural hotbed around 1900

At the turn of the last century, Vienna was the capital of a vast empire and one of the most exciting artistic laboratories in the world. It produced painters such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, architects like Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffmann, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the composer Gustav Mahler and the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Looking at these and others figures in the context of the society in which they worked, this talk asks how and why the City of Dreams became a cultural hotbed around 1900. 

Gavin Plumley:A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries, including to the National Gallery, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for history of art societies and The Art Fund. 

Sir Edwin Lutyens

Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) is often described as England's greatest architect since Sir Christopher Wren. He was influenced early on by the Arts and Crafts movement and later by what he called the “High Game” of classicism. This lecture will consider Lutyens’s prolific career of over half a century, demonstrating the sheer variety and extent of his work: his country houses, which were beautifully featured from 1897 in the new Country Life magazine; the London Cenotaph and other work for the Imperial War Graves Commission, which brought him international recognition; commercial buildings built during the inter-war years; and perhaps Lutyens’s greatest achievement of all, his contribution to the laying out of New Delhi and his much-admired, palatial Viceroy's House there. 

Alongside all the honours and commissions which were showered upon this pre-eminent architect, we shall also touch on Lutyens’s private life. His passionate and prolific correspondence with his wife Emily, written during his extensive travels away from home, gives a detailed account of his day-to-day work.It also reveals a difficult marriage on account of Emily’s heavy involvement with Theosophy, and yet one which endured throughout Sir Edwin's long and dazzling career.

Anthea Streeter

Studied the Fine and Decorative Arts in London and continued her studies at Harvard University. It was while at Harvard, where there was great enthusiasm for American design, that she became interested herself in 20th century architecture. Since returning from America she has taught on courses in Oxford and London, lectured on the Country House course in Sussex, and for several private groups around the country. Special interest in the architecture and design of 20th century.

How the pantomime became a peculiarly British institution associated with the festive season

This talk examines the complex and fascinating story of how Pantomime developed out of its Greek and Roman roots through to the religious plays of the Middle Ages and the Italian Commedia Dell’Arte. It looks at the characters of the Harlequinade, Grimaldi the 18C clown, Music Hall artistes like Dan Leno and Marie Lloyd and the soap stars of today. They have all contributed to the art of Pantomime and have helped to turn it into a peculiarly British institution associated with the festive season. 

Jane Tapley: Currently Special Events Organiser, Theatre Royal Bath. Interviews visiting actors, writers, directors. Lectures regularly to theatre going societies, NT and history and fine arts groups. West Country Tourist Board Registered Blue Badge Guide/Lecturer. Author and researcher of theatre programme notes on Hamlet, Sheridan's The Rivals and Jane Austen's Emma. Theatrical landlady! Home Economist. Consultant to various TV productions of Jane Austen adaptations on food in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hosts and cooks period meals in her Regency house in Bath for the Jane Austen Festival and other literary groups.

From the beginning of European colonisation in the New World, the western frontier of civilisation held a particular fascination from its natural resources, the opportunities it offered, and the perceived savagery of its native inhabitants. The talk deals, first, with the early visions of the New World before turning, secondly, to the explorations and pioneering of the West in the early and mid nineteenth century from Lewis and Clark to the ‘Forty Niners’. Thirdly, it deals with the discovery of the splendours of the natural world in the Far West in the latter half of the nineteenth century and, fourthly, with the artistic depiction of the fast disappearing ‘Wild West’. Among those artists discussed are John White, George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington, and Charles Russell. 

Ian Beckett: Studied at the universities of Lancaster and London and became a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1982. Has lectured for universities in the UK and US, various historical societies and on cruise ships. Is currently Professor of Military History at the University of Kent. Author of many publications on various aspects of war, including The Oxford History of the British Army (1994), The First World War: The Essential Guide to Sources in the UK National Archives (2003), The Victorians at War (2004),and The Great War (2007).

The artists who made Denmarks’s capital a major cultural-tourist destination

The Scandinavian countries emerged during the 19th century as a powerful force on the European art scene. Initially artists born in the north travelled south to Copenhagen, Dresden and Rome to gain the necessary academic education; many stayed on in their adopted country to fine fame and fortune. Bertel Thorvaldsen, second only to Canova in the field of neoclassical sculpture, was the first Dane to acquire international status. Although Denmark did not produce an ‘Edvard Munch’, Vilhelm Hammershoi is regarded as ‘Denmark’s Vermeer’, his work providing a foil to the naturalism of the Skagen group, an artistic colony that has been likened to our Newlyn School. Peder Severin Kroyer’s iconic works include Summer Evening on the South Beach at Skagen (1893). However, in terms of international standing it was Danish design that came to the fore in the 20th century - Arnold Krog’s Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, Georg Jensen’s silver and Arne Jacobsen’s furniture. Copenhagen’s new museums of modern art at Arken and Louisiana, alongside the Statens Museum for Kunst and the Ny Carlsburg Glypototek have transformed Denmark’s capital into a major cultural-tourist destination. 

Anne Anderson: Graduated in Art History and Archaeology from Leicester University in 1978 and worked as an archaeologist for 8 years, being elected to the Society of Antiquaries in 1997. 1993-2007 senior lecturer on the Fine Arts Valuation degree courses at Southampton Solent University, specialising in the Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Modernism. She is currently Hon. Research Fellow at Exeter University; a Fletcher Jones Fellow of the Huntington Library, CA; a fellow of the Henry Francis Du Pont Winterthur Museum and Library; Cumming Ceramic Research Foundation Fellow (2007 and 2010) and consultant for Lord Frederic Leighton's Studio-House, Kensington. Her 2008 exhibition Ancient Landscapes, Pastoral Visions Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists attracted some 47,000 visitors. She has published books on Roman pottery, Art Deco teapots and Edward Burne-Jones. A NADFAS lecturer since 1993, Anne toured Australia in 2000, 2006, 2009 and has lectured on cruises. Her television credits include BBC's Flog It! Anne is also a tutor at the V&A on the Chardin to Cézanne year course.

Degas viewed in the context of his time and his influence on the budding artists of Impressionism

Although together with Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas (1834-1917) helped to pave the way from traditional art towards Impressionism - the “new painting” of the 1870s and beyond - he preferred to be known as a “realist” himself. Highly intelligent and well educated, Degas was not only a brilliant painter, sculptor and draughtsman with a strong interest in photography, but also an imaginative innovator in subject and technique. In addition, Degas was one of the most discriminating collectors of his day. Despite the popularity of his work, the man Edgar Degas has remained private and elusive. This talk will place Degas’ oeuvre into the context of his time and illuminate his influence on the budding artists of Impressionism. 

Eveline Eaton: BA Hons Courtauld Institute; Diploma:Study Centre for the History of Fine & Decorative Arts. Freelance lecturer in Fine Arts and tour-guide to Berlin, Dresden, Munich. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dresden Trust

In 1924 an exhibition in London of Canadian landscapes moved the critic C. Lewis Hind to celebrate them as ‘the most vital group of paintings produced since the war—indeed, this century’. These landscapes of Canada’s northern lakes and rugged backwoods, painted in a boldly Post-Impressionist style, had been produced over the previous decade by a collective of Toronto-based painters known as the ‘Group of Seven’, whose aim was to forge a national school of landscape painting. This illustrated lecture introduces the painters—including their talismanic colleague Tom Thomson, who died in 1917—and examines how they stormed the conservative bastions of Canadian art to establish themselves on the international stage as practitioners of a distinctive avant-garde.   

Ross King is the author of eight books on Italian, French and Canadian art and history. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he has won both the Governor General’s Award in Canada and the BookSense Non-Fiction Book of the Year in the United States. Born and raised in Canada, he has lived in England since 1992. He has lectured widely in both North America and Europe, and given lectures and guided tours in Florence, Rome, Milan, Paris and Giverny. 

Biography: Peter appears in the UK and abroad as 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.

Synopsis: Though upward of a hundred pleasure gardens are known to have thrived in 18th century London, it was Vauxhall, with its walks, triumphal arches, statues and reputation for scandal, that became the firm favourite with Londoners and visitors alike. For the price of a shilling, patrons could stroll through the groves accompanied by the voices of nature, or – if they wished – could dine to the popular melodies of the day, borne high on the evening air from the famous Orchestra.

Drawing on period newspapers and diaries, digital images, and music in the Vauxhall Gardens’ repertoire, Peter Medhurst gives a vivid impression of cultural life at London’s first ‘South Bank’.

Music performed includes: The Lass with the Delicate Air – M Arne, Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind – TA Arne, Hornpipe for Vauxhall 1740 – GF Handel, Allegro from Organ Concerto in C – TA Arne, Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill – J Hook, and Farewell to Vauxhall – J Lampe.

 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.

Synopsis: This lecture explores the fashion for porcelain figure sculpture in the eighteenth century, beginning as a form of table decoration and subsequently moving to the mantelshelf and china-cabinet; and how these figures reflect eighteenth century society in miniature.During the lecture you will meet characters from the Commedia del’Arte and the English stage, beggars and pedlars, exotic figures from distant lands, lovers and musicians, shepherds and shepherdesses, the gods of Olympus – even the odd monkey!

Biography: Has written two works of narrative history, Stradivarius and Fabergé's Eggs, published by Macmillan in the UK and Random House in the US, and given lectures associated with these two subjects at venues including The Victoria and Albert Museum, Bath Theatre, The Library of Congress and the Huntington Library, as well as a number of literary festivals. His career began with Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has been through investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board. Is also non-executive Chairman of its sister company, Faber Music, a trustee of Yale University Press (UK) and a director of the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society.

Synopsis: 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.

Biography: Studied History of Art & Architecture (BA Hons), and began his career as a porter and Junior Cataloguer at Bonhams, before moving to Sotheby's where he was a Specialist in the Collectors' Department. Became director of an internet company forming and running a ground-breaking deal with eBay Live Auctions. Has since 2002 been the co-author of the internationally published Collectables Price Guide with Judith Miller, initially with DK and now with Miller's. Founded his own publishing company in 2005 and has since published over 12 books on specialist subjects in 20th century design and decorative arts. A Miscellaneous expert on the Antiques Roadshow since 2007, and has co-presented three primetime factual TV series on antiques and collecting for BBC2. Has lectured across the world, including at the V&A in London, and contributed to many newspapers, magazines, radio and TV programmes. A Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and a Freeman of the City of London.

Synopsis: The birth of the influential  and vibrant studio glass movement in the US, the UK and Europe, including the work of Sam Herman, Michael Harris , Richard Golding and contemporary artists.

Biography: Studied the Fine and Decorative Arts in London and continued her studies at Harvard University. It was while at Harvard, where there was great enthusiasm for American design, that she became interested herself in 20th century architecture. Since returning from America she has taught on courses in Oxford and London, lectured on the Country House course in Sussex, and for several private groups around the country. Special interest in the architecture and design of 20th century.

Synopsis: Thomas Heatherwick, has won many awards and honours: in 2004 he was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry; he won a Gold Medal for his British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo in 2010, and in the same year he was designer of the year in Japan. Sir Terence Conran spotted his talent early on and has described Heatherwick as “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times”. Heatherwick’s work received world-wide coverage in 2012 when with his studio team he designed the Olympic Cauldron at the London Olympics. The giant ring of fire rising up from the centre of the Olympic Stadium was a memorable sight, and in the lecture we’ll look at how they achieved that spectacular moment. The Heatherwick Studio has also designed the new red London bus, the first re-design of such an iconic symbol of London for 50 years. A part-model of the bus was featured at the acclaimed exhibition of their work at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2012. Heatherwick’s approach is multi-disciplinary, and with his colleagues he blends architecture, sculpture and engineering to produce elegant results, from large urban spaces to individual items such as his Zip Bag for the French firm Longchamp. His proposed Garden Bridge across the River Thames, due to be completed in 2017, is receiving extensive media coverage. If constructed, it will add another dimension to London’s many parks and gardens. Heatherwick’s innovative approach is now in demand all over the world, and the lecture will highlight the broad range of his designs.

Biography: Studied History at Oxford, and from 1968-82 worked for Nottingham Castle Museum. From 1982-98, Lecturer in Museum Studies and Art History at University of Manchester. Published a book about museum practice with Manchester University Press, 'Exhibiting Authenticity', 

Synopsis: Even in ancient Rome people made complaints about the mid-winter Saturnalia celebrations remarkably like the ones we hear today about our commercialised Christmas. In a light-hearted historical review we discover some wonderful and some gloriously awful Christmas imagery, from Giotto’s painting of the first Christmas crib until Dickens meets Coca Cola amongst the movers and shakers who sometimes seem to have turned Christmas into Kitschmas.

Biography: Has combined teaching and lecturing with a career in art bookselling and has been a volunteer guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Now a freelance lecturer for NADFAS, the Art Fund, and Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery and local art societies.

Synopsis: Ravilious has been described as the greatest English watercolourist of the 20th century and his images of the landscape and of everyday objects attract passionate devotees. This talk looks at his work and that of some of his contemporaries working on the Home Front in the Second World War.