The art of beating gold leaf and gilding dates back to ancient Egypt.  Traditionally craftsmen pounded gold for hours to create sheets thin enough to cover the most finely detailed surfaces.  For over 22 centuries from Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus to Rachel Whiteread’s gilded frieze for the Whitechapel Gallery, skilled artisans have exploited paper-thin metal leaf to enrich materials such as wood, metal, marble, leather, paper, glass, porcelain and textiles – even food and drink. 

Artists and craftsmen have illuminated manuscripts and icons, decorated noble houses from top to bottom, adorned domes inside and out, embellished erotic canvases, and gilded chocolate and schnapps. Gold leaf continues to be used as the ultimate faux decoration and dazzling ornamentation.

Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and Freeman of the City of London. Originally a trained singer, pianist and orchestra administrator, Jo is now a decorative artist who gilds antique lace and crochet.  She works to commission, sells through galleries and exhibitions and collaborates with other designers.  Jo trained in wood graining, marbling, gilding, specialist paint finishes and interior design and was awarded the City & Guilds Silver Medal for Excellence in 2000. She taught in further education for 8 years on Art & Design National Diploma and Foundation courses then up-skilled at Central St Martin's College of Art & Design developing her own practice. She now divides her time as a designer/maker, lecturer and tutor running workshops for specialist groups.

Image credit: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Adele Bloch-Bauer I) Neue Galerie New York Public Domain

Starting at the Monument to the Great Fire of London designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, Janet uses Wren’s buildings to tell the story of the incredible rebuilding of London after the badly-handled Plague and disastrous Great Fire of 1666. We see how Wren drew on royal patronage, up-to-the-minute science, on an understanding of classical, other early and contemporary building styles and his deep insight into beauty and craftsmanship. Wren worked with a team of eminent collaborators to rebuild 51 new churches, crowned by the extraordinary domed Baroque St Paul’s Cathedral to quickly, efficiently and permanently redraw the skyline of London as well as developing a new built liturgy for the Church of England.

For eight years the Church of England’s Director of Church Buildings and Secretary of the Church Buildings Council and Cathedrals Fabric Commission, Janet has written three illustrated paperbacks to encourage wider enjoyment of these amazing buildings, Director's Choice, Churches of the Church of England, Director's Choice, Cathedrals of the Church of England and most recently (2022) Deans' Choice, Cathedral Treasures of England and Wales. A Cambridge graduate in History and History of Art, Janet worked at Sotheby’s for nine years, was a trustee at the Churches Conservation Trust, the Museum of Fulham Palace and the Friends of the V&A and guided and lectured at the V&A. Janet set up and ran an architectural history course of London around visits to significant buildings. Janet has also given tours and lectured on secular architecture and fine and decorative arts. Janet received an OBE for services to heritage in 2017, and in 2021 was made one of the first lay Canons of Bangor cathedral. 

Janet advised Royal Mail on the special Christmas 2024 stamps, which featured five cathedrals from across the UK and is currently working on a new book - Divine Light, the Stained Glass of the Cathedrals of England - due out Christmas 2025.

Image credit: Old St. Paul's Cathedral in flames - Project Gutenberg eText 16531 Public Domain

Perhaps the best-known British architect today, during his prolific career Norman Foster has designed an extraordinary range of buildings, from the Sainsbury Centre, for the Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, to the iconic HSBC building in Hong Kong, the Reichstag Dome in Berlin, the Millenium Bridge in London and of course the “Gherkin”. This talk examines the high-tech architecture of Britain’s most celebrated archistar.

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

Image credit: London - St. Mary Axe - The Gherkin 2004 Lord Norman Fosteri - CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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

Julia Musgrave got her first degree in Chemical Engineering and went on to become a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and IT project manager. In 2008 she decided that life was too short for just one career and decided to become an art historian. She now has a Graduate Diploma in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. She gained her PhD at the University of York for her research into the involvement of Roger Fry and the Bloomsbury Group and the social networks of the British art world in the development of the Contemporary Art Society from 1910 to 1939. She teaches Art History at the City Literary Institute (City Lit) and the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution (HLSI) in London.

Image credit: William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) - James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1885 -The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - Public Domain

What did ignorant 10 year-old boys like the young Botticelli or the young Rubens learn during their apprenticeships to become the artists we know today? This lecture looks at the hard work that went into making a painting, and the training needed to become a painter. Chantal will use the evidence in paintings themselves to understand daily life in the studio, - the darkness and the cold of winter, the precarious scaffoldings needed to paint any oversize picture, or the studies and preparatory sketches needed to train a good artist.  And what was it like for any young woman wanting to become an artist? There are many fascinating examples from the strong-willed business women, Artemisia Gentileschi and Maria van Oosterwyck to the portraitist Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun, who fled the French Revolution and whose memoirs describe all this and more.

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

Image credit:  The Florentine academy of Baccio Bandinelli - CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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

Dr Amy Lim is an art historian and curator, specialising in British fine and decorative arts from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. She is curator of the Faringdon Collection at Buscot Park, Oxfordshire, and of the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham, and a tutor at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. She was recently an exhibition researcher at Tate, contributing to British Baroque: Power and Illusion (2020) and 'Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain, 1520-1920' (2024). She is also the curator of the exhibition 'Love & Landscape: Stanley Spencer in Suffolk', currently showing at Gainsborough's House, Sudbury, which moves to the Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham, from 4th April 2026. Amy has degrees in History and Literature & Arts from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. She runs an online art dealership and has published articles and essays on a variety of art-related topics from gothic garden monuments to female patronage.”

Image credit: Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta (detail) courtesy of Amy Lim

Gaston Leroux scored a minor success in 1909–1910 with his potboiler novel The Phantom of the Opera. In the following century it grew to be a global phenomenon through a vast number of adaptations to stage and especially for the screen. How did the original novel come about, why has it proved so adaptable, and what gives it such a lasting grip on the popular imagination? With Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical as just one of the many examples, this lecture unpacks a world of mystery, masks and music to discover romance in China, comedy in South America and high art in Europe. Discover why this modern myth continues to surprise and intrigue.

John Snelson has been fascinated by musicals all his life and is a leading expert in British musical theatre (the subject of his PhD). His publications include Reviewing the Situation: The British Musical from Noël Coward to Lionel Bart (Bloomsbury), How to Enjoy Opera (Oberon/Bloomsbury), Andrew Lloyd Webber (Yale University Press) and chapters in many authoritative reference works. He is especially known for exploring musicals – British and American – in the light of not just the music and the stage, but society and culture to reveal what makes them so appealing, enduring and important. He is well known as a writer and speaker on all aspects of the lyric stage – musicals, opera, ballet – and has written many programme articles for leading companies in the UK and abroad. John has given talks for, among others, the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, the Garsington and Glyndebourne festivals and for BBC radio. For twenty years he worked for the Royal Opera House. He currently lectures at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Image credit: Public domain

London was a major character in the author’s stories, and we explore the buildings he lived in and visited, and how he fitted them into the landscape of Uncle Fred, Lord Emsworth, Bertie Wooster and the celebrated Drones Club. Plus the literary treats served up at Christmas by Wodehouse.

Richard took a BA Hons in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester, followed by an acting diploma at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. He combines acting, writing and lecturing. He has lectured in many venues including the National Army Museum and the Museum of London, as well as presenting a variety of virtual lectures online. Richard has contributed to, among others, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and the P G Wodehouse journal Wooster Sauce. A specialist in voice work, he has narrated numerous television documentaries and 180 audiobooks.

Image credit: Public domain

When Vasco de Gama set sail from the port of Lisbon in 1497, he was leaving behind one of the great Gothic jewels of Europe, but when he returned he brought with him the world. With the Age of Exploration came wealth, power and an empire that spanned four continents, from Goa to Brazil. This lecture looks at some of the treasures that came to Lisbon, from Japanese namban screens to inlayed bejewelled boxes and carved African ivories, and how the art and particularly the architecture of Lisbon responded in the form of the great Jerónimos Monastery at Belém.

Isabelle is an academic and educator specialising in the baroque, with a particular focus on Spain and its empire. She received a BA and MPhil in History of Art from Trinity College, Cambridge, where she is currently completing her PhD on the art of Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán. From 2017 to 2019 she worked as the Enriqueta Harris Frankfort Curatorial Assistant at the Wallace Collection and in 2020 her book Collecting Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in Britain and Ireland was published by CEEH. Alongside her academia, Isabelle is an expert guide for a travel company, leading groups around Spain and beyond, and she also teaches regularly for the V&A, Art Fund, Royal Academy, Chelsea Arts Club, Wallace Collection and University of Cambridge.

Image credit: Tournai tapestries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Two artists developed radically opposing approaches to the emotive power of landscape painting in Britain in the early 19th Century. One was dramatic, bombastic and fiery, intending to provoke powerful emotions and elevated thoughts. The other was spiritual, heartfelt and closely observed, asking the viewer to react to an intense, inward and personal approach to nature. These two artists were JMW Turner and John Constable, the leading British artists of their day. Not only did they approach painting in different ways but their lives were opposites as well. This lecture will explore their different approaches and their famous, bitter rivalry.

Dr Matthew Morgan is a freelance art historian, educator and museum professional. He has spoken on a wide range of topics from Caravaggio to Kehinde Wiley. His first love is the art of JMW Turner and his primary interest is European 18th and 19th Century painting. Dr Morgan studied History at Cambridge, undertook his Masters in Art History at The Courtauld Institute and his PhD, ‘Mediating Art and Experience: Art Museums in Las Vegas’, is from Birkbeck, University of London. As a lecturer he has spoken to groups across Britain and Europe in settings as varied as festivals, cathedrals, art appreciation groups and schools. He has lectured at the National Gallery, Royal Collection, Wallace Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum. As Museum Director, he ran Turner’s House in Twickenham, dedicated to the great landscape painter, JMW Turner. He has taught for over eight years at Birkbeck, University of London and was Head of the London learning team at the Royal Collection and has devised, run and delivered a wide range of learning events at the National Gallery. Prior to working in museums, he was a Director in the Valuations Department at Christies.

Image Credit: John Constable, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

It has been said that there probably isn't any place in all the stories ever told that is as famous as Troy. This talk will focus on the mythology of the Trojan war, which gave rise to some of the finest Ancient Greek literature and art, and will then turn to the fascinating tale of the discovery and excavation of the "topless towers of Ilion" at the site of Hisarlık in Turkey by Heinrich Schliemann and others. Using slides and video we will explore some splendid archaeological finds, such as the ‘Jewels of Helen’, and finally, via encounters with Greeks, Trojans, Hittites and others, we will turn to the burning issue of whether Homer’s Trojan War really happened. 

Dr Steve Kershaw 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. Since graduation Steve has taught Classics in a number of establishments, and now operates principally for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. He authored and teaches Oxford’s on-line Greek Mythology, The Fall of Rome, and Minoans and Mycenaeans courses, but he has also spent a great deal of time in the world of Classical Civilisation, both intellectually and physically: as a guest speaker for Swan Hellenic Cruises, Royal Hebridean Cruises, Voyages to Antiquity, Cox & Kings, Noble Caledonia, and Art Pursuits he has travelled extensively throughout the Mediterranean, and, as Professor of History of Art, he ran the European Studies Classical Tour for Rhodes College and the University of the South for over a decade. Steve also lectures regularly at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at New York University London. Former students include the Princess of Jordan, and he translated Matthew Pinsent’s 4th Olympic Gold Medal for him after his victory in Athens. Steve has made many media appearances, has edited and published a number of books and is an internationally renowned jazz double bass player.

Image credit: Golden diadem with pendants - Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE OF THIS LECTURE

Ceramics are hard, lustrous and useful, sometimes rare, costly and beautiful. They are fragile and disasters can strike in unexpected ways: as a trembling hand wields a duster in the drawing room of a grand country house; as a delicious dessert is prepared in the confectionery kitchen of an Ottoman Palace; or when a revered bowl which has passed through generations of owners falls to the floor during the Japanese tea ceremony. We can sympathise with the tears of a tired English housemaid when a matching set of treasured plates was reduced from six to five! Yet help for her was at hand in the form of skilled porcelain menders who, in the make-do-and-mend spirit of past eras repaired the damages with tiny metal rivets. In Japan, gold lacquer repairs are called kintsugi. When revitalised with intricate repairs and their unique histories of cracks and chips are outlined in gold, these tea ceramics connect with a philosophy known as wabi-sabi in which beauty can be found in the imperfect and incomplete. In contrast, Imperial China witnessed the deliberate smashing and burial of porcelain wares which emerged flawed from the kilns so they could not be seen by the emperors. We explore why some people in 17th century Spain ate fragments of broken pottery! The lecture includes my original photographs taken in China, Japan and Istanbul. 

Anne has been a lecturer and guide at the Victoria and Albert Museum for more than 20 years and has given regular gallery talks at the British Museum. She was a lecturer for the Royal Collection Trust for 14 years, including 10 years guiding private tours of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. She is a visiting lecturer for Sotheby's Institute and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Since 2008, she has been a member of the London faculty of Eckerd College, Florida, teaching Art History. She lectures extensively for private groups, including the Arts Society and has lectured on William Morris for the British Council and British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow. After studying Modern History at Durham University, 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 to the international community of diplomats and expatriates in Shanghai and Beijing. 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.

Image Credit: Bowl with “Hare’s Fur” Decoration - China  11th–12th century - Metropolitan Museum of Art

Paris was the birthplace of modern painting. As the city changed, so did art. Edouard Manet emerged in the early 1860s as the leader of a new group of artists determined to paint Paris and its inhabitants in a resolutely modern style. Manet’s pictures, with their bold view of metropolitan life, shocked contemporary audiences and helped foster the idea of an artistic avant-garde. The Impressionists, who followed a little later, similarly turned to the railway stations, dance halls, cafes and bars of Paris for subject matter but presented the modern city in a softer, more sympathetic light. This lecture explores the links between Paris and the birth of modern painting in the work of Manet, Monet, Renoir, Morisot and Degas.

Steven Barrett received a BA(Hons) in Fine Art  from The Liverpool School of Art and an MA in History of Art from Birkbeck College, London. He has been a lecturer at the National Gallery since 2004. He has lectured on the history of European art and architecture at Somerset House, taught courses on art and architecture at London colleges (The City Literary Institute and Bishopsgate Institute) and is a regular gallery and museum guide for U3A. Steven is also a painter.

Image credit: Public domain

Far from being a ruin, Cardiff Castle is one of the most remarkable houses in Britain. Dating from the time of the Romans, centuries of change culminated in the complete transformation undertaken in the 1870s by the Marquess and Bute and his eccentric genius architect William Burges. They created a ‘Feudal extravaganza’ in fifteen highly imaginative interiors, including an Arab room, a Pompeian roof garden and rooms with an astrological theme. The lecture examines this wonderful building and the personalities of those involved. 

Matthew Williams FSA trained as an Art and Architectural historian, gaining a good degree in Art History from The University of Nottingham.  His post-graduate qualification in Art Gallery and Museum Studies was awarded by The University of Manchester. With curatorial experience gained in both museums and contemporary arts, he was appointed as Keeper of Collections of Cardiff Castle in 1990, becoming Curator in 1998. 

He has since become a recognised expert on the work of the Gothic revival architect William Burges and lectures widely on the subject of Victorian design.  His book, ‘Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute’ was published by Scala Press in 2019. Matthew has written two guide books to Cardiff Castle, as well as a Pitkin guide on William Burges. He also wrote a guide to Insole Court.  His published articles include contributions to The Decorative Arts Society Journal, articles in ‘Country Life’, and ‘Architectural History’. During 2017, Matthew completed a successful tour of the U.S and Canada undertaken for the Royal Oak Foundation, Historic Seattle and Craigdarroch Castle. Matthew Williams has been an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society since 2001, and has also lectured to the Universities of Nottingham, Swansea, Cardiff and Southampton, The Art Fund, The National Trust, The Furniture History Society and The Tate Gallery.  He also lectures for The National Museum of Wales, Picton Castle, The Mount Stuart House Trust, Falkland Palace and Dumfries House. He has been awarded scholarships by The Attingham Trust in 2000 and 2003, as well as a Jonathan Ruffer travelling scholarship by The Art Fund in 2013.

Image credit:DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Common

Opera is a glorious but disconcerting art form. This lecture unpacks some of its idiosyncrasies – the huge voices, big gestures, and bizarre plots – and offers a way through the labyrinth. I’ve been working with these shows, backstage and front of house, all my professional life and cover practically everything, and everyone, involved in putting on a show. The singers, obviously, but also the band, dressers, armourers, stage crew, sound FX and the utterly essential percussionist who bongs the specially tuned gas pipes for Tosca.

Sarah Lenton has spent her working life in the theatre: her principal employers are the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Garsington Opera. She writes programme articles, radio and play scripts, gives lectures on the operas and ballets in the rep. and broadcasts regularly for BBC Radios 3 and 4. She is also a cartoonist.

Image credit: 'The Magic Flute' Opera performed by Opera North, Leeds, UK Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Jane Austen was a gifted social satirist.  Despite the fact that her novels are best known today as love stories, throughout her work she takes delight in lampooning human folly and vanity.  We know that Austen was inspired by satirical writings of the 18th century, but to what extent may she have been influenced by the satirical art of her day?  This lecture will explore links between the visual image and the written word; it will draw on a range of satirical prints published during Austen’s lifetime – including those by Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray - and consider how far these visual images may have influenced and inspired one of our greatest and best loved novelists.

Following a career in teaching, Annalie spent several years working on education programmes at museums and literary houses across the UK, including the Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; Wordsworth House in Cockermouth; Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire; and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. At Jane Austen’s House, Annalie won 2 Sandford Awards for Excellence in Heritage Education; she also worked with the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and Chawton House Library in promoting Austen’s work to young people.  Annalie’s lectures focus on aspects of Romantic and Victorian literature. She uses her knowledge and personal experience of literary houses - and their collections - to offer a unique perspective on writers and their works.

Image credit: Harmony before Matrimony by James Gillray - Public domain

Henry Moore established his unique approach sculpture from the 1920s based on Michelangelo, Cubism, abstraction and central and south American Aztec and Mayan cultures. He often sculpted family groups and reclining figures, and was a great believer in taking art into public places. By the middle of the 20th century, Moore was a dominant figure in world art. When Anthony Caro studied sculpture in the 1940s, he was taught by traditional sculptors.  Seeking to be modern he became Moore’s studio assistant for two years and made Moore-like sculptors. In 1959, Caro met with American abstract artists, and in consequence changed his approach, relying on sheets of steel to produce non-figurative sculptures. Subsequently Caro publicly criticized Moore for being a showman and thwarting younger talent. Moore took it badly and relations between them never fully recovered. This lecture traces the career of both Moore and Caro, and describes their time together, their falling out, and their respective impacts on modern sculpture. 

Ray has had a life-long love of art. However, in his twenties, Ray studied social sciences at the London School of Economics and the School of Oriental and African Studies. These studies led to a career in health and social care, with art being an evening and weekend passion. But all that changed in 2011, when Ray became a guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Then from 2014 to 2017, he studied art history at the Open University, and then at the University of Buckingham, from where he gained an MA in the History of Art. And to cap it all, Ray became an Arts Society lecturer in 2017. Ray also knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of lectures as he is a member of his local Arts Society in Blackheath.

In 'The Art Of The Cartoonist' Harry will be tracing the history of his profession with examples from early practitioners like Cruickshank and Hogarth, to more contemporary artists such as Giles and Schulz, bringing events right up to date with cartoons produced fresh on the page that day! Yes, Harry will be drawing live. Prepare to hear some tricks of his trade, learn where to put eyebrows for maximum effect and discover exactly what the eskimo brothers said in The Funniest Joke Ever (possibly).

Harry Venning is a cartoonist, comedy writer and performer based in Brighton. Harry’s cartoons have appeared in publications as diverse as Mathematics Today, Radio Times, Music Teacher and The Stage. For twenty five years he provided The Guardian with the weekly strip cartoon Clare In The Community, about an unaware and empathy free social worker. In 2004 he developed Clare In The Community into a successful BBC Radio 4 sitcom starring Sally Philipps which ran for twelve series. When not at a desk , Harry tours his cartoon workshop around schools, theatres, arts centres, cruise ships and festivals. He is an accredited lecturer with the UK Arts Society, an Honorary Fellow of the English/Creative Writing departments of Aberystwyth University, resident cartoonist with the Blue Hat team building organisation, UK Social Workers Union honorary ambassador, winner of a Sony Radio Award for Comedy and a former UK Strip Cartoonist of The Year. He cannot draw hands or horses.

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, and 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. He was formerly a Chartered Accountant and senior manager in multi-national IT companies, with extensive public-speaking experience.

The livery companies of the City of London are best known today as charitable organisations. But in their early days their focus was on their trades, acting as a cross between modern trade unions and regulators. The companies were (and still are today) jealously mindful of their place within the order of precedence, from the Mercers’ Company at number one to the recently founded Art Scholars at number 110. Within this hierarchy the top dozen, known as ‘the Great XII’ have always had a special prestige. This lecture is told from the inside, as it were. Given by a former Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company (number five), it explores the mystery of the origins of this order of precedence.

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

Through drawings prints and oil paintings and packed with great stories, this lecture discusses Hogarth's series of compositions for his Harlot’s Progress (1732), The Rake’s Progress (1732-5) and his Marriage-a-la-Mode (1743-5) and what they mean.

William Hogarth (1697-1764) aimed to be the first, native born leader of the British School of painting. As a Londoner, he was in a city which claimed to be ‘the capital of the world’ during his lifetime. With great wealth, there was great social deprivation. Hogarth used his art, especially his remarkable prints, to spread a social message, often laced with satire. Through drawings, prints and oil paintings and packed with great stories, this lecture discusses his series of compositions for his Harlot’s Progress (1732), The Rake’s Progress (1732-5) and his Marriage-a-la-Mode (1743-5) and what they mean.

Formerly Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, Hilary Williams is now an Art History Education Officer. She lectures for the BM, the London Borough of Bexley and the Wallace Collection. She is a Liaison officer at the British Museum with The Arts Society. She is the founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. She guides Special Interest Private Tours of State Apartments at Buckingham Palace.

Since the 1980s the collector Charles Saatchi has become one of the most powerful figures in contemporary British art. The lecture examines Saatchi’s rise to prominence as an advertising magnate and as a tastemaker, charting the changing shape of his collection and his effect on artistic reputations. Although he is most closely associated with Britart – the label attached in the 1990s to the work of younger British artists such as Gavin Turk, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, the Chapman Brothers and Chris Ofili, his collection has changed considerably over the years because he sells as well as buys work.

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 lecture will consider the importance of Dutch and English delftware for the history of European pottery and how these wares dominated seventeenth century ceramic production. It will begin with a brief history of tin-glazed earthenware, concentrating on the material and techniques employed, and go on to discuss the emergence of the town of Delft as a major production centre. It will demonstrate the impact of Chinese blue and white porcelain on the wares of both countries along with other stylistic developments such as the great ‘flower pyramids’ made for the court of William and Mary, the importance of delftware for the pharmacy, commemorative wares and the development of the ‘blue-dash’ charger.

Jane Gardiner has an MA in History of Art, from the University of London. She trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. She was a Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. She 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.

Founded in 1824, the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square houses one of the world's finest collections of European paintings, including such favourites as Jan Van Eyck's "Arnolfini Marriage", Sandro Botticelli's "Venus and Mars", John Constable's "Cornfield" and Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers. In contrast to its peers, however, this institution did not begin its life as a royal collection: the Gallery was founded by parliament and remains reliant on public funding. This lecture uses highlights from the NG's collection to show how our vision of the "ideal" art collection has evolved over time, along with ideas of the kinds of people the Gallery was supposed to serve.

Dr Jonathan Conlin is a cultural historian of modern Britain and Professor of Modern History at the University of Southampton. His books include "Tales of Two Cities" (2014), a comparative history of Paris and London, and biographies of Adam Smith and the Anglo-Armenian oil baron Calouste Gulbenkian. Born in New York, he studied History and Modern Languages at Oxford, subsequently moving to the Courtauld Institute and Cambridge for his MA and PhD. In 2023 he was commissioned by the National Gallery to write its bicentenary history. All his talks draw on his own archival research, allowing him to give audiences insights into how historians approach different kinds of evidence, the gaps and dead-ends as well as the surprise discoveries.

The Stirling Prize has celebrated the very best contemporary buildings since 1996. Some winners, such as Norman Foster’s Gherkin, of 2004, have become enormously successful and appreciated by the wider public. Others have proved harder to love. This entertaining lecture looks at some of the hits, some of the misses, and several buildings that arguably should have won, but didn’t.

Brian Stater lectured at University College London for 25 years, retiring in 2021 as a Senior Teaching Fellow. His principal academic interest lay in the appreciation of architecture and he has a lifelong enthusiasm for photography. He therefore offers lectures to The Arts Society on each of these subjects. He has written on architecture for a wide range of publications and an exhibition of his own photographs was held at UCL. He is a member of the Association of Historical and Fine Art Photography and he works with a pre-War Leica camera, as used by his great hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and many others. Brian is an engaging and amusing speaker who seeks to entertain as well as inform his audience.

In the heart of the mountains of southern Transjordan lies Petra, splendid capital of the Nabateans, a people of Arab origin who created in their lovely sandstone valleys a city unique in the ancient world. This remote desert stronghold with its extraordinary coloured rocks and carved façades has caught the imagination of travellers since it was first rediscovered in 1812. This lecture tells the story of the enigmatic Nabateans and explores their fine city with its temples, shrines, tombs, palaces and villas.

Sue Rollin works as a tour guide and lecturer in India and the Middle East, and as a freelance interpreter for the European Union, United Nations and other international organisations. She was formerly staff interpreter at the European Commission, Brussels, and tutor and lecturer in Assyriology and Ancient History at the Universities of London and Cambridge. Has worked as an archaeologist. Publications: Blue Guide: Jordan and Istanbul: A Traveller's Guide.

This lecture examines the life and times of Oscar Wilde from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity. We travel with him to the United States and examine his starring role within the artistic & theatrical worlds of late 19th century London. We visit his home in bohemian Chelsea and some of his favourite West End haunts. Finally, we learn how ‘tired of being in the heights, he plunged into the depths’ and became famous for being INfamous...

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

To kick off our seasonal celebrations, musician and broadcaster Sandy Burnett is on hand to share his selection of much-loved Christmas tunes. Expect an hour of the finest festive music from across the globe – his selections include sparking moments from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, a heartwarming ballad from Mel Tormé, something from Soweto, a heavenly chorus from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Leipzig, an illustration of the English carol tradition at its finest - and something more cynical from Eartha Kitt…

Sandy is one of the UK’s most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing. After studying 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 presenters on BBC Radio 3. Combining engaging scholarship with hands-on expertise, for ACE Cultural Tours he devises and leads cultural holidays at home in the UK and all over the world, is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music, is a highly sought-after double bassist on the London jazz scene, and was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music’s Hogwood Fellow for the 2018-19 season. During lockdown he established an online Listening Club which meets weekly to listen to and discuss great works of classical music.

There's more to the world of street art than Banksy, Hidden Canvases is a beginner's guide to the biggest art movement since pop art.  From train writing in New York to interactive technology that brings murals to life, the concept of un-commissioned public art is a very different beast to that which it once was.  Hidden Canvases explores the key stages in street art's growth examining the different elements and styles that comprise the scene with no rules.  From the international superstars to the local underground heroes you're guaranteed to leave knowing your Invader from you Aryz and who knows you might even start looking at the world a little differently.

Doug Gillen is heavily involved in documenting the street art scene in London and abroad through his project Fifth Wall TV and can offer a genuine insight into this world. Previously he lectured for London Art and More, and when not filming he is an East End tour guide for Alternative London, specialising in culture and art

Albrecht Dürer is among the stars of graphic art, of printmaking, in the Germanic lands. Based in influential Nuremberg, one of the centres of the Reformation and a hub of publishing, Dürer rose to prominence artistically and in the city’s government. Some of his prints established images which still pack a visual punch today. He went to Venice twice in his career and meeting Giovanni Bellini there changed his artistic life. Venice opened his eyes to the Italian Renaissance and guided him to have great aspirations for the art of his homeland. Although known for his stunning drawing of The Praying Hands, he was massively important as a printmaker in woodcut and engraving: he invented etching and drypoint in printmaking. Larger than that, he knew all of the key movers of his day, including Erasmus and was on talking terms with the Holy Roman Emperor. A fascinating character who represents the inner turmoil of Europe in transition.

Formerly Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, Hilary Williams is now an Art History Education Officer. She lectures for the BM, the London Borough of Bexley and the Wallace Collection. She is a Liaison officer at the British Museum with The Arts Society. She is the founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. She guides Special Interest Private Tours of State Apartments at Buckingham Palace.

By the close of the sixteenth century, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II had amassed one of the most impressive collections of art, natural artefacts and scientific instruments in Europe at the time. According to one Venetian ambassador, the paintings in his collection alone numbered three thousand. While somewhat reclusive on the political arena, Rudolf wielded his power through culture and the opulent display of wealth at his court in Prague. After a brief introduction to the concept and practice of the Kunstkammer, this lecture will explore the nature of Rudolf’s collection, the wide networks of artistic patronage that his collecting enabled across Europe, and examine the group of artists, philosophers, alchemists and esoteric figures who gathered at his court.

Albert Godetzky’s research concentrates on Northern European art of the early modern period. He is currently Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute where he received his PhD with a thesis on ‘Haarlem Mannerism’. Before joining the Courtauld, Albert was Visiting Lecturer at The Victoria & Albert Museum and the Harry M. Weinrebe Curatorial Fellow at the National Gallery, London, where he contributed to exhibitions including Rembrandt: The Late Works and Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure. Albert also works as a cultural advisor to several international corporate institutions and private individuals, drawing on his experience in the field and using education to widen understanding of and participation in the study of art history.

Venice is the greatest glassmaking centre in the world. For centuries its glassmakers have maintained an awesome mastery of technical and artistic ability and influenced every other country. The first important glass to be made in Britain for example was produced by Jacopo Verzelini, a Venetian who came to London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. George Ravenscroft invented lead glass in London in the 1670s, after working in Venice. Venetian glass techniques were a ‘must’ to copy in the 19th century and today Venice continues to exert its magic on British studio glass artists.

Charles Hajdamach is a former Director of Broadfield House Glass Museum (1974-2003) and one of the top authorities on glass in the country. He is the author of British Glass 1800-1914 (1991), 20th Century British Glass (2009) and a contributor to numerous books and magazines. He lectures internationally to glass museums and collector's societies. He is a Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology, and a member of the Arts Advisory Board at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland. He is President of the Glass Association which he was instrumental in founding.

Too often the sculpture of Central Europe is ignored and yet some of the most important pieces of Renaissance sculpture were produced in northern cities and towns, often for small parish churches off the beaten track, as well as for the large cathedrals. The lecture will trace the development of German sculpture in stone, for example at Strasbourg, Naumburg and Ulm. Then, as sculpture becomes independent of architecture, sculptors emerge from obscurity and during the later 15th and 16th centuries a golden age of sculpture, in particular through the medium of limewood, comes about, with the work of the great limewood carvers, Michael Pacher, Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoss and culminating in the glorious wood carving of the 17th century British sculptor, Grinling Gibbons.

Clare Ford-Wille has an Honours degree in History of Art, Birkbeck College, University of London. Regular commitments include the Centre for Lifelong Learning, London University, the National Gallery, the V&A Museum, WEA, Morley College, the City Literary Institute, the Art Fund and National Trust. She also leads study tours abroad.

This lecture will chart the artistic relationship between Japan and the West beginning with the Namban or golden screen paintings of ‘southern barbarians’ that reflected the presence of Portuguese Jesuits in 16th century Nagasaki. Japan’s subsequent isolationism and limited contact with the outside world through the Dutch trade produced a small but significant window to the West in the 17th and 18th centuries, introducing new artistic conventions and ideas. But it was the reopening of Japan to trade in the 1850s that brought quantities of Japanese prints and other artefacts into Europe, creating an explosion of interest in Japanese art and design among artists in the West, including the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. In tracing these developments, from Namban to Japonaiserie, the collision of Japanese and Western visual traditions and techniques will be explored.

Professor Marie Conte-Helm is a long-established Arts Society Lecturer with a BA in History of Art and an MA in Asian Art and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation from 1999-2011 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.

Picasso told his biographer John Richardson, ‘my work is like a diary; in order to understand it you have to see how it mirrors my life’. And indeed, one meets the living man – driven, ruthless, charismatic – as one encounters the artist, but how many Picassos are there? First the prodigiously talented child, then the dynamic young artist in Paris whose post-Impressionist early works turn Blue and then Pink, culminating in the shocking fright masks of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, a work which in turn leads to the great innovation of Cubism. But it doesn’t stop there - his restless exploration of his art unfolds in response to his shifting relationships with the many women in his life and against a backdrop of cataclysmic world events.

Sarah Stopford is a guide and lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern as well as for the Arts Society. She studied art history as part of her first degree at Harvard. After a further degree in English at Cambridge and a career as a teacher of English literature in both the United States and England, she has returned to the world of art history where her special interests are in British and post-1900 art as well as the connections between literature and the visual arts.

Stubbs was regarded by his aristocratic, sporting clientele as merely ‘Mr Stubbs the Horse Painter’, a workaday artist. Physically robust, temperamentally energetic and purposeful, he spent time in a remote farmhouse dissecting horses for his The Anatomy of the Horse, 1766. He is now viewed as one of the greatest British artists, and the most profound and original of all animal painters. From the first zebra ever seen in England to a white poodle in a punt, he represented exotic animals, dogs and people with amazing accuracy. His pictures are memorable images: masterpieces of concentrated realism organised into a formal design. 

Carolyn Leder is the Adviser to the Stanley Spencer Gallery and a former Trustee. Publications include a book on Spencer’s Scrapbook drawings (Stanley Spencer: The Astor Collection, 1976) and a contribution to ‘The Holy Box’ (2017). Historical Adviser to BBC and Arts Council Spencer films, she was keynote speaker in Australia at Carrick Hill’s 2016 Spencer exhibition (the largest ever held in the Antipodes). Consultant to Spencer’s writings edited by his grandson John Spencer, and to Nicola Upson’s novel Stanley and Elsie, she is also regularly consulted on Spencer by Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Apart from Spencer’s daughters, she knew his brother the artist Gilbert Spencer, the maid Elsie who features in the Scrapbook drawings, and Daphne Charlton with whom Stanley had an affair (the subject of Carolyn’s 2017 exhibition, An Artistic Affair: Stanley Spencer and Daphne Charlton). 

Better known as the Vikings who gave their name to Russia and mainly originating from Sweden, they expanded eastwards, tearing their hot talons through the lands that stretch from the northern coast down to Novgorod and Kiev and with their insatiable eyes always on the ultimate trading prize: Constantinople. The story of the Rus is even more dramatic and savage than that of their Scandinavian cousins who caused mayhem in the British Isles with their bizarre funeral rites, immense courage in battle and travel, but utter disregard for human life. That said, they were loved by their women who put up poignant memorials to them and it was through them that Christianity found its way to Russia. It was also through them that the icon as an art form travelled from Constantinople to Novgorod. In the two centuries of their rampaging through eastern Europe, a few characters stand out, not least for their inventiveness and sense of humour.

After nearly 20 years in the British army, Imogen went to the University of Kent to study Anglo-Saxon & Medieval History and Art, graduating with 1st class honours, followed by an MPhil from the University of Birmingham. She works as a freelance lecturer across Britain and Europe as well as lecturing on small cruise ships and running study tours and courses on land. She has written Stone on Stone: the Men Who Built the Cathedrals, published 2019. She is a Freeman of the City of London, being a Member of the Company of Communicators.

This lecture will take place in St Michael's Church, Sunninghill

The Christmas that we now celebrate is largely based on the one that the Victorians invented but there are many traditions that we take for granted that have their origins in much earlier times…Who  invented mince pies, Christmas pudding and cake? Where did cross dressing, and slapstick from theatrical performances become part of the Christmas tradition? Who invented and designed the first Christmas card and what themes were popular in this artistic industry?

Jane is currently a Special Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal Bath. She interviews visiting actors, writers, directors and lectures regularly to theatre going societies, NT and history and fine arts groups. She is a West Country Tourist Board Registered Blue Badge Guide and Lecturer and author and researcher of theatre programme notes on Hamlet, Sheridan's The Rivals and Jane Austen's Emma. She is also a theatrical landlady! As a Home Economist. Jane is a consultant to various TV productions of Jane Austen adaptations on food in the 18th and 19th centuries. She hosts and cooks period meals in her Regency house in Bath for the Jane Austen Festival and other literary groups. 

This is a narrative approach to the revival of 15th century carpets in Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan. Illuminations on vellum – containing the only surviving representations of textiles from this era – flourished, despite the Islamic prohibition on representative art – and are all we had left of Timurid Carpets until Chris Alexander’s workshop began to weave them to life again.  The lecture will examine the traditional role of carpet weaving and embroidery in the social lives of Central Asian women and how social and political influences led to the decline of textile production. How do the constraints of gender-inequality, corruption and the sourcing of natural dyes from neighbouring Afghanistan continue to challenge attempts at reviving the rich textile heritage of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand?

Chris Aslan was born in Turkey (hence the name Aslan) and spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying Media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries, and becoming the largest non-government employer in town. He was kicked out as part of an anti-Western purge, and took a year in Cambridge to write A Carpet Ride to Khiva. Chris then spent three years in the Pamirs mountains of Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down. Next came two years in Kyrgyzstan living in the world’s largest natural walnut forest and establishing a wood-carving workshop. Since then, Chris has studied and rowed at Oxford, and is now based in Cambridge and focussed on writing fiction, including Alabaster, Manacle and Mosaic, and The Broken Hexapus. He is currently working on a new book on the Silk Road that marries travel and textiles, and lectures for The Art Society. He also leads tours to Central Asia, returning whenever he can having left a large chunk of his heart out there.

Due to unforseen circumstances this was cancelled.

Occupying a pair of early Georgian townhouses nestled in historic Greenwich, the story of how The Fan Museum came to fruition dovetails into the multifaceted history of the handheld fan. From an especially rare Elizabethan-period embroidered folding fan to contemporary examples decorated by street artists, discover some of the key objects within the Museum’s extraordinary collections which encompass more than 5,000 fans and related objects dating from the eleventh century to the present day and gathered from most parts of the world.

Having successfully completed a BA (hons) in Fashion at Reading School of Art, Jacob took up a position as an assistant for womenswear designer Donald Campbell. In 2010 he returned to education and obtained a postgraduate degree (Distinction) in Fashion Curation from London College of Fashion. Shortly thereafter Jacob joined The Fan Museum, the UK’s only Museum dedicated to the history of fans and craft of fan making. As the Museum’s Curator, he is responsible for co-organising its temporary exhibition programme and overseeing loans from the Museum’s extraordinary collections to organisations such as the Palace of Versailles and Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2017 he curated ‘Street Fans’, a pioneering project linking street art and fan making which drew record audiences to The Fan Museum. Looking forward to 2021, the year in which The Fan Museum celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, Jacob will curate a special exhibition of fans at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion and Film, Atlanta, Georgia.

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 is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations. Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in West London. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

Vienna, that great border fortress on the Danube, is inseparably linked with the fate of the Habsburg dynasty, hereditary Arch Dukes of Austria and elected Holy Roman Emperors. The lecture begins with the rise to power of the Habsburg family and the formation of their collections. The lifting of the siege of Vienna in 1683 by the Ottoman army allowed the construction of a new imperial city with its magnificent Baroque palaces, churches and civic buildings.  Following the invasion of Napoleon and his abolition of the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg dynasty reinvented itself as Emperors of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The massive city walls were demolished and Vienna emerged as a modern city. Otto Wagner pioneered a new form of modern architecture and the modernist Secession movement promoted the highly disturbing paintings of Gustave Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oscar Kokoschka. All this came to an end in the catastrophe of the First World War and the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Dr Watkins Studied in Florence, Vienna and at the Courtauld Institute of Art.  An art historian, author, critic, exhibition curator, lecturer, his numerous publications include Matisse (1984); Bonnard (1994); Bonnard Colour and Light (Tate Gallery and Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1998); ‘The Genesis of a Decorative Aesthetic’ in Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis and Roussel, 1890-1930 (The Art Institute of Chicago and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001); Behind the Mirror, Aimé Maeght and his Artists, Bonnard, Matisse, Miró, Calder, Giacometti, Braque (Royal Academy of Arts 2008-9); ‘Bonnard et l’art décoratif’ in Bonnard Peindre L’Arcadie (Musée d’Orsay, Paris 2015, Madrid 2016, San Francisco 2016); ‘The making of Matisse’, RA Magazine Summer 2017; ‘Bonnard’s use of colour’, RA Magazine Winter 2018; ‘Gauguin returns from Tahiti’, RA Magazine Autumn 2019. 'Christopher Le Brun painter sculptor', Sculpture Journal, Summer 2012. Television, BBC film, Pierre Bonnard: A Love Exposed, Omnibus, 17 February, 1998. He is a regular contributor to The Burlington Magazine and other leading art journal and lectures extensively to universities, museums, galleries, National Gallery and Royal Academy.

When Diaghilev created ballet in the west in the early twentieth century, he brought extraordinary revolutionary energy from Russia. By bringing together talented artists of different disciplines; choreographers, dancers, musicians, designers and painters; Fokine, Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Picasso and Coco Chanel to name but a few, Diaghilev fused the latest in art, music and dance in spectacles that dazzled and astonished audiences around the world.

The dream Diaghilev created of dance joining hands with the other creative disciplines to create a total work of art changed the course of ballet forever. Using stills and video clips we take an exciting look at the Ballets Russes that dominated the ballet stages of the world from its explosion in Paris in 1909 until Diaghilev’s death in 1929.

Jennifer Toynbee-Holmes is an experienced guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern and lectures at various art societies and institutions. She has a special interest in British and European art of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th century. Having gained an MA in film and television practice, Jennifer had a long-standing career spanning twenty years as a television producer/director making documentaries and factual programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. She was also a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths College and Birkbeck, University of London and a senior lecturer at Southampton Solent University in the Faculty of Media, Arts and Society.

This lecture ws postponed from April 2020 and July 2021

2020 marked the 500^th anniversary of the death of Raphael. The monumental figures and clarity of form of his art epitomise the grandeur of the High Renaissance while his masterful drawings, in a variety of media, reflect his creative processes. His early death at the age of 37 belies the scope of his work and future influence. In this lecture, we will study his art and architecture, from his early work in Urbino and Florence to its full maturity in Rome.

Shirley Smith Graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class honours degree in the History of Art, specialising in the Italian and Northern Renaissance. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a part-time lecturer for the University of East Anglia and for the Department of Continuing Education of the University of Cambridge. She has run study days and certificate courses as well as residential weekend courses. She also lectures to the Art Fund and individual clubs and societies. She is particularly keen to set the art and architecture of the period in the context of the society for which it was produced.

At the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 Carl Fabergé’s display elicited the following praise from the Jury: ‘this is craftsmanship at the very limits of perfection, the transformation of a jewel into a true object of art’. This lecture celebrates the varied array of luxury objects and jewellery created by the virtuoso Russian goldsmith Fabergé in the decades around 1900, and the craftsmanship by which they were made. The magnificent jewelled Easter Eggs made each year for the Tsarinas might be inspired by an event such as the opening of the Trans-Siberian railway, or simply the icy beauty of a Russian winter. But, in addition to the eggs and reaching far beyond the Russian court, the lecture considers elegant jewellery, vivid enamels, humorous hard-stone carvings and naturalistic flower studies. We explore Fabergé’s universal appeal, a magic made even more poignant by our knowledge of the impending destruction of the Great War and the Russian Revolution.

Clare Phillips (M.A. Royal College of Art, London) has been a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum since 1989. As a jewellery historian she is part of the small team dedicated to the V&A’s jewellery collection and is the author of the V&A’s classic book ‘Jewels & Jewellery’. In addition to her work with the permanent collection, she has been responsible for the more focussed jewellery content within many major V&A exhibitions from ‘Art Nouveau: 1890-1914’ in 2000 to ‘Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up’ in 2018. Her books range from Thames & Hudson’s accessible introductory text ‘Jewelry - from Antiquity to the Present’ to ‘Chaumet Tiaras: Divine Jewels’ which she co-authored in 2019. In 2006 she curated the exhibition ‘Bejewelled by Tiffany’ at the Gilbert Collection, Somerset House.

Books of Hours are the most famous late medieval illuminated manuscripts. They are private prayer books for domestic use at home, and they often include enchanting illustrations and decorated borders, sometimes with scenes of daily life in the Middle Ages. The lecture looks at what a Book of Hours comprises and how they were used and who commissioned them. It shows how we can date and localise surviving manuscripts. It discusses how and where Books of Hours were actually made, and it follows through the various stages of writing, painting and illuminating a medieval manuscript.

“Immerse yourself in the medieval world of Christopher de Hamel” (Sir David Attenborough’s advice on life, quoted in The Evening Standard on his 90th birthday). Christopher de Hamel, FSA, is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He has doctorates from both Oxford and Cambridge. He was a director of Sotheby’s for 25 years, responsible for illuminated manuscripts, and then librarian of the Parker Library in Cambridge for 17 years. His very many books on medieval manuscripts include the best-selling Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, which won the Wolfson History Prize. He is widely known as a lecturer across six continents.

The work of art is not just a symbol of creative genius but a historical object and the result of a laborious process of creation. This lecture looks at the development of stained glass, its purpose, the process by which it was created and some of the extraordinary survivals. From vast cathedrals to tiny chapels, we concentrate on the great achievements of the Middle Ages but consider, too, the reasons for the decline in popularity of this once-preeminent art form and some of the projects in which it has been reconsidered and revived.

Nicole studied Art History at the Universities of Sussex, York and Paris. She was Senior Lecturer at Queen's University until 2009, working primarily with adults, managing and teaching on both the Part-Time degree and Extra-Mural programmes and conducting annual, international study tours. She also established the Department of Art History, the first in the north of Ireland. Nicole now lives in central London and is a freelance lecturer, working for organisations including National Museums, the National Trust, Queen's University and private cultural bodies. She is a guide lecturer for tours and will shortly embark on her second lecture tour of New Zealand for The Arts Society and ADFAS in Australia. Her publications focus on adult education and the arts.

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

Bertie Pearce has a BA (Hons) in Drama from Manchester University, and a Diploma Internationale from the École Internationale du Théâtre, Jacques Lecoq. He is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star. Past experience includes lecturing and performing on cruise ships, and to U3A, historical societies, festivals, schools and colleges. In addition, he has toured the world with a magic cabaret show and a one man show entitled All Aboard. He has written articles for newspapers and magazines on entertainment and theatre.

Our royal families have celebrated Christmas throughout their long history, from William the Conqueror making sure of his claim to the English throne by being crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. Feasting on a spectacular scale characterised medieval Christmases – we read of extraordinary culinary delicacies served to Henry II, crane’s flesh, peacocks and herons. Present-giving always marked the season, from the extravagant – the City of London presented Richard II with a camel and a pelican – to the witty – Mrs. Thatcher sent the Queen a pair of yellow washing-up gloves having seen Her Majesty doing the dishes without any. This lecture explores these traditions and other delights, many of which we have adopted as a necessary part of our own celebrations.

Roger was a chorister at Wells Cathedral School and a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with an honours degree in English. He combined a teaching career with professional singing in London, and after obtaining a further degree in Music became Director of Music at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College in Edinburgh.

After retiring in 2003 he returned to the south of England. He is President Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society and Chairman of Windsor and Maidenhead Decorative and Fine Arts Society.

This lecture has been rescheduled from last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic

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

As a part of this lecture, there will be a live music performance of faithfully reproduced solo lute music.

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

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

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

This lecture has been rescheduled from last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic

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

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

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (d. 1569) is probably best known for his colourful depictions of peasants making merry or toiling in the fields. He also painted religious scenes in the Netherlandish countryside. Although these works lent him the epithet, ‘Peasant Bruegel’, his work was more than just charmingly naïve. He was very much a townsman with a good eye for landscape, who painted for discerning collectors. He also lived in a time of religious and political turmoil that is evident in some of his ‘darker’ works. This lecture will show that there is more to Bruegel than peasant paintings.

Dr Sophie Oosterwijk was born in Gouda (Netherlands). She has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester). She has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and organised many study days, tours and visits. Dr Oosterwijk is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University and travel companies, and Honorary Research Fellow with the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews. She has also had numerous publications. 

The extraordinary story of the rebuilding of the Cathedral as a symbol of peace and reconciliation and its inspiring commitment to the modern. Experience the work of many of the world-class artists associated with its treasures including Epstein, Frink, Piper and Sutherland.

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

This lecture was rescheduled from last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic

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.

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. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and is being awarded an honorary doctorate. He 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. He is the author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Julian is curating an exhibition 'A Potted History of Britain' at the Museum of East Dorset. He also curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016.

This lecture explores the relationship between the lives of the Pre-Raphaelites and the literature they loved and how it informed their paintings: Keats, Shakespeare and Rossetti’s own poems will be used to shed a fascinating light upon some of our best loved painters and poets.

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

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

Due to Coronavirus restrictions this lecture will be delivered online. Joining details will be emailed to members.

The 14^th century artist Cennino Cennini recommended using “the chicken bones that you will find under the dining table” for making charcoaled bone black to paint with. His treatise, The Artists’ Handbook, gives us an understanding of some of the surprising materials which any artist had to master before he could begin to paint, such as the tail of a squirrel to make his paintbrushes. But many of these materials were difficult to use and have an effect on the finished look of paintings from the centuries before industrial processes changed the artist’s world. This lecture will explain the techniques and the reasons for some of the features of 15^th and 16^th century paintings which may seem odd to our modern eyes. Examples of the materials mentioned in the talk will be brought to pass round and discuss with participants.

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

Due to Coronavirus restrictions this lecture will be delivered online. Joining details will be emailed to members.

In the Georgian period there was a constant desire for change and novelty and thus styles in furniture design succeeded each other rapidly. This lecture will discuss the main stylistic changes in the 18^th century. We will show how the restrained and elegant lines of the Queen Anne style gave way to the richer, more elaborately carved furniture of the early Georgian period. In the 1750s, furniture is increasingly influenced by French rococo fashions, which are popularised in Chippendale’s pattern book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1754). This had a wide influence on provincial furniture makers. We shall discuss the characteristics of the Rococo style and look at the work of other eminent cabinet-makers of this period. The Rococo style had two offshoots - Chinoiserie and Gothick. Both these styles affected furniture and resulted in some delightful and whimsical pieces. In the late 1760s Robert Adam sought a new refined classical style, suitable for the elegant classical interiors that he was creating. His ideas had enormous influence on designers like Hepplewhite and Sheraton, who designed furniture for the middle class market.

This lecture will also discuss the formal way in which furniture was arranged in the 18^th century and  the diverse role of the cabinet-maker at this time, who was often responsible for entire decorative schemes.

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

Due to Coronavirus restrictions this lecture will be delivered online. Joining details will be emailed to members.

French 17th century chateau design owes much to one man: the ambitious visionary Nicholas Fouquet who is still somewhat of an enigma today. He seemed invincible but made one grave error of judgement,  which was to lead to his downfall. He employed the country’s best talent of the day to commission a spectacular chateau for himself. In doing so,  he was completely outshining the Sun King; Vaux le Vicomte presented a radical new look for the century, whilst Versailles was nothing more than a humble hunting lodge at the time. The story that ensues is legendary. This lecture explores innovative garden design and architecture together with lavish interiors to tell the shocking story.

Carole is an experienced guide and lecturer on combined history and art tours in France with 20 years’ experience. Having lived and worked on a number of bespoke river vessels and converted barges there, she has used them as a platform from which to research her lectures. She uses art in all its guises to explore the characters who shaped France and likes to delve behind the scenes to discover hidden truths. She also acts as a guide for a privately owned ancestral home in her native Chilterns.

Due to Coronavirus restrictions this lecture will be delivered online and details on how to participate will be sent to members via email

Whatever our beliefs, the Story of the Nativity is just that – a wonderful story. The birth of a baby to poor parents in a stable is simple and appealing: The Annunciation, The Visitation; the Angels appearing to the Shepherds – and so on. It is not surprising therefore, that this story has inspired so many artists across so many years: stone carvers, wood carvers, muralists, mosaicists and of course painters. We dip into the richness of this vast history of work, many by true masters, each made to venerate and inspire, each filled with beauty, mystery and hope and each telling that same much loved story… 

Elizabeth Strang attained a humanities degree through the Open University, with art as a main subject, specifically modern art. She was recruited as a Guide when Tate Modern opened in 2000 and has since worked at both Tate Modern and Tate Britain, covering all aspects of art. She has lectured on cruises for 3 years, specialising in 20th century art, and now lectures widely on the subject.

Due to Coronavirus restrictions this lecture will be delivered online at the normal time. Details on how to participate will be sent to members via email

Windsor Great Park is the largest and oldest open space in the densely-populated south-east of England. Its origins lie in the hunting forests of the Saxon and Norman kings. In the 18th century the Duke of Cumberland began the transformation of a section of the Park into his country estate, creating Virginia Water Lake. King George IV used the Park as his private pleasure ground, complete with Chinese Fishing Temple and a Royal Menagerie. This lecture traces the development of the Park and historic buildings from Saxon times to the present day

Barbara grew up in Eton with Windsor Castle as part of her daily view. She is a lecturer, examiner and course director on Blue Badge Guide training courses and an acknowledged expert on Windsor Castle, for which she has been the Blue Badge Guides’ Site Liaison Representative since 1990. With permission from the Crown Estates Barbara has conducted
coach tours and site visits in Windsor Great Park.

As a result of the cancellation of live lectures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will be offering online lectures instead until it is thought safe to resume meetings. The first of the online lectures will be held on 3rd November. Members will be notified by email with invitations and instructions on how to access these. In the meantime, we do hope that you will join us, with a cup of tea or coffee, online at this, our first coffee morning, where we can meet up again, albeit remotely, and find out how to view lectures when they occur.

This lecture was postoned because of Coronavirus

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.

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. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and is being awarded an honorary doctorate. He 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. He is the author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Julian is 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. He also curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016.

This lecture was postoned because of Coronavirus

Following our popular visit last year to the ‘Chihuly at Kew’ Exhibition, we are delighted to be able to offer a lecture about Dale Chihuly.

American glass artist Dale Chihuly (born 1941) is the super-star of the glass world. With his passion for glass, his larger-than-life personality, his skills as a natural leader and educator, and his constant exploration of glass's luminous qualities and colour possibilities, he creates glass sculptures which are extravagant, colourful and spectacular. Following two accidents he is no longer able to hold a blowing iron and now employs two glass teams to blow his visions from his spontaneous drawings, themselves works of art. His glass magic has transformed the studio glass movement and altered our visual perceptions of this extraordinary material forever.

Charles Hajdamach is the former Director of Broadfield House Glass Museum (1974-2003) and one of the top authorities on glass in the country. He is the author of British Glass 1800-1914 (1991), 20th Century British Glass (2009) and contributor to numerous books and magazines. Charles lectures internationally to glass museums and collector's societies. He is a fellow of the Society of Glass Technology, and a member of the Arts Advisory Board at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland as well as President of the Glass Association, which he was instrumental in founding.

This lecture was postoned because of Coronavirus

2020 marks the 500^th anniversary of the death of Raphael. The monumental figures and clarity of form of his art epitomises the grandeur of the High Renaissance while his masterful drawings, in a variety of media, reflect his creative processes. His early death at the age of 37 belies the scope of his work and future influence. In this lecture, we will study his art and architecture, from his early work in Urbino and Florence to its full maturity in Rome.

Shirley Smith Graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class honours degree in the History of Art, specialising in the Italian and Northern Renaissance. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a part-time lecturer for the University of East Anglia and for the Department of Continuing Education of the University of Cambridge. She has run study days and certificate courses as well as residential weekend courses. She also lectures to the Art Fund and individual clubs and societies. She is particularly keen to set the art and architecture of the period in the context of the society for which it was produced.

This lecture was postoned because of Coronavirus

2020 marks the 500^th anniversary of the death of Raphael. The monumental figures and clarity of form of his art epitomises the grandeur of the High Renaissance while his masterful drawings, in a variety of media, reflect his creative processes. His early death at the age of 37 belies the scope of his work and future influence. In this lecture, we will study his art and architecture, from his early work in Urbino and Florence to its full maturity in Rome.

Shirley Smith Graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class honours degree in the History of Art, specialising in the Italian and Northern Renaissance. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a part-time lecturer for the University of East Anglia and for the Department of Continuing Education of the University of Cambridge. She has run study days and certificate courses as well as residential weekend courses. She also lectures to the Art Fund and individual clubs and societies. She is particularly keen to set the art and architecture of the period in the context of the society for which it was produced.

Marc Allum takes a fascinating look at the chair and investigates how an object tasked with such a humble purpose has been reinvented, from the humble forest-turner’s chair to the plastic products of the Pop Age. This fascinating exploration of the psychology, form, function and materials involved in the history of the chair, is sure to have you glued to your seat!

Marc Allum is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster He is shortly to begin his 23rd year as a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow and has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes. Marc regularly writes for mainstream magazines and is an author, antiques consultant and lecturer. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc has his own unique style with interests ranging from pre-history to modern design and is a self-confessed collectaholic. He has a passion and reputation for divining the unusual through ‘a desire to connect with history through the interpretation and pursuit of objects and their origins’. Marc has lectured widely for many years to a number of different organisations in both the public and charity sector, including travel companies, The National Trust, The WI and many literary festivals including Cheltenham, Bath, Wells and Petworth.

By the 18th century the dyers had learned how to make a much greater range of colours and we see the growth of two particular activities - embroidered clothes and embroidered art. In particular this period saw the birth of the gentleman’s three-piece suit comprising waistcoat, jacket and breeches all adorned with matching embroidery. It was also the period of botanic art, based on the finds of the plant hunters, but as Mrs Delany showed, flowers could be depicted in paint or in thread. Through silk shading the concept of painting with a needle was born and this lecture will show some of these amazing pieces where the observer believes they could actually pluck or even smell the flowers, so lifelike do they look.

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

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.

Ian Keable 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 he 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. Ian divides his time between performing magic, giving talks and researching and writing.

The Nutcracker has delighted audiences at Christmas for many decades yet it was deemed a failure at its first performances.  We take a close look at how this well-loved ballet now takes its rightful place on stage and how the music of Tchaikovsky along with story-telling, design and dance all come together to make the most magical escape for young and old alike.

Nigel Bates is the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet and has been a performer for nearly forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra. He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series. He is a regular contributor to the printed and online content of the ROH. He has given lectures for over twenty years, including arts societies and conservatoires in the UK and across Australia.

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

Andrew Prince has had a passion for the jewellery since he was a small child. At the age of nine, a visit to an exhibition at the V&A, exhibiting Renaissance jewels proved a revelation. Dazzled by the splendour and opulence of the jewels on show, Andrew decided then and there that creating jewellery was what he wanted to devote his life to. His passion for jewellery grew and in 1987 he visited Geneva to view the auction of the Duchess of Windsor's jewellery collection, where he held pieces created by some of the world's greatest jewellers, fashioned from only the finest of stones and set in designs of outstanding quality. For the young Andrew, it was a life-changing experience. On leaving school, Andrew started work in London’s Bond Street, working for The Antiques Roadshow expert Ian Harris. He then joined the renowned contemporary jeweller Elizabeth Gage and worked with her on the design and production side. Andrew now creates some of the finest crystal jewellery in the world - from spectacular wedding tiaras, combs and bands, to elegant crystal earrings and bracelets. Andrew has delivered highly entertaining, informative lectures on the history of jewellery and fashion to audiences around the world. His exquisite jewelled creations have adorned celebrities ranging from Michael Jackson to Miss Piggy, and featured in films and TV shows including Downton Abbey.

Why were foreigner painters preferred by the aristocracy in London to native-born English painters, why did foreigners come in the first place, what was their motivation, and what was the impact of foreigners in London on English art and art practice? The lecture will look at the various formats and uses of art, tracing foreign artists from the Tudor period through to the Renaissance and Baroque, looking at their origins and how they came to work in England. It will examine the contributions of artists such as Holbein, Gerrit van Honthorst, Marcus Gheeraerts the younger, Lucas and Susanna Horenbout, Isaac Oliver, Paulus van Somer, van Dyck, Peter Lely, and Rubens. This lecture will look at how these artists influenced the British School of painting and assess their legacy.

Leslie Primo 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.

In the last few years the combined price paid for the dozen most expensive artworks is about the same as the cost of building three large public hospitals. This lecture is not about the excesses of the top end of the over-heated art market, but an excuse to examine some beautiful and varied art. These works would not achieve such sky-high prices if they were no good. So we’ll see some wonderful paintings including those by Picasso, Cezanne, Rembrandt, Modigliani, Klimt, Bacon and Pollock, all held together by the common thread of their extraordinary commercial value, being worth at least $100 million each. But we will also look at the buyers and sellers, the back-story of the works, the reasons for changing hands and try to answer the question “Are they are really worth hundreds of millions of pounds?”

Ian Swankie is a Londoner with a passion for art and architecture. He is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul's Cathedral, and gives regular tours at each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and a member of both the City of London and Westminster Guide Lecturer Associations. Clients include WEA groups, Transport for London, the National Trust and London Open House. In 2012 he established a weekly independent art lecture group in Richmond and gives talks on a variety of subjects.

On the basis of sensational new evidence from archaeological fieldwork, Neil will contrast the legend of Lawrence of Arabia with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916 to 1918. Is the legend a myth? Was Lawrence, as some claim, a liar and a charlatan? Or does the legend reflect reality? Was he, in fact, a brilliant military commander and a sincere advocate of the Arab national cause?  ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ is an early 20th century instance of celebrity culture. Neil will analyse the invention and re-invention of the legend from 1919 onwards through memoirs, photos, films, paintings, biographies, and documentaries.  The historical context for the legend was the Arab Revolt of 1916 to 1918. The numerous well-preserved archaeological remains of the conflict, mainly along the line of the former Hijaz Railway, have been the subject of a ten-year programme of field research led by Neil and his close colleague Professor Nick Saunders. Neil will summarise the key findings. Some representative archaeological objects will be on display.  He will also offer a new narrative and analysis of the war based on the archaeological evidence, leading to a new assessment both of Lawrence’s role and achievements, and of the relationship between art and reality in the creation of ‘celebrity’.

Dr Neil Faulkner was educated at King's College Cambridge and the Institute of Archaeology UCL. He works as a lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster. He is a Research Fellow, University of Bristol;  Editor, Military History Monthly; Director, Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project; Director, Great Arab Revolt Project; Author of ‘The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain, Apocalypse, Hidden Treasure, Rome: Empire of the Eagles, and The Ancient Greek Olympics: a visitor's guide. He is the author of the forthcoming Lawrence of Arabia's War. Major TV appearances include Channel 4's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, Channel Five's Boudicca Revealed and Sky Atlantic's The British.

David Hockney is probably Britain’s greatest living artist. His work has a life-enhancing joie de vivre and he is a restless enthusiast for new themes and media – theatre design, photography, and print-making as well as painting. This lecture will look at the artist’s journey from Bradford to Swinging 1960’s London and then to hedonistic California and back to Bridlington and his ambitious and extraordinary paintings of the Yorkshire Wolds in the 2012 Royal Academy Exhibition. The talk will also look at his art since 2012 and consider generally how, like his hero Picasso, his career has been marked by a restless seeking of challenge and experimentation.

John Iddon is a lecturer and Guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. He ran an MA course in Heritage Interpretation at St Mary's University College. He has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the National Trust and the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice, and also lectures on art for cruises. In 2012, he wrote the new guidebook to the newly opened Strawberry Hill.

The Nazis looted over 20% of Western Art during World War II and the effects of Nazi looting are still evident today. This lecture covers the following topics: setting the scene in Germany, the Fuhrermuseum, Nazi art repositories, Post War restitution and the Monuments Men, contemporary restitution issues and current international recovery efforts. Several important cases involving Nazi loot are also be discussed, including landmark international cases such as Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer and the stash of looted art found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s flat, which are be discussed in detail.

Shauna Isaac has been active in World War II art restitution for several years and has worked with families and government organisations to recover Nazi looted art. She set up the Central Registry on Looted Cultural Property and served as a member of the Working Group for the Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague. Shauna studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art in the UK and Smith College in the USA. She is a regular lecturer at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Her publications include articles for The Art Newspaper, The Times Literary Supplement and Art Quarterly. She is a contributor to the book Insiders/Outsiders: Refuges from Nazi Europe and their contribution to British Visual Culture.

This lecture focuses on the costume and dress accessories that would have been worn for formal occasions (Regulated Court Costume), or informally, at the Imperial Court or in Provincial Government during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Initial consideration is be given to formal, mandated, Court Costume and Insignia of Rank worn by the Imperial Family plus the Civil and Military Officials. The focus then moves to a review of the full scope of the Emperor’s Wardrobe from State Robes, and regalia, through to informal wear. Consideration is also be given to robes, and dress accessories, worn on a day to day basis or for special occasions by other members of the Court either in their official capacity or in their private lives. Particular focus is be given to the highly decorative clothing of high ranking Chinese Ladies and considers the design of items such as informal robes, outerwear, headwear and ornamental accessories. 

David Rosier is a Chartered Insurer by profession and a Fellow of the Assurance Medical Society, with extensive international experience as an author and lecturer in Medical Risk Assessment. He has in excess of 25 years of working and living in Asia. Whilst living in Hong Kong (1991-2004) he assembled a collection of approximately 700, predominately Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Imperial and related textiles/costume accessories. He is a past Committee Member of the Hong Kong Textile Society and frequent speaker on Imperial Insignia and Badges of Rank.

Picture Credit: Emperor’s twelve-symbol festival robe, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)), Qianlong period (1736–95) - Metropolitan Museum of Art

To see Photos of some of the embroidery displayed Click Here

This lecture looks at the Wallace Collection in London and how it led to the Frick Collection in New York. This circle of collectors included many famous names such as Baron Rothschild and the Astors. We see how a charismatic personality, who worked for Sir Richard and Lady Wallace, was then hired by Henry Frick. Thanks to an “amitie amoureuse” a fortune was left to the mother of Vita Sackville-West and so influences Knole and Sissinghurst.

Formerly the Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, Hilary Williams is now the Art History Education Officer. She lectures for the British Museum, the London Borough of Bexley and the Wallace Collection. She is a liaison officer at the British Museum with The Arts Society and the founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. She also guides Special Interest Private Tours of the State Apartments at Buckingham Palace.

Music was a constant theme in Manet’s life and art. His wife Suzanne Leenhoff was a gifted pianist, and regular musical soirées were held at the Manet family home. His pictures of musicians and their audiences range from major early canvases depicting itinerant gypsy musicians and Spanish dancers, through to paintings encompassing the full range of Parisian musical culture, from private performances to street entertainment, café concerts and the Paris Opera. Bringing together Manet’s art and the music that inspired him, this lecture immerses you in Manet’s world.

Dr Lois Oliver studied English Literature at Cambridge University, and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, completing an MA in Venetian Renaissance Art and writing her doctoral thesis on The Image of the Artist, Paris 1815-1855. She worked at the Harvard University Art Museums before joining the curatorial team at the V&A and then the National Gallery where she co-curated the major exhibition Rebels and Martyrs: the image of the artist in the nineteenth century (2006) and a series of touring exhibitions. Currently Assistant Professor in History of Art at the University of Notre Dame in London, and a Visiting Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute, she writes audio and multimedia tours for clients including the National Gallery, National Maritime Museum, Royal Academy and Tate, and has appeared on TV programmes for the BBC and Channel 5, as well as broadcasting on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Also a keen violinist, she plays regularly with orchestras including the Endellion Festival Orchestra.

The cartoonist, Carl Giles, once said that he loved his creation, Grandma Giles – that fearsome, black-clad, gambling, drinking battleaxe – because she allowed him to say things through his cartoons that he was too polite to say in person. She helped him to poke fun at authority in all its forms, from Hitler to traffic wardens and even his employers at the Daily Express, who didn’t trust him and had sub-editors scouring his cartoons for subversive background details. His admirers included Prince Charles, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Tommy Cooper, and it was no surprise when he was voted Britain’s best-loved cartoonist in 2000. Few people realise, however, that this likeable and humane satirist was also a war correspondent who witnessed the horrors of Belsen, where he found that the camp commandant, Josef Kramer, was also a great fan of his work. Giles gave us a remarkable picture of a half-century of British life. He was also, as his editor John Gordon put it “a spreader of happiness’ and ‘a genius…with the common touch’.

Barry Venning is an historian of British art with a particular interest in the work of JMW Turner, on whom he has published widely, including the volume on Turner in Phaidon's Art & Ideas series, and several catalogue essays for exhibitions in the UK, Germany, Italy and Poland. He was the BBC's script consultant on Turner's Fighting Temeraire and has recently taken part (2013) in a BBC documentary called The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution. He has also published a study of John Constable's paintings. His interests and his teaching extend from medieval architecture to contemporary British art. He is currently Associate Lecturer with the Open University and lecturing on a freelance basis for The Arts Society, Christie's Education and other organisations.

Thomas Heatherwick, has won many awards and honours: in 2004 he was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry; he won a Gold Medal for his British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo in 2010, and in the same year he was designer of the year in Japan. Sir Terence Conran spotted his talent early on and has described Heatherwick as “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times”.               

Heatherwick’s Studio brings craft, design and urban planning together in a single workspace. The Studio’s design process is independent of scale: from individual items, such as the Zip Bag for the French firm Longchamp, to large urban spaces, the same process of experimentation and extensive inquiry is applied to produce elegant and ingenious results. Who doesn’t remember Heatherwick’s Olympic Cauldron with its breathtaking giant ring of fire when it was revealed at the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012?  In the lecture we’ll look at how they achieved that spectacular moment. In the same year, Heatherwick’s new red London bus was launched, the first re-design of such an iconic symbol of London for 50 years. As well as the present conversion of the Coal Drops Yard buildings at London King’s Cross into a shopping area, the Studio has major projects completing in Cape Town, Shanghai and New York. There,  their 16-storey, copper-clad Vessel sculpture will form a focal point of the Hudson Yards development in West Manhattan – a great achievement for a British design team.

Heatherwick’s innovative approach is now in demand all over the world, and the lecture will highlight the broad range of his designs.

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

The lecture explores the impact of Captain James Cook’s three extraordinary voyages of discovery on European thought, art and science. Cook is widely renowned as an explorer, pioneering navigator and preventer of scurvy. His voyages provided unprecedented information about the Pacific Ocean and those who lived on its islands and shores. The lecture is lavishly illustrated with the exquisite drawings and watercolours of Sydney Parkinson, the glorious paintings of William Hodges and George Stubbs, the botanising of Sir Joseph Banks and the remarkable cartography of James Cook himself. 

Peter Warwick is an author, historian, high-profile event organiser and a recognised authority on Admiral Lord Nelson.  He specialises in naval, maritime and polar history. He chairs The 1805 Club, which conserves the monuments of the Georgian sailing navy; The New Waterloo Dispatch (Waterloo 200), the official body that arranged the bicentenary commemorations for Waterloo in 2015 and is now, through cross-culture, celebrating the Idea that is Europe; and Thames Alive which is re-introducing pageantry to the River Thames. In 2012 he arranged the manpowered squadron of Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant and the Thames Olympic Torch Relay. A founder and Trustee of Gloriana The Queen’s Row Barge. As vice-chairman of the Official Nelson Commemorations Committee he played a key role in the planning of The Trafalgar Festival and Sea Britain 2005. He lectures widely in the UK at schools, universities and defence establishments, overseas, and on sea voyages.

The Late Roman era was a period of crisis riven by civil wars and barbarian invasions (Rome was sacked in 410 by Alaric the Goth). As a consequence of the break-down of society valuables were often buried for safe-keeping – the owners of which often failed to return to claim them. This lecture will examine a fabulous selection of silver vessels from these enigmatic and mysterious silver treasure troves (still being discovered and unearthed today). Marvel at the beauty and rarity of these magnificent objects within the context of their classical heritage and the lives of the people who once owned them. 

Dr Helen Rufus-Ward  is an Art Historian with a BA, MA and a doctorate (DPhil) from the University of Sussex who has published on Late Antique and Byzantine ivory carvings and 19th century plaster cast collecting. Since 2007  she has worked at Sussex as an associate tutor delivering regular lectures. An experienced speaker who has delivered lectures at many universities and art institutions, such as the Wallace Collection and the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Pictures of the Lambousa and Esquiline Treasures can be seen Here

Art UK was set up in 2003 to catalogue every oil painting in public ownership in the UK. This unique and ambitious project involved visiting 3,000 collections across the country and photographing over 212,000 paintings. The paintings are freely available to view on the Art UK website (www.artuk.org). The lecture offers an insider’s view of the project and describes some unusual collections visited, intriguing paintings uncovered, detective work involved and assistance given by The Arts Society members.

Mary Rose gained an MA in Victorian Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. Several of her arts-related essays and articles have been published, and she is a guide at Turner’s House in Twickenham and Dorich House Museum in Kingston. She was a founder member of The Arts Society of Richmond upon Thames. Since 2007 she has worked part-time on the unique arts project that is the subject of her lectures.

To view the collection Click Here

The British monarchy has long recognised that appearance matters. The power and influence assumed through wearing the correct apparel has concerned Kings and Queens for centuries. Through portraits and objects of dress this lecture tells some of the stories of royal sartorial style from King Charles I to Edward VIII.

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

Annual General Meeting

Leonardo da Vinci was not a physician so why did he study anatomy? He believed that art was based on a scientific understanding of everything depicted and accurate representation depended on him getting under the skin and into the mind of his subjects. He also subscribed to the hypothesis that man was a microcosm of the universe. It followed that if the form and function of man could be explained then the universe would be better understood. This talk explores the way in which Leonardo acquired his knowledge of anatomy from experience through extrapolation to human dissection and ties in with the chronology of his travels and well known artistic achievements. It is illustrated with examples of his anatomical drawings and reflects the extraordinary accuracy of his findings.

Guy Rooker is a retired surgeon with a lifelong passion, fascination, and admiration for the work of Leonardo da Vinci. He considers that the contribution da Vinci has made to both the world of art and the investigation of scientific concepts to be quite unique and extraordinary in the way that so many of his pioneering investigations have contributed to the understanding of our world today.

Henri de Toulouse Lautrec’s paintings and posters gave lasting fame to the nightlife of Montmartre. His famous poster for the new Moulin Rouge helped to make it the most famous nightspot and at the same time revolutionised advertising.  Art works and photographs will bring Montmartre back to life with original recordings of Toulouse Lautrec’s friends.

There will be original film of Loie Fuller and Josephine Baker and we will hear later performers of the Frenchchanson and Offenbach’s wonderful Can-Can.

Peter Webb has degrees from Cambridge and London Universities and a Doctorate from the University of East Anglia. After a lectureship at Coventry College of Art, he started teaching the first degree course in England on the subject of The Erotic Arts at Hornsey College of Art in London in 1970 and lectured extensively on related topics at universities and colleges throughout the seventies and eighties. He published his influential book on the same subject in 1975, later reprinted and updated. Subsequently he has written books on Hans Bellmer, David Hockney and Leonor Fini. After Hornsey, he taught at Middlesex University in London, and he retired as Reader in the History of 20th Century Art in 1996. Peter Webb has also written many articles for art journals as well as exhibition catalogues, and has made over 60 radio and television appearances. He has lectured at over 100 universities, colleges, museums and galleries around the world.

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

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

Hadrian was the first Roman Emperor to realise that the Empire could not continue to expand. The Persians kept on defeating the Roman army and the German tribes never accepted Roman power. He marked the boundaries with  walls (Hadrian’s Wall) and major fortifications. He also decided to glorify Rome and Greece with major buildings –these were used to impress enemies and vassal states and to persuade them that Rome had not gone soft. The Pantheon, Tivoli Palace, the Castel Sant’Angelo and other buildings erected in his honour will be illustrated in the talk as will examples of the many busts of Antinous, Hadrian’s page - and lover.  

 Dr Thomas completed an MA in Canada in Development Studies, and a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin in History and Political Science. His career as an academic and as a political and institutional analyst in the field of International Development enabled him to travel widely in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He always sought to understand the arts and culture of the country or region he was living or working in since they illuminate the past and help to explain the present. Some of his lectures (Cobbett,Gillray and Hadrian) began with the history but have been developed for The Arts Society by emphasising the culture and art, architecture and cartoons of the period. 

As adults we carry in our heads huge numbers of images from childhood, and some of those most deeply etched 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 was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world. 

This lecture will look at ways of examining furniture considering what features one should be looking for in order to establish authenticity. In so doing it will seek to think about how furniture was made and used as both these aspects will help illuminate the way in which it should show signs of age and wear. There will the consideration of some fakes and how they might be spotted. If time is available it will also look at contemporary inventories and ways of indentifying different makers, the underlying premise being that it is impossible to understand furniture properly without having a feel for its original context, raison d’être and the way in which it was used. 

Revd Jonathan Meyer graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Theology, and has worked for Bonhams, Sotheby's and the Fine Art Auction Group; he also headed up the 19th Century Furniture Department for Sotheby's in Europe. He has lectured in America, Singapore and Taiwan and written numerous articles, including contributions to British Furniture 1600-2000 (2005), and published Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris and Philadelphia, 1851-1900 (2006). He is a fellow and past chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Fine Arts and Antiques Faculty. He now runs his own valuation and consultancy business and also works part time as a priest in the Anglican Church.

The current art collection at the Lansdowne Club highlights the fascinating architectural, social and political history of Lansdowne House, now home to this private members' Club. Through 18th century prints, oils, photography, modern silkscreens, lithographs and mixed media works, the image and history of this Grade II building comes to life. Located in Mayfair, central London, the internal fabric of this important building beautifully fuses 18th century neo-classical architecture with the highly fashionable Art Deco style and serves as an eye-catching home for the current modern British art collection. The talk will examine the original floor plan as designed by the celebrated Scottish architect, Robert Adam and the changes thereafter by renowned architects George Dance the Younger, Sir Robert Smirke and TH Wyatt. This fully illustrated presentation will also highlight key works in the modern British art collection by artists such as Nigel Bengstrom, Jennifer Dickson RA, Michelle McKinney and Richard Heep, demonstrating how current commissions and acquisitions can complement the heritage of this historic building. As former home to a past British Prime Minister, Lord Shelburne (1st Marquis of Lansdowne) and to Harry Gordon Selfridge, the department store magnate, Members will also be regaled with stories of intrigue and passion as reflected in the art collection. 

Pamela Campbell-Johnston has an MA in Art History from St Andrew's University. She has over 20 years' of lecturing experience to undergraduates, adult groups, and to Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the Adult Education Department's programme of events. She has also conducted numerous guided tours and focused gallery talks on individual works of art. She specialises in British Domestic Architecture and Modern British Art and has over 12 years' experience at the Royal Academy. She has also undertaken work experience  at Bonhams, the Art Loss Register and the National Trust. She is now a freelance art consultant and lecturer and recently curated a collection for the Lansdowne Club.

Degas (1834-1917) is usually labelled a French Impressionist although he maintained he was a realist. This talk will explore Degas’ responses to history, the ballet, horseracing. café concert singers, washerwomen and prostitutes going about their business. Many fabulous images will be shown and much technical ingenuity examined.

Eveline 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 a tour-guide to Berlin, Dresden and Munich. She is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dresden Trust.

From the late seventeenth century to the modern period this lecture looks at the development of the sport of horseracing in England through its associated cultural material. Using the wealth of paintings, archive material and decorative art objects associated with and depicting the ‘Sport of Kings’, the lecture takes as its starting point the earliest origins of the sport including the development of Newmarket and the Jockey Club as racing’s ‘Headquarters’. Because of the national nature of the sport Treasures of the Turf also explores other influential racing circuits. 

Christopher Garibaldi is Director of the National Horseracing Museum, Newmarket. he was Senior Curator & Assistant Keeper of Art (Decorative Art) at Norwich Castle Museum 1998-2003. In 1997-1998 he was Curator for the exhibition 'George Wickes of Bury St Edmunds, Royal Goldsmith'. In 1994-1997 he catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Speaker's Residence - The House of Commons.

Daughter of a Polish sculptor living in Paris, Marie Godebska - Misia - was a virtuoso pianist taught by Gabriel Fauré, before marrying Thadee Natanson owner of the magazine ‘La Revue Blanche’. She was painted many times by Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Eduard Vuillard (who was deeply in love with her), and Renoir who wanted to paint her nude. She knew Debussy and Ravel who dedicated several pieces to her. She later remarried a wealthy businessman and was able to finance Diaghilev’s extraordinary Russian Ballets becoming an integral part of the circle around Picasso, Stravinsky, Cocteau and Nijinsky. Her final marriage was to the Spanish muralist José Sert with whom she travelled extensively, becoming Coco Chanel’s closest friend and confidante. Misia was at the very heart of modern art and music in Paris. 

Julian Halsby studied History of Art at Cambridge. He was formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. His 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). He 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.

An interest in the classics was revived in the mid 18th century by the Grand Tour and many archaeological discoveries at the time. This talk traces neoclassicism through architecture, sculpture and the decorative arts. It looks at how leading craftsmen designed and made items. Discover why so much silver was commissioned in Regency times, about Lady Hamilton and her tableau vivants, how Robert Adam became “Bob the Roman”.

Naomi Motley has a degree in History and a postgraduate diploma in the Fine & Decorative Arts, and has been involved with the art world for some 30 years in varied roles, from working in an auction house to cataloguing for the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments.  She has lectured for Bristol and Birmingham universities extra mural departments, taken a sabbatical with the University of New Hampshire in the USA, and talked to many societies interested in architecture and antiques.