The Soviet Avant Garde contained some of the greatest names of art history. Malevich, Chagall, Kandinsky, and countless others, blazed a trail through Art History for an all-too brief period. With their creativity stunted by the advent of Socialist Realism in 1932, their work disappeared only to re-appear after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, when a flood of newly-discovered works appeared on the Western and domestic markets of which the vast majority, up to 98%, were fake, having neither verifiable provenance nor exhibition history, their authenticity supported by documents from unscrupulous Russian and Western art historians and bogus certificates of chemical expertise.

James Butterwick began collecting and selling Russian and Ukrainian Art in 1985 and has established himself as one of the world’s leading experts. He moved to Moscow in 1994, becoming the only foreign member of the Russian Society of Private Collectors and began forming collections, taking part in museum exhibitions and lecturing on Russian Art. In 2013, James began to travel to Ukraine and his focus changed to Ukrainian Modernism and since this date James has put on three exhibitions of the leading Ukrainian Futurist, Oleksandr Bohomazov (1880-1930) as well as other exhibitions devoted to the subject. James acts as a source of museum quality paintings with flawless provenance of both the Russian, Ukrainian and European School and has access to all the leading experts, private collections and museums in any area of the arts. His private gallery is in London. He speaks fluent Russian.

Shakespeare described actors in Hamlet, writing ‘they are the abstract and brief chronicles of our time’. Actors tell stories that reflect the hopes and anxieties of our times from Oedipus Rex to Jerusalem. Often seen in the past as rogues and vagabonds, the road to respectability was a long and lively journey with some fascinating characters along the way. The start of the 20th century established the actor as an ‘honourable’ profession with the knighthood of Sir Henry Irving and the great generation of actors emerged including John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft and Edith Evans.

Malcolm has lectured on the V&A devising and developing a range of courses on Theatre History and Practice.  He was Workshop and Events manager at the V&A Theatre Museum in Covent Garden for 10 years. He has lectured and led workshops in the past at many drama schools including RADA, The Actors Centre and Rose Bruford College. He has also lectured on theatre for groups visiting the UK from America.   He has chaired panels and post show talks for Ambassadors Theatre Group. While at the V&A Malcolm contributed as a speaker on theatre to many television and radio programmes. He also works with Age Exchange Community Arts since 2000 on many creative arts programmes with older people and intergenerational film and theatre projects.

In childhood and throughout his life, Sargent was described as being 'at home everywhere and nowhere.' Born in Florence to itinerant American parents, he adopted a frenetic pattern of international  travel throughout his life. The range and duration of his travels are truly staggering. Renowned as a society portraitist, in 1909 his dramatic decision to refuse further commissions provided a new found freedom.  Sargent also indulged his fascination for all things 'curious' - a favourite word. Accommodation was variable - ranging from the White House in Washington DC to a tent in the mountain

Mary Alexander trained as an art historian. She worked as Assistant Curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of English Costume, a renowned collection of historic dress. Subsequently she lectured in art history at the University of Leeds, the Open University and Manchester University Extra Mural Department. From 1995 - 2008, she was a Visiting Lecturer at Christie’s Education in London. Mary has also combined academic work with the world of design consultancy. In 1985 she joined Pentagram Design in London, a leading international design consultancy, and coordinated client presentations, publications, conferences and international special events, including the 1986 British Design event in Aspen Colorado. In 1988 she transferred to Pentagram’s New York office with the task of organising an international design conference held at Stanford University involving business, design and education leaders.

In the nineteenth century, photography struggled for recognition as an artistic medium on a par with painting and photography, but through its instantaneity, its potential for mass reproduction and its sheer versatility, it became the dominant visual medium of the early twentieth century. This lecture considers a range of great images produced since 1900, by photographers as diverse as Cartier-Bresson, Weegee, Robert Capa, Garry Winogrand and Edward Burtynsky. The photographs were taken for different purposes, sometimes using different processes, some in colour and others in black and white, but they have one thing in common: they show us the world in novel and unexpected ways. 

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.

This is an introduction to the most important Spanish artists of the 16th and 17th centuries. We look at El Greco’s unique style of painting in Philip II’s Spain. Velázquez’ formal and informal portraits of members of Philip IV’s family and court are studied, as well as the white robed monks and tranquil saints of Zurbarán which contrast with the lively beggar boys and triumphant Virgins of Murillo.

Gail Turner:
Historian, art historian, and painter. She is passionate about Spain and Spanish topics. She has been a long-time lecturer for The Arts Society, and before Covid she taught on courses at the V&A, and for Art Pursuits, the National Gallery and the Art Fund. She has lectured on Cambridge University Summer Schools, the Courtauld Institute Summer Courses, Inscape, and for many arts organisations in Europe. In the past she led tours to Spain for The Arts Society and Martin Randall Travel. Gail lectured in the Prado and Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in the 1980s, and was Deputy Curator of Keats Shelley Memorial House, Rome, before that. She was also once a Christie’s consultant in Illuminated Manuscripts. In 2015 Gail was awarded the Encomienda de Isabel la Católica (the equivalent of the CBE) by the King of Spain for promoting Spanish culture among British audiences. She is President of The Arts Society Colchester. 

Art Deco has the reputation of being the most glamorous and popular style of the 20th century which was prevalent during the 1920s and 1930s. We will review the development of the style within the context of its social and economic environment and look at specific examples of objets d’arts, including silver, jewellery, furniture, ceramics, clocks and architecture.

Over 30 years of lecturing experience to undergraduates, adult groups, and to Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the RA’s Adult Education Department.
Also conducted numerous guided tours, residential trips and focused gallery talks on individual works of art. Specialises in British Domestic Architecture and Modern British Art - with a particular love for the 1920s and 1930s. A permanent career at Royal Academy of Arts for 12 years.

Beginning with the iconic Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, this lecture will examine key UK and European works depicting winter. John Ruskin, the writer and painter, was the first person to regard mountains as beautiful and god-like. German and Scandinavian artists saw the horror, terror and raw, cruel starkness of winter as well as its sublime possibilities. The painting of snow formally challenged such artists as Monet and the American artist, Hassan. In the 20th century, the photography of Stieglitz, Brandt and Devon based James Ravilious captured the movement and temporal nature of winter weather in urban and rural environ

Initially trained as a painter, John was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be artist in residence for the state of Texas. Later in his career John produced and directed several short films and animations. He has taught film, art and pedagogy at the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, University Sains Malaysia, Southwestern College, California, Brunel University, and Kingston University London.

Felicity Herring has a BA in history and economics and an MA in Fine Art Valuation. She is an experienced NADFAS/Arts Society lecturer and has also lectured on cruise ships. She is a member of the Nelson Society and the 1805 Club.

She has given talks to National Trust groups, yacht clubs, British Legion, Rotary, Public School sixth forms and retirement groups such as U3A and Probus.

While many English gardeners have visited China to “collect” plants, few have gone to look for gardens. The Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship Scheme funded this six-week trip to visit gardens and meet gardeners, with a view to building bridges between Chinese & English horticulture. In addition to examining gardens and gardening, this talk looks at some of the wider cultural aspects of a country full of contradictions, and some wonderful food, and the very welcoming people.

Timothy read Botany at Oxford and then trained at Kew Gardens. For many years he was director of the Oxford Botanic Gardens, during which time they won four gold medals at Chelsea. He is currently a tutor in plant biology at Oxford. He also holds the distinction on gaining the highest rating of any lecturer here at Sidmouth over the past decade.

This lecture looks at the highs and lows of British Interior Design 1880-1980

Matthew is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and was curator of Cardiff Castle for almost 30 years.

This lecture looks at the enormous changes in our homes over a hundred year period from Victorian clutter to psychedelic ‘throw away’ furniture of the seventies.  It examines how social upheaval, war and technological advances transformed our houses.  

This lecture will explore the aesthetics, the back-story, and the heated debates surrounding these fascinating and controversial works of ancient Greek art.

 As a Classics Tutor for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, Professor of History of Art for the European Studies Program of Rhodes College and The University of the South, Stephen has spent much of the last 30 years travelling extensively in the world of the Greeks and Romans both physically and intellectually.

 It is now around 200 years since the purchase of the so-called 'Elgin Marbles' from Lord Elgin, by the British Parliament. This lecture will explore the aesthetics, the back-story, and the heated debates surrounding these fascinating and controversial works of ancient Greek art: what do we mean by 'the Elgin Marbles'? How and why were they originally created? Why are they so highly regarded? What happened to them between their creation and Elgin's time? How did he acquire them? Why are they now in the British Museum? And why are there such passionately held views both for and against their repatriation to Greece?

This talk will examine Grayson Perry’s work, his exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions, and the unique character inside the flamboyant frocks.

Best known for his outlandish appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego Claire, Grayson Perry is now a core part of the art establishment, a Turner Prize winner, Royal Academician, popular broadcaster and colourful character. He’s possibly one of the world’s best-known contemporary artists. His works of ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints are highly sought after. Often controversial, he tackles difficult subjects in a poignant yet witty way and holds a mirror up to society. This talk will examine Grayson Perry’s work, his exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions, and the unique character inside the flamboyant frocks.

 A Londoner with a passion for art and architecture, Ian Swankie is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral.  He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours.  He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

This talk 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.

 Angela is a professional artist, writer and freelance lecturer with a long career of teaching art in prisons in Germany and England. Her time ‘behind bars’ and later as Arts Coordinator of the London-based Koestler Arts, gave her many insights into the huge impact the arts can have in terms of rehabilitation. In 2016 she was invited by the Ministry of Justice to support the case for the arts to be included in new, progressive programmes of rehabilitation and education, although sadly this never materialised. 

Years of working as an artist within the Criminal Justice System in England and Germany have given Angela Findlay 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.

The stylistic development of glass produced in Venice from the late 15th century to the late 17th century, seen through actual objects and through paintings

We will look at the early history of glassmaking in Venice, the material itself and the techniques involved in forming and decorating the pieces. We will discuss the early fashion for richly coloured and enamelled glass, the sources of inspiration behind the forms and the decoration, who would have owned the pieces and how they would have been used or displayed. We will also consider the desire for luxury objects in the Renaissance, the new liking in the 16th century for clear glass or cristallo and the fashion for fine glass drinking vessels which followed on from this. Finally, we will examine the spread of this fashion throughout Europe, the resulting trade and the gradual spread of glassmaking skills to other parts of Europe.

Jane Gardiner trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. She was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. She has lectured for a wide variety of institutions.

Colour, line, and a new approach to space and the picture plane are just some of the influences Japanese art had on painting in the latter half of the 19th century.

The influx of Japanese prints into Europe coincided with the industrialisation of art materials. New and often more intense colours were increasingly available at affordable prices. They came in tubes, which made painting outdoors easier as well as changing age-old studio practices. Printmakers from Japan took every day contemporary life as their subjects which influenced European artists to do the same.  We will look at many Japanese prints and tease out the influences on the principal Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters.

Oliver Gosling is a painter, trained at Royal College of Art, who exhibits internationally and has work in collections around the world.  He lived and exhibited in Japan for two years and China for eight years where he continues to be represented by two galleries.  He has lectured widely in China, Hong Kong and the UK on his own paintings and on the influences of western art on eastern art and vice versa.

A look at some of opera's greatest rivalries, spats and tiffs, ranging from the throw-away remark to full in-public fighting.

They certainly make for a spicy history. Which individual or voice category might be the worst example? Are they an intrinsic part of opera? Whose fault are they? We will hear and see examples of great singers from the past to the present.

 After studying law at Cambridge, Tim was a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio.  He is an opera singer and has performed in all major European countries, Russia, US, Australia and the Middle East. He has given concerts in some of classical music’s most iconic venues, such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Bolshoi, the Wigmore, Festival and Albert Halls. He also teaches singing, gives masterclasses, lectures on opera and the voice and runs a local community choir.

This lecture repositions Caravaggio’s achievements in the period immediately following his brilliant but short career.

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

 What misfortune to be an artist born at the same time as a dazzling personality like Michelangelo or Caravaggio. Perhaps we should pay more attention to the artists contemporary with and learning from such overpowering characters? This lecture repositions Caravaggio’s achievements in the period immediately following his brilliant but short career. Turning over the page of art history, it presents the splendid achievements of many artists such as Gentileschi - father and daughter - the Spaniards Ribera and Velázquez, the Dutch Honthorst, French artist de la Tour, and ultimately connects him to Rembrandt. It also asks “what happened next?” - how was it that Caravaggio’s style came to lose its hold and that fashion in art began to change.

The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980s 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 qualified as a London blue badge tourist guide in 2011, graduating at the top of his class.  Since qualifying as a guide he has specialised in the graffiti and street art of East London. Prior to becoming a London blue badge, he was a tour manager for 15 years, travelling extensively, all over the world.

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 Pollack evolved in parallel with ideas about what a garden or border should look like.

From 1988 to 2014 Timothy was the Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. 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. Gardens are often thought of a place where science and art meet on equal terms and his lectures often investigate this relationship. Since 2014 he has been a college lecturer and tutor in Botany and Plant Conservation at Somerville College Oxford.

Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) was a key player in early twentieth century avant garde art, design and literary/theatrical circles in Paris. His imagination and technical virtuosity - across a range of media including painting and lithography, posters, book illustration, theatrical set design, textiles and fashion, ceramics and large murals - cut across all conventional boundaries. Dufy defies categorisation, constantly innovating and experimenting with new materials and effects. His analysis of the visual world is sophisticated and joyous in equal measure.

Mary has thirty years' experience as a lecturer. Experience includes public lectures in museums, tutoring for the Open University, visiting lecturer at Christie's Education in London, museum curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of Costume, Manchester. Now a freelance lecturer to various arts, heritage and antiquarian societies. She also worked in Pentagram design consultancy in London and New York, organising conferences and special events. Author of various articles on design and visual awareness issues, her background combines an unusual blend of academic and visual communications skills.

Was the English Arts and Crafts Movement the most important art movement the country has produced? This talk will introduce the ideas and ideals behind what brought together a highly individual group of men and women to produce architecture, craft and art at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

Kirsty has been the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham since 2008, and prior to that was the curator and manager of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. At Cheltenham she looks after the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection. Passionate about sharing her deep love for and knowledge of the arts, she’s also a freelance researcher, currently researching Arts and Crafts war memorials and the work of Arts and Crafts designers in churches in the South West. She’s also been an oral storyteller for over 20 years, and has published a number of collections of stories, and writes for diverse other publications on art history and folklore.

This topic reflects the speaker’s lifelong interest, as an educator, in the phenomenon of the ‘infant prodigy’ – Mozart being the supreme example. As well as presenting a diary of the Mozarts’ visit to England, there will be many examples to enjoy of the child Wolfgang’s impressive musical compositions created in London.

Lecturer, conductor, pianist, composer, author, musicologist. Graham has lectured, conducted and performed in many countries. He has recorded Latin American Sacred Music; Brazilian contemporary music; and the piano music of Leokadiya Kashperova. He has written on Stravinsky and Kashperova – a forgotten Russian female composer whose work he has championed on Radio 3 and elsewhere.

The lecture explores the passion for the exotic and beautiful tulip flower which reached its height in Amsterdam in the 1630s. Collectors, besotted by the exceptional beauty of this new and exotic flower, speculated in and paid ever higher prices for the rarest varieties, in expectation of the metamorphosis of bulb to a flower with petals of an unparalleled richness and intensity of colour. The coveted tulip featured as a motif on still-life flower paintings and on many different works of art from furniture to embroideries, furniture, ceramics and silver. During the seventeenth century, this rare and precious flower, beloved in art and a feature of botanical gardens, inspired the production of Delftware flower pyramids for the English court of William and Mary and examples can still be seen in the collections at Hampton Court Palace and Dyrham Park near Bath.

Anne is a lecturer at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and the Queen’s Gallery. She is a visiting lecturer for Regent's University, Sotheby's Institute and SOAS. For ten years she guided private evening tours of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. She lectures extensively for private groups, guides museum tours in London and has lectured on William Morris for the British Council and British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow. After studying Modern History she trained and became a senior specialist in ceramics at the head offices in London of Bonhams (1981-1986) and Christie's (1987-1995). From 1995 to 2002, she was resident in Shanghai, China and gave lectures on the history of the China trade and European Chinoiserie. On returning to London in 2002, she worked on a short project cataloguing Chinese ceramics at Kensington Palace and became Hon Membership Secretary and Treasurer of the French Porcelain Society.

Since its foundation in 1925, Faber and Faber has built a reputation as one of London’s most important literary publishing houses. 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 from the grandson of the firm’s founder and current board member.

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.

The Impressionist Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries produced some of the finest snow paintings in the history of art. Monet, Pissarro and Sisley all painted snow, often standing for hours in the open air to capture the subtleties of light and colour produced by a recent snow fall. But it can be argued that the most impressive snow paintings were actually done by the American Impressionists, who are little known in this country. Vast in scale and concept, the snow scenes of artists such as Willard Metcalf, Childe Hassam and John Twachtman are a revelation to British audiences. They capture the silence, beauty and grandeur of an American winter. This is a lecture rich in wonderful images which combines paintings by both well known and lesser known artists.

Julian studied History of Art at Cambridge. Formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. Publications include Venice - the Artist's Vision; The Art of Diana Armfield RA; Dictionary of Scottish Painters; A Hand to Obey the Demon's Eye; Scottish Watercolours 1740-1940; A Private View - David Wolfers and the New Grafton Gallery. Interviews artists for the Artist Magazine and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and The Critics Circle. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and appointed Keeper in 2010.

This lecture brings together three fascinating themes: the history of the East-West trade from the Arabian peninsula to the South China sea; the story of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain and its global impact; and the recovery of lost cargoes of Oriental porcelain from the seas around China and Southeast Asia.

Marie is a long-established Arts Society Lecturer and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and has held senior academic posts at various UK universities. She has most recently served as Executive Director of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the University for the Creative Arts. She is widely published and has lectured throughout the UK and abroad. She is also an experienced cruise speaker and a Resident Historian with Viking Ocean Cruises, lecturing on many aspects of Asian Art and East-West Encounters. She was awarded an OBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to UK-Japan educational and cultural relations and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Government of Japan in 2019.

Aboriginal people describe their relationship to the ancestrally created land in a way that lies in polar opposition to European notions of land ownership. As 2020 marked the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook and HMB Endeavour charting the east coast of Australia, this lecture invites you to explore the connection between the land and the cultivation of identity by looking at the art of both cultures from 50,000 BC to the mid-19th century.

As an art historian, curator, and lecturer with over 25 years’ teaching experience, Jeni is not only interested in historical art movements but also what is referred to as the ‘new art history’ which focuses on non-Western art, new media, aesthetic ideals, and their cultural interpretation(s). Recently, Jeni has authored regular articles on a wide variety of arts-related topics for the Arts Society’s digital platform. Currently, Jeni is co-presenter for The Arts Society South West Area's art history course.

ian Swankie is a Londoner with a passion for art and architecture, Ian is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations.

If you think of St Pancras International or New York Grand Central you imagine long romantic journeys. You know they are special places promising excitement and adventure. But there are dozens of other glorious stations in the UK and abroad. We will take a journey around some of the most evocative and splendid stations in the world. We will look not only at the magnificence of the architecture and the brilliant engineering but will discover numerous artworks within the stations and examine many depictions of stations in art.

Lucrezia Walker is a regular lecturer at the National Gallery both in front of the paintings and in the lecture theatre. For the Tate Gallery's Development Department she speaks to their corporate sponsors in their offices and at their private receptions.  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. 

In 1877 Whistler sued the great Victorian critic John Ruskin for libel after the critic condemned his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket. Whistler famously conducted his own case against the art advocated by Ruskin. The jury’s result marks an important landmark in the history of art.

Rosamund Bartlett is a writer, lecturer and translator whose work as a cultural historian ranges across the arts. She is the author of several books including biographies of Chekhov and Tolstoy, and a study of Wagner's influence in Russia. She is currently writing a history of the Russian avant-garde. Her translation of Anna Karenina was published to acclaim in 2014. She writes on art, music and literature and has received commissions from institutions including the Royal Opera House, Tate UK, and the Salzburg Festival. She has lectured at the V&A, the National Theatre and the Art Gallery of New South Wales and she contributes regularly to Proms events and opera broadcasts on the BBC.  

Like the imperial emblem of the double-headed eagle, Russia’s two capital cities always looked in different directions before 1917 -  Moscow towards Asia, and St. Petersburg towards Europe. This led to Russia’s divided soul, its personality split between the Western-looking, modern metropolis of St. Petersburg, and the oriental-looking ancient city of Moscow. This lecture explores the art and architecture of both of these great cities, examining their different characters and ways of life, and looking at how and why they increased and decreased in importance before and after the 1917 Revolution.

The Art of Persepolis, Isfahan and Shiraz.

Christopher is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. He has written extensively on Arabia. As a photographer he has pictures represented by four photographic libraries. A broad range of lecturing experience, including to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects. As a film producer and cameraman he has made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic and Channel 4.

The Ancient Persian capital of Darius and Xerxes at Persepolis comes vibrantly to life, decorated with early Zoroastrian and Indian influences. The wealth of the Silk Road and the arrival of Islam inspired great centres of learning across the region which still shape Iran to this day. Delicate calligraphy, geometry and Islamic architecture combine to reach unparalleled heights during the 17th century in the Safavid era. Visible today are a series of highly decorated palaces and mosques in Isfahan, one of the grandest cities in the world. Throughout centuries of occupation, it has been the world famous respected poets and artists who have kept the traditions of the Persian language and religion alive.

Frank lectures at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Art Fund, the National Trust, U3A and other organisations. He lectures and runs courses at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.

Can abstract art be more ‘real’ than figurative painting?  From the ‘Fathers of Abstraction’ (Mondrian, Kandinsky and Malevich) in the second decade of the 20 th century to the American Abstract Expressionists (Pollock, Rothko and others) in the 1940s and ‘50s, artists have asserted the honesty, purity and/or spirituality of their works. As long ago as the fourth century BC, Plato asserted that only geometric shapes can be absolutely, as distinct from relatively, beautiful.  This lecture will demystify abstraction, as well as showing some exquisitely beautiful images.

As a cultural historian, writer and artist Anthony has travelled much of the world. Lecturing originally to American university students on bespoke tours of Europe, he has lectured for the Arts Society since 2010.He spent six years as a consultant for Luke Hughes advising on the furniture needs of prestigious buildings throughout Britain, including museums, palaces, and cathedrals and he spent many years at the British Museum where he ran outreach events and hosted visiting lecturers.

It would seem that t here has never been fascination in an artist to rival the Dutchman who simply signed his work 'Vincent'. We are all aware of the recent exhibitions and the remarkable prices realised for this humble artist's work. Most of us appreciate the beauty of his efforts but how much do we know about the man himself? This lecture considers exactly why, despite never selling a painting and his committing suicide in poverty, no art historian today denies his genius. There are extraordinary, little know facts to be reve aled, while enjoying the remarkable range of his talent. Though seeming so extreme and exceptional, the tragic story of his loveless life is deeply moving and his humanity makes a lasting impression.

The Roaring Twenties: Art, Design and High Society.

Jo 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.

Like its name, the Roaring Twenties was a loud and boisterous decade, marked by novelty, modernity and huge social, technological, and economic change. Following the dark days of the Great War, it spawned a generation of wealthy and privileged Bright Young Things who were determined to shock and who broke with the conventions of the past to pursue a life of hedonism and promiscuity.

It was also a period of enormous vitality in art and design. This lecture aims to conjure up the energy and originality of the decade and to explore the lives of its leading figures and examples of its most innovative art and design.

Through a Glass Darkly: A Study of Glass through the Eyes of the Artist

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

This lecture explores the way in which artists over the centuries have included transparent glass objects in their paintings, taking huge delight in capturing the shadows and reflections seen within the glass as well as displaying their skill in portraying what lies behind and beyond. It will include the remarkable depiction of glass objects in Roman wall-paintings, works by artists such as Titian, Veronese and Caravaggio and the proliferation of glass drinking vessels in Dutch still-life paintings.

Sandy is one of the UK’s most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing. After studying at Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, he spent a decade as one of the core team of presenters on BBC Radio 3. He devises and leads cultural holidays all over the world, is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music and is a highly sought after double bassist on the London jazz scene.

Jazz is one of music’s most important genres: a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free-wheeling creativity, close-knit ensembles and imaginative improvisation. Drawing on his experience both as musicologist and gigging musician, Sandy can shed light on jazz from the inside. His talk covers the early years of jazz up to the Second World War. Musical illustrations range from the blues, ragtime and the very first jazz recordings through to classics by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington Orchestra, and the dawn of the Swing Era.

This talk will examine the changes in the market in recent times and explain why ‘no one wants to buy your wardrobe’. The wardrobe illustrated here sold for £10.00 recently, it came with a chest of drawers, dressing table and display cabinet! Have you cleared an elderly relatives house recently? What happened to the tea sets, dining chairs, dressing tables and china cabinets and all those little nick-nacks … where do all these things go and what happens to them? Why are our ancestors prized possessions, items that they cherished and valued, now so unloved by this generation?

Matthew is an auctioneer, valuer, lecturer, writer and educationalist. He works in many aspects of the fine and decorative arts and is currently consulting for one of the leading provincial auction rooms. 

As a speaker he offers a variety of talks on aspects of the history of fine and decorative arts and has a number of particular interests. His PhD was about certain facets of the Arts and Crafts movement, and he is also concerned with a variety of aspects of late 19th century and 20th century design and architecture.

Introducing American art of the early modern period through the work of its leading masters.  We trace the interaction between American and European art worlds during a period of dynamic change - including the colonial period, the exploration of the western territories and the Civil War.   Finally, we see the growth of a new centre for art: from a place at the periphery of the European art world, American would develop a rich and sophisticated art scene by the end of the 19th century.  In the course of this survey we look at the work of some of America's leading artists: including John Singleton Copley, Frederic Edwin Church, Mary Cassatt and George Bellows.

A lecturer specialising in 19th-century art history, Kathy is currently a course director at the Victoria & Albert Museum, organising courses and study days on the history of art and design. I teach at several institutions, including Art Pursuits. I am a graduate of Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute, with a PhD on French 19th-century painters in Rome.

Arsenic and Old Wallpaper: the Darker Side of William Morris.

Victorian designer William Morris was a man of many faces.   He is probably best known today as the creator of wallpaper, fabrics and stained glass windows, but he was also a poet, artist, philosopher, typographer and socialist. What is less well known about him is his links to the richest copper and arsenic mine in Europe and his toxic green wallpapers that are said to have poisoned thousands of people across England.

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film PR. She has a first-class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past 14 years both in the UK and internationally. She is also principal lecturer on The Arts Society South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University.

Speed! Technology! Destruction! The battle cry of the Futurists WWI heralded the appearance of the car as a powerful symbol in avant-garde art. Soon the Art Deco masterpieces of the great car builders came to epitomise style, luxury and craftmanship, works of art in their own right. 

The romance of speed continued to be a major theme in how cars were depicted in art, but, since the 1950s the car has become art, used as a canvas for artists as celebrated as Peter Blake, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.  

This lecture will showcase the beautiful and the bizarre, celebrating the dynamic, creative, and sometimes unsettling relationship between cars and art.

Julian Richards studied archaeology at Reading University and has since worked as a professional archaeologist, in commercial archaeology, for English Heritage, for the BBC and as an independent. Elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and is being awarded an honorary doctorate. Has been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education, to groups and societies and to special interest tour companies. A career in broadcasting involved researching and presenting Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings for BBC2, and Mapping the Town for Radio 4. Author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Guest curator of Wish you were here, an exhibition of his own extensive collection of 'Stonehengiana' which is currently on display at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Also curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016. 

The fears and anxieties of Vienna in the final years before the outbreak of the Great War found expression in the writing of Freud, the music of Gustav Mahler and the haunting paintings of Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele. Shimmering portraits flecked with gold; hypnotic landscapes of vibrant brushstrokes; erotic dreams of decadence and death reveal a society in search for salvation at a time when mankind had lost faith in its future. The lecture traces the course of this brief, often dark but always dazzlingly inventive period of art.

Douglas read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time he has given over 8000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies. He was the director of  The New Academy of Art Studies for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at The Study Center, Christie's course 'The History of Art Studies' and other London courses. Among his more improbable venues for lectures are the bar on the QE2, MI5 headquarters, the Captain's Room at Lloyds, and an aircraft hanger in a German NATO base. Overseas he has lectured in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, and has taken numerous tours around Europe.

He has written and presented various TV documentaries, notably the Omnibus programme on Whistler and the exhibition video on William Morris. Three one-man exhibitions of his paintings have been held in England and Switzerland. He has published five novels, which have been translated into 8 foreign languages, and his book on Monet, River of Light, has sold 30,000 copies in England, America and France.

Please note that this will be a Zoom lecture with joining details sent out on January 31st

Caravaggio was the definitive bad boy of art history – determined and ambitious yet irascible and highly volatile. In 1606 his life was to change forever following a particularly violent and bloody brawl in which Caravaggio, himself badly injured, ended up killing a certain Ranuccio with his sword. This lecture will explore his meteoric rise to fame and dramatic fall from grace, examining the remarkable stylistic transformations that took place during the last four years of Caravaggio’s life, a period of restlessness and yet extraordinary creative activity when the artist was forced to leave Rome, realising that his own life was now on the line.

Siân has provided a booklist for members whi wish to learn more...

   Helen Langdon, Caravaggio: A Life, Pimlico 1999

   Sebastian Schutze, Caravaggio: The Complete Works, Taschen 1999

   Jonathan Harr, The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, Random House 2005

   Richard Spear, Caravaggio and his Followers, Harper and Row 1975

Siân Walters is an art historian and the director of Art History in Focus. She has been a lecturer at the National Gallery for 20 years and taught their first online course, Stories of Art, in September 2020. She also lectures for The Wallace Collection, The Art Fund and many art societies and colleges throughout Europe, and taught at Surrey University for many years.

Her specialist areas include 15th and 16th century Italian Art, Spanish Art and Architecture, Dutch and Flemish painting and the relationship between Dance and Art (she is an honorary advisor to the Nonsuch Historical Dance Society). Siân studied at Cambridge University where she was awarded a choral exhibition and a 1st for her dissertation on the paintings of Arnold Schoenberg. She has lived in France and Italy where she worked for the eminent Haydn scholar H.C. Robbins Landon and for the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. She spends much of the year organising and leading specialist art tours abroad, including bespoke trips for The Arts Society.

In recent years Siân has been asked to represent the National Gallery at the international Hay Festival and was named a Highly Commended finalist in the World’s Best Guide Awards. In 2018 she was invited to be the guest lecturer on the inaugural BRAVO Cruise of Performing Arts alongside Katherine Jenkins, Julian Lloyd Webber and Ruthie Henshall. In 2020 Siân presented the first online courses for both The Wallace Collection and The National Gallery, and was one of the first accredited lecturers to provide online Zoom lectures.

In November she launched a series of live, online tours and visits abroad entitled Cultural Travels from Home. These include visits by special arrangement to a number of major European art galleries allowing virtual access to their collections. These are being offered to Arts Society groups as part of their online tours/events programme, please get in touch for more details.

Please note that this will be a Zoom lecture with joining details sent out on January 3rd.

Why do we bring a tree into our homes at Christmas? How did Santa become the patron saint of pawnbrokers and what has a snake got to do with it all?  The truth about some of our Christmas traditions may surprise you.

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film PR. She has a first-class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past 14 years both in the UK and internationally. She is also principal lecturer on The Arts Society South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University.

The Alhambra of Granada, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of Seville are the three most impressive monuments to the architectural creativity of the Moors in Spain, but there are many other examples worthy of mention too.

The classical origins that influenced the Moorish style are less well-known, but fascinating to explore, as too is the unique interior decorative style developed by the Moors, which gives their architecture its beauty and exotic appeal – an appeal so strong that the Christians sometimes copied it, even as they slowly reconquered the territory from its Islamic rulers. This lecture provides a comprehensive introduction to the peninsula’s Moorish architecture.

Ian Cockburn is an art historian with a BA (Birkbeck College) in art history and an MA (Courtauld Institute of Art) in medieval Spanish art history. He is a specialist in the nearly 800 years of Moorish occupation and Christian reconquest of medieval Iberia. 

He is a founder and director of an art tours company, specialising in guided cultural tours in Spain, plus lecturing in London at institutions such as the V&A, SOAS, Christies Education, and the London Art History Society. Formerly a Chartered Accountant and senior manager in multi-national IT companies, with extensive public-speaking experience.

In the years after the Second World War, London was dark, grimy and gap-toothed by bomb damage. Yet alongside austerity and the frantic race to rebuild and refurbish there was also enormous creativity and a longing for beauty and glamour. 

Young artists, such as Lucien Freud, John Craxton and John Minton were developing stark new styles of representing people, taking their inspiration from Surrealism, Expressionism and Romanticism. Francis Bacon was producing dramatic and shocking distortions of the human figure while tutors art the Royal Academy Schools were still forbidding their students to look at the work of such artists as Picasso. Documentary photographers created poignant essays showing the hardships of post-war life at the same time as Cecil Beaton conjured lavish tableaux of opulent pastel-shaded ball-gowns modelled by debutantes. 

In this talk we will look at the changing face of post-war London, seen through the eyes of artists beginning to make their names and featuring gambling, gangsters and glamour alongside compelling images and a journey that would lead (for some) to super-stardom

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.

Zara is a freelance lecturer, art consultant and exhibition curator specialising in the art and culture of Tibet, the Himalayan areas and Mongolia. Initially based at the V&A, but also worked with the Central Asian Department of Bonn University, the Orient Foundation, the Royal Academy, Tibet House, the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside and Asia House. In addition to lecturing for The Arts Society, she lectures for museums, universities, Asian art societies, and private associations. Guest lecturer and tour guide on numerous trips to the Himalayas. Edited Masterpieces of Mongolian Art: Vol 1 and has published many articles in the field of Buddhist art and culture.

For many people, Kashmir conjures up a beautiful valley surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, for others it is a land of conflict. But what is less well known is that it has been of historic artistic importance for nearly 2000 years. This lecture introduces the astonishing diversity of arts and crafts produced in this tiny area, influenced by Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic cultures.  It explores Buddhist sculptures, Hindu temples, great Islamic gardens, paintings, calligraphy, Moghul carpets and Kashmir shawls. Despite its troubled history, Kashmir has fostered a unique environment of artistic diversity and religious co-existence.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 2pm and will be followed immediately by the AGM

Now working as a freelance lecturer in the History of Art, Lynne originally trained as a fine artist and has taught painting, drawing and printmaking in higher and adult education. She lectured as an art historian for the universities of Sussex and Bristol where she introduced 'Understanding Art' to the Lifelong Learning programme and residential summer schools. Gives talks, lectures and guided tours to a wide range of organisations and institutions including ARCA colleges, the National Trust, National Gallery, art museums and art societies. She has worked as a professional artist specializing in oil painting and etching. Solo and group shows have included the RWA, British Museum and the Barbican.

Traditional art history has regarded the painted female as an ‘object’. She is to be gazed at, admired and owned. This easily can be explained: most artists have been men, most collectors of art have been men, and the academic subject of art history has been dominated by men. An unbalanced view is hardly surprising! In the early 1970s, feminist historians began to explore how fine art has reflected, and even contributed to, a patriarchal ideology. Art and art history have undergone massive changes. We will explore some ideals of womanhood: the Virgin, the pure wife and loving mother. Also some warnings: Venus, Eve and the ‘fallen’ woman! This lecture will explore how we can re-interpret a wide range of images of women from the Renaissance through to the present century.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

After officer service in the Royal Navy, Justin entered a long career in business, becoming CEO of a healthcare company and consultant in management development. Retiring from business in 2001, he studied the History of Art and Architecture at Oxford, and was awarded the University’s Diploma with Distinction.  He frequently lectured and wrote on naval history in this period, and completed a doctoral thesis in naval history at the University of Exeter. He was invited to join the bicentenary commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar, and was appointed Admiralty Liaison Officer for the Trafalgar Despatch 2005.  From 2002 Justin was senior lecturer in post-graduate marketing at Oxford FE College and is a qualified teacher. For six years from 2004 he delivered courses in the University of Oxford / UCal Berkeley accredited residential summer schools. In 2011 he was appointed as tutor in the History of Art and Classical Civilisation at Oxford Tutorial College, for A-level and Cambridge Pre-U students, and also privately tutors undergraduate and post-graduate art history students.  Formerly a senior academic manager of the Bodleian Library, Justin is Secretary of the Colloquium of Learned Societies at Oxford. He is a published historian; among his impending works are an edition of Samuel Pepys’s naval papers, and a study of the Admiralty buildings in London, and he is researching maritime art in the National Trust collections. He is frequently engaged as an enrichment speaker on art history for cruise lines. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society, a member of the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association, New York, and a member of The Arts Society Cheltenham.

The seventeenth century saw the rise of the seven northern provinces of the Dutch republic from a rough-hewn confederacy at war with its powerful neighbours to an independent, secure and increasingly wealthy nation state trading across the globe. Their new-found richesse and self-confidence, which spread through all social classes, led to an unprecedented outpouring of visual art. It has been estimated that 1.3 million paintings were created by Dutch artists between 1640 and 1660 alone, and while most were dashed off for a voracious market, many are today among the most celebrated in European art. Justin introduces the social background to Dutch art in its Golden Age, discusses the genres favoured by clients, and describes some of the outstanding examples including relatively unknown pieces, and established favourites by van Ruisdael, Hals, Leyster, Jan Steen, Vermeer, Rembrandt and Cuyp.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

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

Have you ever wondered how bricks, an exploded shed or an unmade bed can be art? Why a dead cow and her calf were exhibited at the Tate? Or how a urinal placed on a pedestal can be taken seriously as a sculpture? This lecture may provide the answer. 

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film PR. She has a first-class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past 14 years both in the UK and internationally. She is also principal lecturer on the Arts Society South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University.

Fake News has been around since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and art has always been one of its favourite media. In this talk I will be uncovering the subtle art of spin and propaganda in art from the glories of Ancient Mesopotamia to the Norman Conquest and then onto Elizabethan England and the dark days of Nazi Germany.

Every picture tells a story—whether it is true or not is an entirely different matter.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Julian studied archaeology at Reading University and has since worked as a professional archaeologist, in commercial archaeology, for English Heritage, for the BBC and as an independent. Elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and is being awarded an honorary doctorate. Has been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education, to groups and societies and to special interest tour companies. A career in broadcasting involved researching and presenting Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings for BBC2, and Mapping the Town for Radio 4. Author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Guest curator of Wish you were here, an exhibition of his own extensive collection of 'Stonehengiana' which is currently on display at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Also curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016. 

William Morris led a revolution against the products of the machine age. The first of our ‘passionate potters’, William de Morgan, was a friend of Morris who rediscovered the secrets of Near Eastern lustre glazes. In contrast, the eccentric and argumentative Martin Brothers created a range of elaborate salt glazed pots unparalleled in their imaginative breadth. Sir Edmund Elton, the ‘potter baronet’, made pots which combine startling glazes with exotic forms. And finally, Bernard Leach, the father of English studio pottery, not only married the arts of Japan and England but created a legacy that is still alive today. 

This lecture explores the lives of these truly passionate potters and celebrates their extraordinary and beautiful creations.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Amy Orrock is a Curator at Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park where she is currently curating the forthcoming exhibitions Painting Childhood: From Holbein to Freud (spring 2019) and 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.

One of the first artists to paint snow, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569) is known today for wintery masterpieces such asThe Hunters in the Snow, The Census at Bethlehem and The Massacre of the Innocents. This lecture will explore Bruegel’s iconic winter scenes, looking at how they both follow and break with traditions that had gone before.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Jacqueline is 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.

One of the most extraordinary Spanish artists from Valencia; Joaquin Sorolla has become better known more recently. He lived from 1863 to 1923 and created a world full of light and colour which delights the senses. Sometimes a social painter he was more concerned with capturing light falling on bodies and seascapes and his wonderful technique will be considered in this colourful lecture. His final Visions of Spain now in New York will also be shown.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Douglas read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time, he has given over 4000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies. He was the director of ‘The New Academy of Art Studies' for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at 'The Study Centre', 'Christie's' course 'The History of Art Studies' and other London courses.  He has written and presented various TV documentaries, notably the Omnibus programme on 'Whistler' and the exhibition video on 'William Morris.' Three one-man exhibitions of his paintings have been held in England and Switzerland. He has published five novels, which have been translated into 8 foreign languages, and his book on Monet, 'River of Light', has sold 30,000 copies in England, America and France.

During a long, successful and immensely lucrative career, Titian established himself as the foremost painter of northern Italy. Training in the Bellini workshop, he developed the Venetian love of light and colour, but adding a sense of drama and immediacy that charged his religious, mythological and, most importantly, his portraits with a realism hitherto unknown to the arts. Tough, astute and ambitious, he is often seen as the first 'modern' painter, applying the pigments directly to the canvas without preparatory studies, drawing the figures as he invented the composition, building up the paint in thick sensual layers, drenched in colour and sunlight, a brilliant new style of painting that shaped the art of the Baroque and cast its influence over every painterly painter of the next four centuries.

Please note that this will be an online ZOOM lecture at 11am

Amy Orrock is a Curator at Compton Verney Art Gallery & Park where she is currently curating the forthcoming exhibitions Painting Childhood: From Holbein to Freud (spring 2019) and 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.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s ‘encylopaedic’ pictures - Children’s Games (1560), the Battle Between Carnival and Lent (1560) and Netherlandish Proverbs (1559) - are traditionally taken as a trio. Together, they provide a fascinating insight into little-known aspects of sixteenth-century life, from popular proverbs and children’s games to carnival rituals. The large, painted panels are teeming with details and this lecture will explore these details in depth, looking at precursors in illuminated manuscripts and popular prints.

Simon Whitehouse is an actor, presenter, lecturer and award-winning London Blue Badge Guide. 

He has a passion for storytelling with an especial love of art history, literature and the performing arts. He has worked extensively for a number of arts organisations including BBC, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and is a lecturer and guide at the National Gallery as well as being a guide for a variety of groups including the Arts Society, the Royal Academy of Arts and Yale University Drama Board.

This lecture tells the extraordinary story of one man who changed the art world forever. For years, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Sisley and Pisarro had been getting nowhere - derided and rejected by the French Academy they had become dejected, disillusioned and destitute. But in 1870, Monet met Paul Durand Ruel in London. Ruel was a brilliant, bold art collector with great vision. He decided to buy the work of the Impressionists (including 23 Manets in a single day!), seeing something in their work that no-one else had seen and realising that the public wanted a new kind of art.  

Despite being attacked and ridiculed by the critics, the press and the cognoscenti of the Parisian art world, Ruel spent his whole life supporting, defending and promoting this radical and revolutionary group of painters.  His legacy is the birth of the modern art world and the establishment of a commercial art market that thrives to this day. 

Monet would later say of Ruel ‘We owe him everything’

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.

In the years after the Second World War, London was dark, grimy and gap-toothed by bomb damage. Yet alongside austerity and the frantic race to rebuild and refurbish there was also enormous creativity and a longing for beauty and glamour. 

Young artists, such as Lucien Freud, John Craxton and John Minton were developing stark new styles of representing people, taking their inspiration from Surrealism, Expressionism and Romanticism. Francis Bacon was producing dramatic and shocking distortions of the human figure while tutors art the Royal Academy Schools were still forbidding their students to look at the work of such artists as Picasso. Documentary photographers created poignant essays showing the hardships of post-war life at the same time as Cecil Beaton conjured lavish tableaux of opulent pastel-shaded ball-gowns modelled by debutantes. 

In this talk we will look at the changing face of post-war London, seen through the eyes of artists beginning to make their names and featuring gambling, gangsters and glamour alongside compelling images and a journey that would lead (for some) to super-stardom.

Dr Susan Owens is an art historian, writer and curator. She studied English literature at Oxford University and European art at the Courtauld Institute, then wrote a doctoral thesis on Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations to Oscar Wilde’s play Salome at University College London. She worked as a curator for the Royal Collection before becoming Curator of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Susan has written or co-authored books on decadent interiors, natural history illustration, watercolours, drawings and self-portraits, and is a regular contributor to publications including the Times Literary Supplement and The World of Interiors. Now freelance, Susan lives in Suffolk. Her book The Ghost: A Cultural History, was published in 2017. 

Christina Rossetti is among the most popular of Victorian poets, her colloquial style and musical clarity speaking directly to us today. She had close links with artists, and her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, Julia Margaret Cameron, Frederick Sandys and Arthur Hughes were all inspired by the intense imagery of her poetry. This lecture tells Christina Rossetti’s story through their portraits, illustrations and paintings.

Ian Gledhill has had a very varied career, from designing underground railways as an engineer for London Transport, to appearing in pantomime with Julian Clary. In between he has worked in travel and tourism, music publishing, television, and especially the theatre, where he has been an actor, director, set designer, stage manager and opera translator. His main interests include architecture, history, transport and classical music, especially opera and operetta, and these are reflected in the wide ranging list of subjects for his lectures. He began giving lectures in 1997, and now gives on average around 140 a year. 

In the 1860s the British musical stage was dominated by the operettas of Jacques Offenbach and his French contemporaries.  However, French operetta in its original form was considered too risqué for British audiences, and the shows had to be bowdlerised to a considerable extent.  It was the unique partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan that produced a home grown answer to the French which was free of "anything that could give the slightest offence".  

Prasannajit de Silva completed his doctorate in 2007, researching the art of the British in India during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His lecturing covers British visual culture of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, including art produced in various colonial settings. He is particularly interested in the relationship of aspects of art, architecture, and design to their broader cultural, social, and political contexts, and also teaches courses on the methods and theoretical approaches of art history. His current work includes roles as Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London and Sessional Lecturer for the WEA.  

Portraits were the most popular art form in Britain throughout the eighteenth century.  This session will explore the evolution of the genre, ranging from the emergence of the conversation piece in the 1720s and 1730s to the fashion for ‘grand manner’ portraits later in the century.  Focussing on a range of key figures including Godfrey Kneller, William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, we will also explore how artists and their sitters engaged with key ideas of their time such as politeness and sensibility.

Ian gained a First Class degree from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, qualified as a Chartered Accountant and then became a professional magician. A Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star. He is currently performing a show about Charles Dickens, who was an amateur conjurer, called The Secret World of Charles Dickens. In 2014 published Charles Dickens Magician: Conjuring in Life, Letters & Literature. Recently he presented a paper Hogarth, Gillray & Cruikshank and the Bottle Conjurer Hoax at a conference at the University of Brighton.

The 1700s was a period where the people of England seemed to be especially gullible.  They believed a woman could give birth to rabbits; that a man could climb inside a wine bottle and sing and dance inside it; and a balloonist could fly in a Chinese Temple.  These, and other hoaxes - which involved the likes of Jonathan Swift, Samuel Johnson and the politician Charles James Fox - were written about in newspapers and journals and brilliantly and amusingly depicted by satirical artists such as William Hogarth and James Gillray.  In this entertaining talk Ian relates and illustrates sundry hoaxes and deliberate deceptions; all of which are memorable not only for the imaginative nature of the swindles, but also because of the differing motives of the tricksters.

Stephen 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.

The Wallace Collection, a national museum containing an outstanding array of paintings, furniture, porcelain, arms and armour, and other works of art, was brought together by five generations of one family between about 1780 and 1880. All the Founders were remarkable – and sometimes rather strange - men in their own right, but the greatest collectors were the 4th Marquess of Hertford and his illegitimate son, Sir Richard Wallace, who lived most of their lives in Paris. It is their French upbringing which largely explains the strong, but by no means overwhelming, French emphasis to much of the Collection. This lecture tells the fascinating story of the Wallace Collection’s formation, and also presents many of its finest treasures.

John graduated in Classics at Cambridge University and taught Classics at Marlborough College for over thirty years. Worked for the British Council in Iran and Turkey, and lectures in Islamic Civilisation. Tutor, Marlborough College Summer School. Lecturer, Department of Continuing Education, University of Bath. Guide at Salisbury Cathedral. Lecturer on cruises and leader of numerous study tours to Bulgaria, Romania, Iran, and Turkey and other countries in S.E. Europe and the Mediterranean. Lecture tours of Australia (twice) and New Zealand.

Bulgaria's rich and varied cultural history deserves to be better known. The country's well-preserved mediaeval monasteries are part of the Byzantine tradition of Orthodox religious art and architecture. The lecture illustrates the Christian history of the country through its monasteries, concentrating on their fascinating frescos and icons and explaining their religious significance. The context of the lecture is Bulgaria's mountain landscapes and its long history, so that it includes prehistoric Thracian tombs, Roman public buildings and beautifully conserved vernacular architecture from the Ottoman period. This lecture will suit those who enjoy religious art in its cultural context.

Mark 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. He became director of an internet company forming and running a ground-breaking deal with eBay Live Auctions. He was co-author of the internationally published Collectables Price Guide with Judith Miller from 2002-17. He founded his own publishing company in 2005 and has since published over 12 books on specialist subjects in 20th century design and decorative arts. He has been a Miscellaneous expert on the Antiques Roadshow since 2007, and has co-presented three primetime factual TV series on antiques and collecting for BBC2. He is an auctioneer running 20th century design auctions in partnership with Dawsons Auctioneers. He has lectured across the world, including at the V&A in London, and contributed to many newspapers, magazines, radio and TV programmes. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and a Freeman of the City of London.

This lecture gives an overview of the most rapidly developing, popular and recently revealed areas in mid–century modern European glass. Makers covered include Mdina Glass, Wedgwood Glass and a number of the most important Czech glass factories. Key designers and designs, and the influences behind them, are examined, with ‘Gallery’ slides giving a wider understanding of each company’s production.

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film publicist. She has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past eleven years both in the UK and internationally. She is also principal lecturer on the The Arts Society South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 

Lights, Camera, Action! – inside stories of the art and artifice of the early decades of Hollywood. This lecture covers the work of stills photographers, costumiers, publicists, actors and actresses and the movie moguls who made it all happen.

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

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

As a retired country doctor with a lifetime of working in the NHS both in hospital and in rural practice James is passionate about all aspects of medicine, its history and its relationship to art and artists. He feels very strongly that lecturing should be stimulating, informative and entertaining. He has been very privileged to be able to share his interests with others lecturing to a variety of different groups and now as a lecturer for The Arts Society.

“What is wrong with me?” is perhaps one of the most common questions put to any physician. The ability of doctors to respond meaningfully has progressed in the last two thousand years from mythology, Galen’s four humors and blood letting to endoscopy and MRI scans. This talk illustrates how artists as varied as Ghirlandio, Holbein and Barbara Hepworth have depicted this diagnostic journey. Through their ability to record faithfully many different pathologies in their art they allow the modern observer to understand better a complex process that we now take for granted.

James studied at the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester, and is a former curator of paintings, drawings and prints, and co-ordinator of various exhibitions and galleries, at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, also lecturer and ships' historian on board cruise ships. Publications include illustrated histories of Marine Painting (1995) and yachting art Yachts on Canvas (1998), The Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin’s extraordinary adventure aboard FitzRoy’s famous survey ship (2008), Careless Talk Costs Lives: Fougasse and the Art of Public Information (2010) and Your Country Needs You: the Secret History of the Propaganda Poster (2013). Completed his PhD at the University of Sussex in 2015 on the voyager artist William Westall (1781-1850) who sailed with Commander Matthew Flinders aboard HMS 'Investigator' (1801-1803) the first ship to circumnavigate Australia. 

In 1917 Wilkinson (1878-1971), a first-rate painter and poster designer, invented Dazzle ‘camouflage’. Thousands of British and Allied ships were painted with vivid and violently contrasting patterns of colour to deter U-boat attacks. Discover the life and work of Wilkinson and his Dazzle scheme that continues to inspire art and design. Was it really inspired by Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism? 

Julian studied History of Art at Cambridge. Formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. Publications include Venice - the Artist's Vision (1990, 1995), The Art of Diana Armfield RA (1995), Dictionary of Scottish Painters (1990, 1998, 2001, 4th edition 2010), A Hand to Obey the Demon's Eye (2000), Scottish Watercolours 1740-1940 (1986, 1991), A Private View - David Wolfers and the New Grafton Gallery (2002). Interviews artists for the Artist Magazine and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and The Critics Circle. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and appointed Keeper in 2010.

Modigliani remains one of the most popular artists of the 20th century. I discuss his short life in some detail looking at his early development and his arrival and life in Paris from 1906 to his death in 1920. Modigliani was at the centre of Bohemian Paris and was a close friend of Maurice Utrillo, Picasso, Max Jacob, Moise Kisling, Chaïm Soutine and many other painters and writers who made up Bohemian Paris. I discuss the influences on his painting and sculpture including Cézanne, African art and Cubism and show how he developed a highly individual style of his own. I look at his haunting portraits and sensual nudes while exploring the Bohemian life of Montmartre. 

After studying music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, Sandy Burnett spent a decade as one of the core team of music presenters on BBC Radio 3. He enjoys a varied career that embraces broadcasting, conducting, playing double bass and communicating his passion for music. His radio series for Ireland’s RTÉ Lyric FM, Great Moments in Classical Music, recently won silver in the Specialist Music category of the PPI Radio Awards. He regularly leads cultural lecture holidays, and is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music.

The story of one of the greatest creative collaborations of all:  Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, whose team of dancers, choreographers, and costume and set designers transformed expectations of what a night in the theatre could be, and the circumstances behind its most notorious stage work of all. Sandy examines the build-up to the Rite of Spring’s premiere in Paris, takes a look at the original costumes, plays excerpts from this fascinatingly inventive score, and explores what divided opinions of that first-night audience quite so dramatically.  No, nothing could top the riot at the Rite in 1913…

John has delivered lecturers, workshops in the US (Texas, California, Massachusetts), Beijing, Malaysia and the UK. Initially trained as a painter, he was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be artist in resident for the state of Texas.

Later in his career John produced and directed several short films and animations. He has taught film, art and pedagogy at the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, University Sains Malaysia, Southwestern College, California, Brunel University, London and recently Kingston University.

This lecture explores the relationship of art to film in the crucial years in Germany between the wars. Together we will examine the often dystopian vision of the city and society. Fritz Lang’s classic masterpiece Metropolis (1926) will be our starting point to understanding expressionism in German cinema. The blueprint of the murder/suspense/thriller genre film M (1931), was made by the same director and will be closely examined for its invention and influences. The paintings and drawings of Dix, Grosz and Beckmann will support our investigation into this highly important twenty years of European culture. 

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

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

The nude is still seen in our modern age, and indeed has been seen for quite some time as the pinnacle of creative artistic perfection, but throughout the course of art history the notion of the perfect body and consequently gender has been constantly reshaped and redefined. This lecture will look at the continuing fascination with representation of the body in sculpture and in painting across the ages, with sculpture from the 4th century BC, painting from the Renaissance, and through to the modern age with paintings from the Impressionists. This span of time will encompass iconic works within this lecture by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Bernini, Degas, Renoir and Velázquez, to name but a few. Moreover this lecture will look at the reasons that lay behind the commissioning of such images. What were their purposes, who were the patrons behind these images, and what, if any, hidden riddles; signs and symbols are hidden within these seemingly enigmatic and flawless images of perfection. As this lecture charts the ever changing attitude towards the nude as a subject we will look at the treatment of nudes by collectors and museums in the 19th century, as we set the scene and chart the many and varied approaches to this subject that has become synonymous with the very idea of art itself; indeed finally asking ourselves, ‘if this is art’, how did it become so and why?

Short reading list: Clark, Kenneth, The Nude: A Study of Ideal Art, (John Murray, 1956) Eire, Carlos .M. N, War against the Idols: the Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin (Cambridge University Press, 1986) Sutherland Harris, Ann, 17th Century Art & Architecture, (Laurence King, 2008)

Leslie holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. He 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. He also lectures at the City Literary Institute, and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

A fully illustrated talk with over 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 is one of the world's leading landscape photographers, and has lectured for 25 years throughout the UK, Europe and the US. He 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. 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 the 2015 Summer Exhibition.

The working collaboration between Eric Gill and Jacob Epstein in 1910 altered the course of sculpture in England. Rejecting both the Beaux Arts tradition of preparatory, modelled maquettes, and the mason’s rigid craft practice, they did their carving themselves, ‘…uniting what should never have been separated: the artist as a man of imagination and the artist as workman.’ (Gill, Autobiography). The lecturer, a professional stone carver, describes the ancient and Romanesque carving techniques and the Beaux Arts tradition and, using archive photographs, reveals Gill and Epstein’s methods. Examples of today’s direct carving in stone (of which the lecturer is an exponent) are shown. 

Madeline Goold, LLB; BA; M.Phil; SWLA, originally read Law at the London School of Economics, and later Fine Art and Art History at the Barber Institute, Birmingham.  She teaches stone carving at her studio and exhibits with the Society of Wildlife Artists to which she was elected in 2009.  She is a LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) gold medallist with Distinction in public speaking. 

Madeline will be showing her work at the Yew Tree Gallery in Morvah, Cornwall from 14th July to 5th August 2017.

From the early Kosovan silver mines which are mentioned in Dante, through the twentieth century politics over Kosovo’s mines which resulted in both a war and a golf course, a silver thread winds through Kosovo’s history. Its most intricate tanglings are in the country’s cultural capital, Prizren, where a seventh generation of filigree artisans use ‘filum’ and ‘granum’, zigzags, ‘mouse-tooth’ designs and other twists and turns to magic lacy creations from dull sticks of raw material. The results – in boxes, buttons, jewellery, religious ornamentation and the talismans of superstition – are a fine narrative of Kosovo’s history and traditions.

Elizabeth studied at Magdalen College Oxford before training as a teacher and working in Lambeth, Hackney and Islington. She moved to Kosovo in 2006 and there worked with the Ethnological Museum in Prishtina and co-founded ‘The Ideas Partnership’, a charity working on education and cultural heritage projects. She speaks fluent Albanian and has translated two books (the unauthorized biography of Yugoslavia’s longest-held political prisoner, Adem Demaci, and the memoirs of one of the leaders of the 1912 uprising). She is also the author of four books about Kosovo – Travels in Blood and Honey; Becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo (2011), Edith and I; on the trail of an Edwardian traveller in Kosovo (2013); The Rubbish-Picker’s Wife; an unlikely friendship in Kosovo (2015) and The Silver Thread; a journey through Balkan craftsmanship (2017). She is also a regular contributor to Radio 4 (Saturday Live, Excess Baggage, From Our Own Correspondent) and the BBC World Service.

According to historian Barbara Tuchman, the invention of the ball ranks as highly as the invention of the wheel. Simon Inglis agrees, especially after spending years delving into cubbyholes at pavilions and museums, in workshops and factories, finding out how these apparently simple objects came into being and how their design and manufacture has evolved. He asks, why are marbles glass? Why did the discovery of gutta percha transform golf? Why were games such as lawn tennis and ping pong made possible only in the mid 19th century? Why did some billiard balls explode, and why are rugby balls such an odd shape? In 1853 the ingredients of one manufacturer's cricket balls were listed as cork, worsted, hemp, brown oats, suet, lard, alum, stale ale and dragon's blood. Can this really be true, or is it, perhaps, just a load of old balls?

Note: Simon will bring along examples of old balls for passing round.

Simon is a writer and historian who 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 NADFAS, 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 skate-park in Essex, a world first that made the 10 o'clock news.

The GPO film unit created the uniquely British Documentary Film Movement and opened up the first creative use of film in Advertising. The General Post Office Film Unit in 1933 established an exciting collaboration of artists, photographers, composers, anthropologists, poets and animators. ‘Nightmail’ (1936) with words by WH Auden and music by Benjamin Britten and Len Lye’s ‘a Colour Box’ (1935) with its pioneering ideas of what an advertisement could be will be a central focus of the lecture. The social realism advocacy of this undervalued film unit can be seen decades later in the British New Wave films such as ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ directed by Karel Reisz (1961) and a ‘Taste of Honey’ directed by Tony Richardson (1962). Grierson’s powerful legacy can easily be identified in the recent films of Ken Loach and Danny Boyle. 

John has delivered lectures and workshops in the US (Texas, California, Massachusetts), Beijing, Malaysia and the UK. Initially trained as a painter, John was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be Artist in Resident for the state of Texas and has exhibited widely in America and the UK. Later in his career John produced and directed several short films and animations. He has taught film, art and pedagogy at the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, University Sains Malaysia, Southwestern College, California, Brunel University, London and recently Kingston University.

From the early sixties, when he left the Royal College of Art more famous than his teachers, Hockney’s paintings have shown a charm and humour that sets them apart from others of his generation. A naturally gifted draftsman, his love of ingenious visual devices has led him to experiment with a whole range of techniques, from stage design to coloured paper making. From the early abstract expressionist images, through his famous Californian scenes of swimming pools to the photo-montages of the mid-eighties, this lecture follows the career of an artist whose wit and imagination has never faltered.

Douglas read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time he has given over 4,000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies.  He has lectured in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, and has taken numerous tours around Europe.  He is also a writer, artist and TV presenter.

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Artists were never far behind the explorers who opened up the west of America in the 19th Century. Sometimes they painted what they saw. Sometimes they painted what they wished they saw. Either way, painters like Alfred Miller, Frederick Church and Albert Bierstadt have left us a powerful, if romanticised, record of the country and people that the settlers found. Now we can use their pictures to chart the history of the opening of America’s west - the arrival of the railroad, the confinement of native Americans into reservations, and the extermination of the buffalo.

This is a story on a big scale and it seems appropriate that among the pictures illustrating the lecture are some of the largest and most grandiloquent paintings of the era. After a period of deep neglect, they are now very much back in vogue, but whatever one thinks of their artistic merits, I hope audiences will agree with me that they are, above all, great fun. 

Toby has written two works of narrative history, Stradivarius and Fabergé's Eggs, and has 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. He 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.

This lecture commemorates the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death and is on the late Georgian interiors of her heroines. The formal drawing rooms at Mansfield Park, Barton Park, Rosings and Northanger Abbey will be compared with the numerous lesser Georgian drawing rooms in the country, London and Bath. The design of the table with the newspapers, the chairs by the fire and the sofa which can seat three, as well as the mantelpiece on which the Heroes lean will be imagined. The new dining room created by the Coles and the china and glass of 1814 will be contrasted with the Breakfast China of Norland park and Northanger Abbey coming from Staffordshire, as well as the new designs seen in London by General Tilney – in 1798 or when Northanger Abbey was revised in 1816. The possible wallpaper in Catherine’s bedroom at Northanger Abbey, the likely paper that Darcy would have chosen for his sister’s sitting room at Pemberley for the light, clearly Hepplewhite furniture that is mentioned, and Elinor’s choice for the parsonage on her marriage to Edward Ferrars.

Diana is a freelance lecturer in ceramic, glass and the history of interior decoration in Europe, North and South America. She lectures at the Inchbald School of Design, the Interior Design School and for American University Groups, NT and Antiques Societies and Christie's Education, and she guides groups through museum collections and country houses. She holds a Diploma with Distinction in the Fine and Decorative Arts from the Inchbald School of Design.

Growing up together in the shadow of their mother's illness, Paul and John Nash emerged as artists at the same time, exhibiting their work in a joint exhibition in 1913. The following year they both enlisted in the Artists' Rifles, and both served on the Western Front before working together as war artists. Both subsequently explored wood engraving and book illustration, but otherwise their art moved in different directions and, while remaining close, they each sought to distance themselves from the tag of 'the Nash brothers'. It could be the plot of a novel, but every word of this intriguing, personal story of brotherly love, strife and competition is true! 

James Russell is the author of a dozen books and numerous feature articles, mostly concerned with 20th century British art and design. Individual artists whose work he has studied in depth include Eric Ravilious (1903-42), Paul Nash (1889-1946), Edward Seago (1910-74) and Peggy Angus (1904-93). He played a vital role in the Royal West of England Academy's 2012 exhibition, 'Eric Ravilious: Going Modern, Being British' and in the planning stages of its 2014 exhibition, 'John and Paul Nash: Brothers in Art'. He is co-curator of the 2014 Towner Gallery exhibition, 'Peggy Angus'.

Czech  artist  Alphonse  Mucha  quite  literally  wrote  the book on Art Nouveau. Documents  Décoratifs  became  the  definitive  text on the subject. Everything that is best about the style - elaborate ornamentation with themes from nature, fine  draftsmanship,  idealised  feminine  subjects,  symbolism  and allegory all flourished through him at the highest level. The Master of the Decorative Panel and one of the four great masters of the Poster in the Belle Epoque, he learned much from Sarah Bernhardt and created jewellery, stained glass windows and the Great Slav Epic.

Charles Harris is a multi-award winning Creative Director of global advertising agencies who has lectured extensively on design, illustration and photographic styles as they have influenced the building of brands. He has created posters for Nestle, Kraft, Sony, General Motors and Shell.

His photography has appeared in Time Magazine and he has produced film and video programme in several countries. His talk features posters that capture the vibrant spirit of the ‘’golden age’’ of La Belle Epoque.

You can see Charles' website here.

This lecture will investigate the important role played by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) in the evolution from traditional to modern sculpture – as he succinctly put it himself: “I am the link, the bridge between the past and the future, between yesterday and tomorrow.” The talk will focus on Rodin’s famous masterpieces such as The Age of Bronze, The Gates of Hell, The Burghers of Calais and Balzac – looking at the ideas behind these works as well as the new techniques employed by the sculptor. Reading: Elsen, A., 1963 Rodin Museum of Modern Art New York Champigneulle, B., 1967 Rodin Thames and Hudson Exhibition Catalogue Royal Academy London 2006/7 

Evaline Eaton holds a BA Hons from the Courtauld Institute and a Diploma from the Study Centre for the History of Fine & Decorative Arts. She is a freelance lecturer in Fine Arts and tour-guide to Berlin, Dresden, Munich. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dresden Trust

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As adults we carry in our heads huge numbers of images from childhood, and some of those most deeply etche d come from illustrations in books that we read as children. Images of ‘Tigger’ and ‘Toad’ or even ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ will probably remain with us for ever! In addition to a wide range of examples John will examine how illustrations contribute to the development of understanding and how the interaction of image and narrative creates such powerful memories.  

John Ericson is a former university lecturer, consultant and tour guide with an eclectic range of interests and enthusiasms.

In her lecture on Vermeer, Clare Ford-Wille  explores his career, the influences of other artists upon his work, and the impact of the light and character of the town of Delft where he lived in the 17thC.

Clare holds an Honours degree in History of Art, Birkbeck College, University of London. Regular commitments include Centre for Lifelong Learning, London University, National Gallery, V&A Museum, WEA, Morley College, the City Literary Institute, the Art Fund and National Trust. For over 30 years she has studied and lectured on almost every period of the fine arts, from Charlemagne to the late 19th C, and has led study tours and lectured throughout the world.

Frank Matcham (1854-1920) was a British theatre architect whose surviving theatres include the London Coliseum, Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, Buxton Opera House, the Hackney Empire and the London Palladium.  His theatres used the latest architectural techniques to ensure good sight lines and acoustics, but are particularly valued for the exuberant Victorian and Edwardian Baroque architecture, blending a number of architectural styles into a satisfying and impressive whole.  Simon Rees’s talk illustrates these historic theatres with photographs of their present condition and postcards and architectural drawing dating back to the time when they were built.  As a former dramaturge for Welsh National Opera and a regular participant in the Buxton Opera Festival, he has nearly 30 years of working in many of these theatres, and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for their flamboyant decorations and their thoroughly practical design.

Simon Rees is a novelist, translator, librettist, children's poet and editor,  born in Chelmsford, Essex. He studied at Colchester Grammar School, then read English at Trinity College, Cambridge, and taught English in Lucca and Asolo, Italy and at Kyoto University Japan.

He has published three novels, The Devil's Looking-Glass (Methuen 1986), Making a Snowman (Penguin, 1990), and Nathaniel and Mrs Palmer (Penguin, 1991), as well as poems (most recently in Poetry Wales, Poetry Salzburg Review, Borderlines and Candelabrum). He has recently collaborated with Welsh composer Mervyn Burtch on an opera, 'Twm Sion Cati', and a piece for saxophone quartet and spoken voice, 'The Head of Brass'. He has translated many opera librettos for singing and for surtitles.

Simon was Welsh National Opera's dramaturg from 1989 until 2012. He worked with set, prop and costume designers and lectures on opera productions.

Catherine holds a degree in Fine Art from Canterbury College of Art, and a Masters from St Andrews. She is curator of Falmouth Art Gallery 1993-2000 and has organised exhibitions including ‘Women Artists in Cornwall 1880-1940’, and on Thomas Cooper Gotch and Henry Scott Tuke. Has lectured to the Friends of Penlee House Gallery, Friends of Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery and the Royal Institution of Cornwall. Publications ‘Catching the Light: The Art and Life of Henry Scott Tuke 1858–1929’ (2008). Catherine is putting together an itinerary for cultural visits, including museums and places of interest, in Cornwall which she will guide.

This was the second SIDDFAS public lecture, free to all.

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Looking at maps from their origin to the present, considering them as works of art and as functional tools. Assessing the particular challenges of mapping and of representation. Considering a range of maps, both thematic and geographical. 

Jeremy Black MBE is a Professor of History at Exeter University and has a very wide interest in History, Art and Design. He has published numerous books including “Visions of the World: a History of Maps” (2003) and “Metropolis: Mapping the City” (2015). He is also an advisor to the Royal Mail on stamp design.

The great Italian gardens of the Renaissance were created at a pivotal time for Western civilization, when man's spirit and intellect attained new heights in all fields of human expression. The lecture will show how the architects of these gardens applied the principles of great art to outdoor spaces: a feast for the soul and the body which inspired gardens all over. The talk will be supported by beautiful and inspiring images, some dedicated also to modern gardens designed from the influence and lessons of the past.

Dr de Beden was born in Rome and attended school in Milan surrounded by gardens. After becoming a qualified landscape gardener, she settled in Kew where she has her own practice. She is also a university lecturer and author of gardening articles in Italian and English.

His work has been called brash and shallow, and hers dismissed as fussy and spinsterish. These assessments are not really fair to either artist, and this lecture takes a careful look at their lives, in parallel, up to the point of Gwen’s death in 1939. At that time, she had no public reputation whatsoever, and her brother was enjoying enormous professional and critical success. By the time he died, however, the positions had been reversed, and the talk will consider the reasons why.

Linda Smith MA is a well-qualified art historian with a broad range of knowledge, and a special interest in British art, and the art of the twentieth century. She is an accredited NADFAS lecturer, and an experienced gallery guide, especially at Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

2016 will mark the 200th anniversary of the purchase of the so-called 'Elgin Marbles' from Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, by the British Parliament. This lecture, beautifully illustrated with specifically taken slides and video, will explore the aesthetics, the back-story, and the heated debates surrounding these fascinating and controversial works of ancient Greek art: what do we mean by 'the Elgin Marbles'? How and why were they originally created? What happened to them between their creation and Elgin's time? How did he acquire them? Why are they so highly regarded? Why are they now in the British Museum? And why are there such passionately held views both for and against their repatriation to Greece?

Dr. Steve Kershaw BA (Hons.) PhD has had a special interest in the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans ever since being introduced to Homer’s Iliad by an inspirational teacher at his primary school. He developed his interests in the Classics at Heath Grammar School in Halifax, before studying at Bristol University. Having achieved a degree in Classics, Steve stayed on to write his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Richard Buxton, arguably the leading scholar on Greek myth in the world. He is a Classics Tutor for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, and Professor of History of Art for the European Studies Program of Rhodes College and The University of the South.

From Leonardo's Mona Lisa to Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, we love paintings with an element of mystery.  Scholars have been puzzling over pictures like Giorgione's Tempest for centuries but more recently artists have deliberatley created realistic paintings where the mood or meaning is far from clear. Along with the paintings already mentioned, this wide-ranging international survey includes pictures by Poussin and Vermeer, Manet and Gaugin, Hammershoi and de Chirico, Andrew Wyeth and Eric Ravilious, Gwen John and Balthus. Why do some paintings have these enigmatic qualities? Are there particular techniques that artsists use to achieve them? And what do these paintigs tell us about our world - and ourselves?

Dr Way describes how Marianne North led an unconventional life capturing the essence of rare plants, many of which were named after her. This talk will explore her life and social context including an examination of why her paintings troubled Victorian society. 

Dr Twigs Way MA PhD is a professional garden historian, author, freelance lecturer and researcher.

James Gillray was the natural successor to William Hogarth but represented, in his cutting and cruel caricatures, everything about satirical prints that Hogarth despised.  Uncompromising and fearless in his art, Gillray tore into politicians and the royal family alike.  And yet, full of contradictions, that didn’t stop him pursuing a staunchly patriotic stance when it came to the French Revolution, nor accepting a pension to tone down his satirical bite.  After he died insane in 1815, his reputation, in the Victorian climate of moralistic righteousness, plummeted.  It is only now that he can be seen as the natural forefather of Spitting Image and the cartoons of Gerald Scarfe and Steve Bell – although none of these have quite matched the wit and vitriol of Gillray at his best.

Ian Keable MA graduated from Oxford University with a First Class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, qualified as a Chartered Accountant and then became a professional magician.  He is a member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star and has received the Magic Circle Comedy Award. He collects 18th and 19th century books, posters and prints relating to magic and hoaxes.  He has lectured at conferences from London to Los Angeles.

The Grand Tour was a phenomenon of the 18th century. This lecture charts the challenges and opportunities for the young British aristocrat abroad. The focus is also on the popularity of Venice as a tourist destination. As well as the magical combination of water, gondolas and picturesque buildings, Venice offered entertainment on a grand scale particularly during the carnival season. One of its many attractions was the paintings of native born artist, Canaletto. His views of Venice’s canals, full of sparkling sunlight, were so popular with the British that far more of his work is now in this country than in his own city. What made Canaletto’s paintings so very attractive to our forebears? Answers to this question will also be explored. 

Sarah Kelly graduated in Art History and Italian at Bristol University and she lectures on Western European art in France, Belgium and the UK. She worked at the National Gallery and the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath. She has also lived in France and Belgium, working as a lecturer (French and English) in Toulouse and at the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels. Since her return to the UK, she combines lecturing with teaching art history and working with visually impaired people in art galleries

Using illustrations from illuminated manuscripts, readings from literature and contemporary accounts, with songs, carols and dance tunes from Medieval England, she brings alive the spirt of a medieval Christmas. Come and enjoy this atmospheric and musical seasonal celebration. 

Audio/Visual

Sarah Deere-Jones has a wide experience in harp performance and has played with many international orchestras.

Edouard Manet is one of the most remarkable and fascinating artists of the 19th century. His life is full of contradictions – he loved to dress well and be a ‘man about town’ but was also an extremely hard worker devoted to his art: he was sharp tongued and had an acerbic wit, yet was also generous and compassionate: he was outwardly a respectable married man, yet had a succession of lovers and admirers: he had a great influence on the Impressionist painters yet refused to exhibit with them.

Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Manet attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts under Thomas Couture where he learnt to draw and to admire the great classical painters of the past, but he challenged the academic system of art training. The ‘Dejeuner sur L’Herbe’ of 1863 shocked the public and art establishment by making references to the great paintings of Giorgione, while depicting a notorious nude model sitting with two men dressed in contemporary fashion.

‘Olympia’ exhibited at the 1865 Salon went further suggesting a prostitute receiving flowers from a male client. Manet made references to the work of Titian and Giorgione as well as to contemporary pornographic images. In 1867 he began work on his most political painting, ‘The Execution of Maximilian’ which attacked the government of Napoleon 3, which Manet as a staunch Republican could not tolerate.

During the 1870’s Manet produced his most Impressionist paintings influenced by Claude Monet and by Berthe Morisot whom he adored. He painted some wonderful café interiors, culminating in ‘The Bar at the Folies Bergeres’ of 1882. Manet was also great portrait painter, able to capture the sitters’ character in a few seemingly effortless strokes of his brush. He painted many of the great figures of his day – Zola, Cemenceau, Mallarme as well as a succession of beautiful women.

Manet’s private life is intriguing. He met Suzanne Leenhof when he was very young, having a son by her and eventually marrying her, but his heart lay with Berthe Morisot, who conveniently married his brother Eugene. He died a painful death aged only 51. This is a fascinating lecture, full of art history and anecdote, about a fascinating man.

Julian Halsby is a painter and art historian who has had a distinguished career in the art world and who spoke to us at short notice last year on “The Glasgow Boys”. This fascinating lecture on Manet is full of art history and anecdote and should be a treat not to be missed. 

The SIDDFAS 25th Anniversary Lecture

Art critics and experts are often hilariously lampooned, and in this lecture we focus on the bafflingly mysterious Polish Rider in the Frick to evaluate a decades-long project to settle just which paintings Rembrandt did. That’s ended up as much a study of the trickiness of attribution as of Rembrandt. Right now, world Leonardo authority Martin Kemp is utterly convinced he has discovered a new work by the master – but many specialists beg to differ. We review a number of controversies, and feel the fury of judges listening to connoisseurial assertions, when questions of quality come to court. But the minefields facing experts need not deter the rest of us from making artistic judgments just based on life experience we all have.

David Phillips studied History at Oxford, and from 1968-82 worked for Nottingham Castle Museum. From 1982-98, he was a lecturer in Museum Studies and Art History at the University of Manchester. He has published articles and books on his specialisms and lectured to university audiences and community groups at the British and Ashmolean museums.

One of the greatest painters of the Romantic movement, and widely regarded as Britain’s greatest and best-loved artist, throughout his life Turner was obsessed with light and the forces of nature. His use of colour was to become visually stunning, particularly in his astonishing treatment of sunrise and sunset. Among his most beautiful works are his pictures inspired by Italy, and it was there that his use of colour was to become truly liberated, an aspect of his art which was to attract both praise and condemnation. His painting “Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus” was, according to the Literary Gazette, an example of “colouring run mad”, but according to Ruskin it was “the central picture of Turner’s career.” In a poll by Radio 4, December 2005, listeners were asked to vote for the Nation’s favourite painting in our great collections. Unsurprisingly, Turner’s “The Fighting Téméraire” received the most votes.

Valerie Woodgste is a Lecturer and Guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, also at many other London Galleries, for the National Trust and other organisations. She is a member of the teaching team at the Dulwich Picture Gallery; and a script-writer for the Living Paintings Trust, which brings art to the blind and partially-sighted.

This lecture looks at the development of Venice from the origins of the city, to the architecture of Andrea Palladio at the end of the sixteenth century. The waters of the Venetian Lagoon have been both saviour and enemy. Their protection enabled the city to become a magnificent Republic, a leader in global trade and a highly successful world power. All of this is reflected in the architecture her citizens created, from the delicate Gothic that so enchanted Ruskin to the elegant classicism of Palladio. Now those same waters challenge the city's very existence.This lecture covers the origins of Venice, the difficulties of building a city within the lagoon, and the idiosyncratic architecture that characterised the Venetian style. It also looks at the development of Renaissance architecture in Venice and explores the contributions of Jacopo Sansovino and Andrea Palladio.

Jo Walton read art history at Leicester University, then went on to do a postgraduate diploma in Oxford, specialising in the art and architecture of fifteenth century Italy. Much of her work now is for NADFAS (the National Association of Decorative and Fine Art Societies), but she also lectures for Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Art Fund and for local art groups and societies, she’s also lectured on several P&O cruise

Brian MacDonald has been dealing in antique and old tribal rugs, dowry weavings and decorative carpets from the Near East and Central Asia since 1979.

From 1972-1977 he lived and worked in Iran, spending the best part of a year amongst two tribal groups, the Afshar of Kerman province and the Qashqa'i of Fars, making him fortunate enough to be one of the few world dealers to have spent time 'in the field'. He also travelled extensively throughout Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey and in 1990 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his work amongst the Persian Tribes. He has returned to Iran several times in recent years, travelling, sourcing and collecting exclusive weavings.

He has been a lecturer for NADFAS since 1986. The second edition of his book Tribal Rugs - Treasures of the Black Tent was reprinted in April 2010 and he is currently working on his new book, Dowry Weavings of the Persian Tribes.

For 16 years he owned the well reputed Samarkand Galleries in Stow-on-the-Wold, eventually selling the premises in 2005. Today, he continues to work from his base in the Cotswolds as a dealer, consultant and lecturer, always stocking an exquisite inventory of antique rugs, dowry bags and carpets from the tribes and villages of Persia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Our lecturer is a multi-award winning Creative Director of global advertising agencies who has lectured extensively on design, illustration and photographic styles as they have influenced the building of brands. He has created posters for Nestle, Kraft, Sony, General Motors and Shell.

His photography has appeared in Time Magazine and he has produced film and video programme in several countries. His talk features posters that capture the vibrant spirit of the ‘’golden age’’ of La Belle Epoque.

You can see Charles' website here.

This lecture examines the development of abstract art through the work of the major artist and aesthetic theorist Wassily Kandinsky.

Theodora Clarke is an art historian, lecturer and critic specialising in Russian art and European modernism. She lectures widely on twentieth-century avant-garde painting and sculpture to audiences across the UK at museums, galleries, universities and associations. (Note that this lecture was originally scheduled for October)

To find out more about Theodora Clarke and Russian Art and Culture click here.

Ellen Terry's home for the last thirty years of her life was Smallhythe Place, a timber-framed, 16th century farmhouse situated just outside Tenterden in Kent. Now a National Trust museum, Smallhythe is a shrine to the life and career of arguably our greatest stage actress yet it is her jewellery which is an absolute revelation. Intimate, passionate and curious, this is not a mass of pretty jewels and baubles purchased for mere vanity or display but is instead a highly personal route map of a tangled and unconventional life spent within the rigid confines of Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

AUGUSTUS WELBY NORTHMORE PUGIN 1812 - 1852

Architect and Designer extraordinary

Shock! Horror! Probe! The art and artifice of ‘Fleet Street’: A newspaper story in pictures.

It was highly unusual in the l920’s and 30’s for a woman to work as a sculptor, but Barbara Hepworth had the motivation and determination to succeed.

Mr. Schroder was for some years a silver specialist at Christies, followed by several eminent curatorships.

… the extraordinary story of two iconic hotels built on Astor feuds, fortunes & art patronage .

Mary Alexander has brought her enthusiasm to SIDDFAS on previous occasions. She is experienced in lecturing at world-wide venues and this talk has proved very popular.

Unfortunately, Peter Medhurst is now unable to visit us to lecture on "Paintings Inspired by Music and Music Inspired by Paintings"