From the earliest days of photography, women have used their cameras to challenge the boundaries of beauty. This lecture begins with the portraits and idylls created by Cameron and Clementina Hawarden. It then considers the images of protest made by Olive Edis and Christina Broom during the  'Votes for Women' campaigns. Finally Suzanne Fagence Cooper explores the career of Lee Miller, from her role as a fashion model, through her Surrealist work, to her uncompromising reportage as a War Correspondent. This lecture shows us the birth of the Modern in art through a new and refreshing lens.

Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper is an art historian working on 19th and 20th Century British art. She was a curator and Research Fellow at the V&A Museum, and is currently Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of York. She has curated a major exhibition on John Ruskin and J.M.W.Turner, and she is planning a new exhibition project on William Morris and his family for 2025. Suzanne is the author of 'To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters', 'Effie Gray' and 'Pre-Raphaelite Art in the V&A Museum'. She is a trustee of the Burne-Jones catalogue raisonné and has worked as a consultant for TV and film projects, including 'The Invisible Woman' with Ralph Fiennes. She leads art history tours in England, France and Switzerland, and is an invited speaker for Cunard. Her latest book is 'How We Might Live: At Home with Jane and William Morris'.

The UK provides some of the biggest Ceremonial Events in the world and arguably the best in the world but why is that? How do the military prepare for major events such as State Opening of Parliament, State Visits, National day of Remembrance, Royal Weddings or even a State Funeral?

Dr Graham Jones started his professional life as a musician in the British Army and over a glittering career spanning nearly forty years he retired as the Senior Director of Music, Household Division and Director of Music, Coldstream Guards a position unequalled throughout military music in Great Britain. During his illustrious career he has recorded over 40 albums and been responsible for the largest commissioning programme of wind band music in recent history commissioning over 30 new works for wind band. He pioneered a music education programme with the University of Salford for military musicians resulting in a new Master of Music in performance degree. Graham was made a Member of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace for outstanding service to military music in 1993. Having retired, at the start of 2012, from military service Graham is enjoying a second career as a guest conductor, adjudicator, guest speaker, lecturer, clinician, recording consultant and educator. He is also the Artist Director of London International Band Week, music consultant to Henley Music Festival, resident conductor of the British Imperial Orchestra, visiting conductor in residence at Troy University, Alabama, USA and guest lecturer on cruise ships. 

Mariska read Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and was tempted to do a PhD in Decision Making Behaviour. In the end she turned to her true love - the Arts.

Whilst having her three children, she completed her BA and MA in Art History, majoring in The Dutch Baroque Arts from the 17th century at the Courtauld Institute of Arts. She started as a College Lecturer, but soon after started her own company - Art Historical London offering art historical lectures, museum visits, courses, tours, travel and events from Amsterdam, London and New York, and since 2020 online. 

A fully accredited PTLLS lecturer, she also teaches on the public program of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, for Roundtable, the Timken Museum and the New York Adventure Club in the States, for Academy Travel and the Art Academy in Sydney, and for a number of institutions in the Netherlands. Mariska can provide live, online and recorded lectures for groups or individuals.

Maurits Cornelis Escher became an artist after failing miserably in school. To think that this artist, so good at creating mind boggling perspectives executed with mathematical precision, failed at every single math test he ever did, is incredible. His exploration of pattern, space and surrealist viewpoints create optical illusions where one sees reality change into the abstract in a way that both makes sense and does not at all! His graphical works play with and make fun of the age-old aim by artists to create three dimensional images in a two dimensional medium. 

Time to learn more about the artist that started off creating realist works, but ended up creating mind bending tessellations loved by Mick Jagger and Stanley Kubrick.

Antoni Gaudí is well known and much loved. In this lecture, his work will be explored in detail. It will be shown how he engaged with nature in the most innovative and extraordinary ways. Inspired by honeycombs and spiders' webs, armadillo skins and mushrooms, trees and whales' bellies, he worked with extraordinary ceramicists, iron workers, tilers and decorative artists. We will look at his public and private buildings and his relationship with a wealthy and demanding patron. Private, shy and retiring he was also humorous and witty in his extravagant style.

Jacqueline is Managing Director of Art and Culture Travel, running residential courses in Andalucía, Southern Spain in the art and culture of the region as well as curated tours to Madrid, Tangiers, Barcelona, Paris and Venice. Jacqueline is a course director and lecturer at the V&A and also lectures at The Royal Academy,  She has toured New Zealand and Australia for The Arts Society. Her specialist field is Spanish Art, but she also lectures on European Art 1790-1950. She is currently working on a Monograph on Goya (Prestel, Spring 2024)

Sèvres was the most illustrious and innovative porcelain factory in 18th Century France, employing brilliant artisans as painters, modellers, gilders and technicians. Spectacular vases and finely decorated dining services made at Sèvres added lustre and glamour to the grandest of state rooms and the most intimate of boudoirs in the nearby Palace of Versailles. These objects of desire were sought after by the nobility during Europe's Ancien Régime, by English collectors such as the Prince Regent and, generations later, by a new moneyed aristocracy in America's 'Gilded Age'. However, the origins of this most fashionable porcelain factory were very different.

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.

A personal account by the landscape painter and art historian, Lydia Bauman, of her journey through New Mexico in search of the iconic motifs painted by American painter Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986). Hear about her own adventures and misadventures, insights gained into the legendary painter's life and work and see how New Mexico's magnificent landscape inspired new directions in her own mixed media paintings which led to a major exhibition at the Mall Galleries in 2019.

Born in Poland and studied for her BA in Fine Art at University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (John Christie Scholarship and the Hatton Award), and an MA in History of Art from Courtauld Institute of Art, London, (19th-20th century art - Distinction for thesis on Matisse's Illustrations to Poetry). She has since divided her time between painting and exhibiting as well as lecturing widely to adult audiences. She has taught at London's National Gallery for more than 35 years, and intermittently at Tate Gallery and National Portrait Gallery as well as collections such as Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Hermitage and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the latter as a guest speaker for travel companies. 

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

Dr Antonia Gatward Cevizli is an independent art historian specialising in both Italian Renaissance art and Ottoman art. She gained her PhD from the University of Warwick. Her publications focus on cultural and diplomatic exchange between the Italian city-states and the Ottomans. Antonia has lectured for a number of institutions including Sabanci University, Istanbul; Sotheby’s Institute of Art; the National Gallery; the V&A Academy and The Courtauld summer school. Her interests are wide-ranging and she also worked across the collections of both Tate Modern and Tate Britain as a professional guide. She has lived in Siena, Venice and Istanbul.

THIS LECTURE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH.

Was Napoleon killed by his green wallpaper? 

This story begins in 1775 with a German chemist and his experiments with arsenic. The resulting powerful green reached its height of popularity when worn by "Queen of Fashion", Empress Eugénie. It was printed on wallpaper by Morris & Co. and was a favourite of plein-air artists, such as Monet, Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, keen to capture the freshness of nature. But a century later, it was rebranded as rat-poison.

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

Two hundred years before Newton, Jan Van Eyck, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden began studying the objective effects of light on figures, objects and space. Their innovations were part of what propelled the transition from medieval to renaissance painting, driving the shift from ‘flat’ medieval imagery to illusionistic depth. With numerous illustrations we look first at how medieval imagery gradually gave way to realism; then at how, for some artists, light became part of the subject matter as well as the medium, posing a dilemma of how to reconcile holy and natural light.

Gabriel Chanan took up lecturing on art history in 2015, building on his lifelong interest in the arts during a career as a social researcher and policy analyst. He was the founding Chair of Windsor Community Arts Centre (now The Old Court). His study of the visual arts focuses mainly on realist painting, especially on points of transition between different periods and styles. Following publication of his book on Shakespeare and Democracy (2015) he also ran a small theatre company performing at arts centres and festivals till 2020. He was awarded an MBE for services to community development in 2009

Loaded with symbolism, the colour blue creates meaning, provokes emotion and ignites memory on a personal, and a cultural level, throughout the world.

From the scared shade of Ultramarine, to the ancient roots of Indigo, to the startling alchemy of Prussian, blue has been used to venerate icons since the earliest human civilizations. Enjoy this rich history of colour via two powerful forces: Impressionism and Japanese Print. 

When Monet’s water-lilies met Hokusai’s Great Wave, the values of art changed forever.

Alice White is a contemporary oil-painter, and a Tutor at the University of the Arts London and University College London. She has provided Guest Lectures at King's College London, The Art Workers' Guild, the Courtauld Institute of Art. 

Her essay 'A Painter's Perspective' is published in Alfred Cohen: An American Artist in Europe (Alfred Cohen Art Foundation and Ben Uri Gallery 2020). Her article ‘How to Look at Painting’ was printed in The Art Society Magazine (July 2020).  

Alice’s solo show 'A New Wave' documented her year’s residency as Artist for Animals at ZSL London Zoo. Recent projects include 'The Art of Science' (Scott Polar Institute, University of Cambridge 2021). She regularly exhibits at the Mall Galleries in London.  

Just why did Scandinavian Modern design become so popular in the mid-century and how did it turn from a revolutionary movement into just another style? And was there a dark side to it? Because lurking in the shadows was a Nordic project to change consumer taste and shape the model citizen using scientific experimentation and social engineering. 

James Vaux is a researcher and lecturer specialising in Nordic arts, culture, design and history. He has presented extensively on diverse topics throughout his career to demanding audiences across the globe, including CEOs and government ministers. His talks now focus on understanding art through its historic, cultural and political context.  

James aims to question conventional art world narratives about painters, designers and movements, to unveil the hidden forces that lie beneath great art.

James took a law degree at Oxford with First Class Honours and qualified as a solicitor before switching career. As a managing director of the international bank Rothschild, he advised governments and corporates worldwide. He set up and ran the bank’s Nordic operations, living and working in Scandinavia and immersing himself in the countries’ arts, culture and history. James then gained an MA (Distinction) at UCL in Language, Culture and History (Scandinavian Studies). His dissertation was on Swedish design, and he specialised in landscapes, the Viking Age, politics and literature. 

He studied interior design and art history at the Inchbald School, Mid-Century Modern at Sotheby’s Institute and electronic music at Point Blank. He has also been a DJ, promoter, record label owner, hosted a local radio show for four years and ran a pop-up community cinema. He is currently chairman of the Oxford University Society of West Sussex.

He now lectures and provides study days focusing on Scandinavian arts and design, Danish landscape painting and mid-century furniture, Norse mythology, Icelandic culture, the Modern Breakthrough in Nordic painting and the role of modernism in the Cold War. 

Long before cappuccinos and skinny lattes, all the world’s coffee traded through the tiny port of Mokha in Yemen. Popularised in Constantinople, Vienna and Amsterdam, the first English coffee house opened in the 1650’s and by 1700 there were 500 in London alone. Beginning as ‘sobering meeting places’ they were frequented by artists, authors and politicians where the debating of literary and political ideas was encouraged, as seen in early prints and lithographs. The marketing of coffee went through distinctive art nouveau and art deco periods and we see it included in works of the major French Impressionists.

Christopher Bradley is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. He writes extensively on Arabia and is the author of the Insight Guide to the Silk Road and Berlitz Guides to Cairo; Abu Dhabi, Nile Cruising, Libya; the Red Sea; Oman and the Discovery Guide to Yemen. As a photographer he has pictures represented by several photographic libraries. As a film producer and cameraman he made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.

Tyler Butterworth grew up in a theatrical family and spent twenty five years as an actor working extensively in film, television, theatre and radio. He then worked as a development producer in television documentaries. Now, he produces walking audio guides to cities across Europe for private clients. He lives in Sussex where he walks on the South Downs and the South Coast.

The remarkable untold story of Carry On actor Peter Butterworth, and his wife, Britain’s first female tv impressionist Janet Brown, best known for her impression of Mrs Thatcher.  Using classic film and tv clips, personal mementos, and rare photographs and letters from his family’s unseen collection, Tyler reveals the private story behind his parents’ public lives. It’s a journey that takes in MI9, the building of a theatre in the notorious WW2 Prisoner of War camp Stalag Luft III, nights at Chequers with a Prime Minister, This Is Your Life, and many more moments in their long, shared life in the theatre. 

Tickets on sale from April 17th

Tim Kidd has been a London Blue Badge and City of London guide since 2008. He presents Adult Education courses on London for Surrey County Council and the London Borough of Kingston and is on the rotas of guides for Lincoln’s Inn, Middle Temple, Guildhall Art Gallery and Mansion House.

The Bank of England sets the leading interest rate for the UK and also regulates the UK’s financial services industry – its actions affect everyone in the country. It has also accumulated, since its foundation in 1694, an impressive range of artworks. Some are easily visible on the outside of the Bank’s City of London building in Threadneedle Street, whilst others are on display inside the building. During his lecture, Tim Kidd will show pictures of the artworks and explain their background. You can expect to hear about architecture, statues, mosaics and, of course, the intricate designs on the banknotes. There will be no free samples!
 

Rosamund Bartlett is a writer, lecturer and translator whose work ranges across the arts, and across the cultures of Europe, from Italy to Norway.  She began her career as an academic in Slavic studies after completing her doctorate at Oxford, and has held fellowships both in the UK and at the European University Institute in Florence.  In 2024 she became a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford. 

The author of several books, including biographies of Chekhov and Tolstoy, and a study of Wagner's influence in Russia, she is also well known as a translator - her publications include acclaimed editions of Anna Karenina and Chekhov's stories for Oxford World’s Classics.  

She has led art, architecture, design and music tours throughout Europe, and contributes regularly to Proms events and opera broadcasts on the BBC. Her lecturing work has taken her from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford where she lives, to the V&A in London, and to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.

This lecture tells the multifaceted Ukrainian story through the shared culture which binds its diverse people together, including the sacred art and architecture of Kyiv inherited from Byzantium, the rich legacy of the Cossacks, and a treasury of poetry, painting and song. We will also look at the key role played by folk culture in the years before Ukraine's emergence as an independent nation, whether "red icons" on glass or the country's remarkable embroidery tradition, which had a surprising influence on avant-garde art. 

Twigs Way is a professional researcher, writer and speaker, fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds.  Her work explores themes of symbolism and meaning, class and gender, and the crossover between plants, gardens, art and literature. Twigs lectures for the Cambridge Univeristy Botanic Gardens, and is a guest lecturer for the MA in Art and Visual Culture , ICE, Univeristy Cambridge. Recent publications include the portrayal of specific flowers in art and culture and her book on the Chrysanthemum in Art and Culture was published October 2020 by Reaktion Press. Since then she has been researching the cutural and visual importance  of the colour yellow. These themes are explored in her popular talk on the Divine Sunflower in Art and Culture and a Special Interest Day on Sunlight, Sunflower and Cultivating Colour.  Twigs' original research  was on the history of women in the garden and she retains an active interest in this topic focussing on female botanic artists and gardeners including Marianne North and Mary Delany, as well as inspiring her talk on Female Botanical Artists . Twigs is currently working on the life of Frances, Viscountess Wolseley, the founder of Gylnde School of Gardening for Ladies in 1902.  Twigs originally trained as an archaeologist and brings a wealth of knowledge from the various disciplines of history, art, literature and horticulture together. In addition to her 1hr lectures she can deliver day schools focussing on women in botanical art. 

For the centenary of the death of Claude Monet (2026) Twigs will also be exploring Impressions of Gardens: Gardens of the Impressionsists drawing on her interests and knowledge in the crossover between art and horticulture to explore the links between cultivation and creation, painting and planting.

Glowing golden in the temple of the Aztecs in its native land the sunflower bridged heaven and earth, war and peace. Brought to Europe as the Helios-anthos, the flower of the Greek sun god its symbolism married divine right and divine flowers, the painter van Dyke portrayed it in self portrait,  although it was Van Gogh who devoted myriad canvases to its intense colour. Poetry and and passion complete our exploration with the sunflower tours of Oscar Wilde and the Sunflower Sutra of the beat generation and Alan Ginsberg. From Clytie to Klimt join me for glittering talk on a golden flower .

Stuart is a “History and Art Communicator” of 30 years experience. He is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide (qualified in 1998 - awarded “New Guide of the Year”) and also a Guida Turistica Abilitata della Provincia di Roma (qualified in 2010). He has worked in educational tourism since 1992, leading study tours all over Europe. Living in Rome since 2003, Stuart has developed a great love for the Eternal City and its many treasures. In addition to his primary career as full-time Rome tourist guide, Stuart’s entertaining and lively lectures and virtual tours bring the rich artistic and historical wealth of Rome’s 28 centuries to life for people all over the world. 

Snow transforms places that we know, and makes them strange and magical, so it is no surprise that snowy winter scenes have fascinated artists throughout the ages. We will look at how different artists have depicted snowy and wintery landscapes to explore the landscape as they saw it, or human emotions, or ideas about painting. We may not get our own winter wonderland this year, but we can look at paintings of them together and explore how artists responded to them over the centuries. 

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

Members Lunch - Tickets on Sale from October 17th

E H Shepard loved Christmas, and this lecture describes, including his own words much of the magic and joy of successive festive seasons, from those of his own childhood to others throughout his long life. We see a range of artistic styles from full colour images to pen-and-ink personal Christmas cards, with cartoons, drawings and watercolours, some featuring the iconic images from the Wind in the Willows (the snow in the Wild Wood…) and Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh and Piglet from The House at Pooh Corner). Many of the images have not been published for over fifty years.

James Campbell has a BA in History and an MA in the History of Art and a particular interest in the work of the artist, illustrator and cartoonist E H Shepard (1879-1976). He has been lecturing for over twenty years, and has lectured across the UK and overseas to Literary Festivals, Art Societies, military museums, and to private clubs and community groups. He has been a Trustee of the E H Shepard Estate since 2010, as was involved in the ground-breaking Victoria and Albert Museum 2017 Exhibition marking the 90th birthday of Winnie-the-Pooh.  His books Shepard’s War and The Art of Winnie-the-Pooh were published in 2015 and 2017 respectively. His new joint biography of A A Milne and E H Shepard - The Men Who Created Winne-the-Pooh: The Lives of A A Milne and E H Shepard - commissioned for the centenary of the Winnie-the-Pooh books will be published in September 2024 by Michael O'Mara Books.  

This lecture explores the idea of marriage as the cornerstone of Florentine society - set to shore up dynastic and economic unions.  We look at the exquisite furniture associated with the marriage ceremony.  Wedding chests or Cassone - painted, gilded and carved chests for the purpose of containing the bride's dowry.  These magnificent chests, like the bride would have been paraded through the city streets for all to see - and only guess at the luxurious contents contained within!! 

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

As well as guiding Anna is an adjunct lecturer at Richmond The American International University in London where she teaches undergraduates The History of London. 

Anna graduated as a Blue Badge Guide early in 2013.  Since then she has been conducting bespoke private tours for discerning visitors to London. Anna established her own guiding company Canvas and Stone Tours in 2018 (www.canvasandstonetours.co.uk) Her background and passion is Art & History. 

 I lecture regularly for art, history and academic societies.

Explore the World's first dinosaur models hidden in a south London park. Created in 1850s, we will look into the history and science behind these Grade I listed architectural structures. These models represented the cutting edge of our knowledge of ancient dinosaurs and marine reptiles in the 19th century. Palaeontologists had only just coined the name Dinosaur, and with limited fossil bones, they began the journey to discover how these extinct animals from the deep past looked.

Aaron is a professional scientist and researcher with the University of Cambridge and a prize-winning London Blue Badge Guide, a Green Badge Guide for the City of London and Oxford, and a City of Bath Mayor's Guide. As a palaeontologist, he is an expert on fossils and prehistoric life from the first animals to appear on our planet to the evolution of early humans. Has published research on the origin of marine animals 480 million years to the Jurassic World. After degrees in Geology & Palaeobiology, he gained a PhD from the University of London and went on to pursue an academic career working first as a research fellow in France, Germany and Japan and then as a Senior Lecturer in Malaysia and Western Australia.He has a passion for archaeology, history, architecture and the history of art. and gives lectures that encompass these subjects looking at the interface between the arts and sciences.

Born during the Second World War, Howard was educated in Scotland and gained an MA from Trinity College, Dublin. In the 1960s he worked for UK and International advertising agencies before starting his own marketing and print company in Canterbury.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was the domination of shipping routes to and from America that was the golden prize. Here is the fascinating story of how each company positioned itself in the size of liners, the luxurious environments with posters, art, ephemera and the offerings across the Atlantic Ocean either side of the Great War. We look at the breathtaking interiors as portrayed in the Shipbuilder special supplements of the day and the Sales Brochures. What were the reasons for the tragedy of both the Lusitania and Titanic?

Some of the most iconic images of the 20th century were created, not for galleries or private patrons, but for record sleeves. The zebra crossing immortalised on the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road is the site of a pilgrimage for people traveling thousands of miles to recreate this famous scene. Album covers have been adorned by Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Yoko Ono, Richard Hamilton and a host of lesser-known artists and designers. We will explore the art of the album cover and reveal the close connections between visual and musical creativity in this vibrant period of popular culture.

Rupert Dickens is an art historian based in south London with a special interest in Dutch and Flemish 16th and 17th century painting. He works at the Wallace Collection as a guide conducting public and private tours and lecturing on aspects of the collection. Rupert is also a tour director for a Cambridge-based company accompanying groups on art-themed tours to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria and Italy. He has lectured to large audiences on subjects as diverse as the game of chess in art and Madame de Pompadour’s artistic patronage in 18th century France. He studied art history at Birkbeck College before undertaking a Masters in Dutch Golden Age Studies at University College London. Before that Rupert had a 26-year career as a BBC journalist ending as an editor in radio news.

Helen is an established professional artist, iconographer and independent art history lecturer specialising in Byzantine and Late Medieval Italian art. She holds a Masters degree in each of these subjects from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, where she is currently reading for a PhD in Byzantine art history and teaches on the Short Courses programme.  Additionally, Helen holds a first-class BA Hons, History of Art from the Open University, a diploma in Fine Art and a teaching qualification. 

Helen is also an art history tutor for City Lit and has previously worked at London’s leading Russian Art Auction House and Christie's, as well as museums and further education. For many years, Helen has combined her specialist knowledge of art history with her art practice. She is the founder and owner of two businesses: ‘Icon Adventures’ (which now delivers icon painting courses online) and ‘Elenis Icons’ - through which Helen continues to undertake commissions for churches, cathedrals and clients worldwide. 

A light-hearted, possibly audacious survey of some of the more peculiar images depicted on icons within the pan-Orthodox Christian world. We take on board the pagan origins, ancient legends and extraordinary saints that have given rise to so many curious images over the centuries. From leafy underpants to pillar saints, from dog-headed soldiers to naked desert hermits, we ask were they really so odd after all?

Forks and salt-cellars, Bacchus and the Garden of Eden, medieval banquets, Mrs Beeton and coffee-houses - through the centuries, food and its rituals have provided a vibrant opportunity for artists to celebrate, to analyse their world and even to develop complex ideas of morality. 

At the heart of the home, a shared fascination with food not only provides the perfect opportunity to flaunt money and status through elaborate artefacts, but also illustrates shifting fashions and styles of eating. In painting and sculpture, religion, mythology and social traditions are rich in themes of food and shared meals, from still-lives to the Last Supper. 

Nicole studied Art History at the Universities of Sussex, York and Paris. She was Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast 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 and was first Director of 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 the National Museums, universities, the National Trust and private companies. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Higher Education Academy and her publications focus on adult education and the arts.

Stained glass tells stories. It has been used to play politics, bribe bishops, recruit soldiers and tell jokes. The most remarkable subjects appear in its panes, from miracles to Mandela, tanks to Tiffany, Burne-Jones's water-closet to Churchill's cigar. It is a powerful way to create atmosphere and send a message - not just in churches, but in airports, sports centres, town halls, banks, libraries and shops - and my talk will include a look at its stories in your area: your saints and your sinners.

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

When social historian Tessa Boase told the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds she wanted to write their early story, they refused to let her visit their archives. To a former investigative journalist, this was a challenge she could not resist . . . This lecture shines a light on the intriguing story of women’s love affair with plumage ­ – and of the brave eco feminists who fought back on behalf of the birds. Moving from a polite Victorian tea party to an egret hunt in a Florida swamp; from a suffragette ‘monster rally’ to a milliner’s dusty workshop, you’ll be taken back in time to a world where every woman, of every class wore a hat.

Tessa Boase is a freelance journalist, author, lecturer and campaigner with an interest in uncovering the stories of invisible women from the 19th and early 20th-centuries – revealing how they drove industry, propped up society and influenced politics.

She’s the author of three books of social history: The Housekeeper’s Tale: The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House (2014); Etta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved the Birds (first published as Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather in 2018), and London’s Lost Department Stores: A Vanished World of Dazzle and Dreams (2022).

Since uncovering the feminist origins of the RSPB, Tessa has been campaigning for public recognition of its female founders with plaques, portraits and a statue. 

London’s grandest thoroughfare for centuries, the Thames has hosted royal weddings and state funerals, fireworks and pyrotechnics, music and masques, coronations and Lord Mayors’ pageants, processions and civic festivities. Teaming with life and busy with shipping, the City’s life-blood has also been the playground of both royalty and the common man. Noble buildings and palaces rose along the river, private and public pleasure gardens swept down to the banks and the shores have been the playground to the children of the East End and happy hunting ground for mudlarks, scavengers and archeologists. The Thames has inspired poets, artists, composers and chroniclers. In Edmund Spenser’s words it has ‘dansed as a stage’, the setting for frost fairs and masques, races for royal yachts and rowing boats, pleasure trips and regattas. 

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.

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. 

MA Hons Art History, St Andrew's University. Over 30 years of lecturing experience to undergraduates, adult groups, and to Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the Adult Education Department's programme of events. Also conducted numerous guided tours and focused gallery talks on individual works of art. Specialises in British Domestic Architecture and Modern British Art. Over 12 years' experience at the Royal Academy. Work experience also undertaken at Bonhams, Art Loss Register, National Trust. Now a freelance art consultant and lecturer. Recently curated a collection for the Lansdowne Club.

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

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

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

Now one of the busiest harpists in the Southeast, Margaret has played for Royalty, given concerts at National Trust properties, played at City Guildhall, Clarence House, The Garrick Club, The Savoy, Ritz, Dorchester and Hilton Langham Hotels in London, Glyndebourne Opera House, Covent Garden and for many weddings, private parties, group meetings, receptions, launches, corporate, civic and charity functions.

Margaret is a very active member of the charity ‘Music in Hospitals and Care’ and gives bedside concerts for patients and mentally or physically disabled people in hospitals, hospices, and specialist care centres and nursing homes.

With her very varied repertoire and often resplendent costumes, she has delighted numerous audiences throughout the UK.

Britain has over 60,000 war memorials, each with their own sad and emotional story to tell. They also represent our largest collection of public art - more than 1,300 are listed.

We will explore the story of our war memorials, including such masterpieces as Sir Edwin Lutyens' Cenotaph and monumental Thiepval Gate and CS Jaggers' Royal Artillery memorial at Hyde Park Corner.

Especially memorable is the work of the Commonwealth (Imperial) War Graves Commission and the new National Arboretum in Staffordshire. We will look too at the Scottish War Memorial on Edinburgh.

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

Henry VIII can be considered the founder of the Royal Collection. Sparked by his rivalry with Francois I of France, all his palaces were furnished lavishly with paintings and tapestries. He used the splendour of the arts to enhance his own personal image. This lecture places the pieces into the timescale of Henry's life and lets us understand why certain works were produced when they were and how the king was viewed within his own time.

Lecturer at Historic Royal Palaces & National Trust. Freelance lecturer Tate Modern & National Gallery, London. Independent lecture organiser. Member of the Association of Art Historians. President of The Arts Society Harpenden Area.

Her publications include The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, the Golden Age. Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, Andre Deutsch Publishing, 2019; King & Collector: Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship, Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, The History Press, 2021. and Gloriana: The Art of Elizabeth I, Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, The History Press, 2021

New Members Lunch

In 2024 the National Gallery celebrates its 200th birthday. In the run up to this special anniversary, join me as I explore some of the nation’s best-loved paintings in a new light, revealing details which cannot be seen with the naked eye and discussing what goes on behind the scenes in the conservation, framing and scientific departments. The lecture will result in a greater understanding of not only the art itself, but also of the work the National Gallery does to care for it, present it and interpret it.

Few of the gallery’s works retain their original frames but an expert team will often source and adapt examples which complement the paintings historically, or indeed hand-carve new ones from scratch. We will also look at the technical challenges involved in hanging, displaying, moving and framing the collection and the various solutions devised by the Art Handling Team. Many of the paintings in the gallery were designed for a very specific function, an altarpiece such as Piero’s Baptism of Christ for example, so how do the curators allow us to interpret and view these within a museum context? Finally, we’ll talk about restoration and conservation, exploring extraordinary details from works such as the Wilton Diptych, which have only been discovered recently thanks to scientific analysis.

Join me on a journey of discovery as we explore the hidden secrets of masterpieces by Bellini, Leonardo, van Eyck and many more.

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

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

Have you had this experience? You go to a gallery, an exhibition and are stopped dead by an unknown picture: you look at the label and find you have never heard of the artist. How does it come about that there can be such wonderful painters of whom we have never heard? This lecture will consider some of the many reasons for a good artist’s obscurity, from the brevity of his life to the misfortune of his being born and working in the shadow of a larger reputation, such as Leonardo or Rembrandt. But above all it is an excuse to spend an hour gorging on beautiful paintings, finding hidden treasures.

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

Members Summer Lunch - tickets on Sale from April 20

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

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

In 1565, Pieter Bruegel the Elder was commissioned to create a series of paintings for a dining room in Antwerp. The images, charting the course of a year, changed the way we view the world through art. Landscape had previously been a decorative backdrop to dramas both sacred and profane. But in Bruegel's hands the landscape and our interaction with it became the focus. Looking at paintings such as The Return of the Herd, Hunters in the Snow and The Gloomy Day, this lecture explores how Bruegel pioneered a whole new way of thinking about the environment and our individual places within a shifting cosmos.

Gavin Plumley - A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, is published in June 2022. 

Most people love watching and listening to birds, from colourful jays to squawking parakeets, and this lecture enables us to look at them in all their glory.

From Aboriginal rock decorations, millennia ago, to the present day, birds appear in many different guises: as hunters and hunted, doves as symbols of peace or the holy spirit.  Or we find them as attributes or the alter ego of gods: for example Juno’s peacocks, Jupiter’s eagle or Minerva’s wise owl.

This lecture not only celebrates the beauty of these wonderful wild creatures, but also shows the huge variety of ways in which artists have painted or sculpted them over the years.  As Sir David Attenborough said: “Everyone likes birds.  What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” 
 

Frank Woodgate, Lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, for the Art Fund, the National Trust, U3A and other organisations, including on Zoom. Formerly a Guide at both London Tates and lectured for Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester and on cruises on behalf of Tate. Previously script-writer for The Living Paintings Trust (art for the visually-impaired).

This lecture offers a fresh angle on some of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, from the viewpoint of the fierce and often bitter rivalries that existed between the artistic Titans of the day. Set against the backdrop of Florence, Venice and Rome, with Michelangelo as its protagonist and Leonardo, Raphael and Titian in supporting roles, it draws on contemporary anecdote to evoke personalities and tell the stories behind many of the most iconic works of the High Renaissance, providing an entertaining yet illuminating glimpse into the creation of some of the most iconic paintings in western art. 

Paula Nuttall -  Director of V&A Medieval and Renaissance Year Course. Specialist in Renaissance art, both Italian and northern European, on which she has published widely, notably From Flanders to Florence: the Impact of Netherlandish Painting 1400-1500 (Yale, 2004). Has collaborated on major exhibitions including Jan van Eyck: an Optical Revolution (Ghent, 2020). Formerly lecturer at the Courtauld Institute and the British Institute of Florence.

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

He has written on architecture for a wide range of publications and an exhibition of his own photographs was held at UCL. He is a member of the Association of Historical and Fine Art Photography and he works with a pre-War Leica camera, as used by his great hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and many others.

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

The opening of trade routes across Eurasia by land and sea enabled the movement of peoples, along with their cultures, arts, beliefs, technical skills and aesthetics. This was to have a profound influence on the arts of China, introducing new forms, designs, and materials, along with the craftsmen to pass on their skills.

This lecture will look at several examples of masterpieces of art from China in the first millennium AD to illustrate this influence and show how the arts of China were greatly enriched by its Silk Road links.

Susan Whitfield is Professor of Silk Road Studies at the University of East Anglia and Honorary Associate Professor at University College. She previously worked for 25 years curating the collection of over 50,000 medieval manuscripts from central Asia at the British Library, where she also helped found and then directed an international collaboration working on the art and artefacts of the eastern Silk Roads.

She has travelled, lectured and written widely on the Silk Roads. Her latest book, Silk Roads: Peoples, Culture and Landscapes, was published by Thames & Hudson in October 2019 and translated into eight languages. She has curated several major exhibitions, and is currently working on an online and in-person exhibit with colleagues at UEA and worldwide: NaratoNorwich.org.

Louise Schofield is an archaeologist who was Curator of Greek Bronze Age and Geometric Antiquities at the British Museum from 1987- 2000. Her book , The Mycenaeans, was co-published by the Getty Museum and the British Museum in 2007. She now writes, lectures and runs international archaeological projects - previously in south-eastern Turkey, Greece and Albania and currently in Ethiopia. And rather wonderfully she has just been appointed Visiting Professor of Archaeology at the American University of Rome"

What do we mean by jewellery? What does it mean to different societies across time and across the world? This lecture takes a number of themes in order to expand the concept of jewellery and examine the different reasons why people wear it. Everyone decorates the body, but there are different notions of how to do so and which parts to decorate. In many societies jewellery serves as vital protection against evil spirits. It can be a powerful vehicle of communication, indicating the wearer’s preoccupations, their religion or ethnic group. It can be a keepsake of a loved one, or a memorial to the dead. And it can also be a work of art in its own right harnessing all the .skills of the goldsmith, gem-setter, or enameller. Based on the collections of the British Museum, where the speaker has worked for 40 years, this new thought-provoking lecture reveals how jewellery has been worn and used, and takes you from ancient burial ornaments by anonymous masters to the big names of the modern world. 

Since 1974 curator at the BM, specialising in jewellery, and in 19th-20th century decorative arts. Author of Cartier 1900-1939 (BM 1997) and organiser of the Cartier exhibition at the BM, co-author of the Catalogue of the Hull Grundy Gift of Jewellery (BM 1984), contributor to the Catalogue of Micromosaics in the Gilbert Collection (2000). Her latest book, Jewellery in the Age of Victoria, co-authored with Charlotte Gere, was published in 2010 and won the 2011 William Berger Prize for British Art History. She is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

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

Women wore fur coats and cloche hats, donned new boyish fashions and had short, cropped hair. Men drove fast cars, mixed cocktails and smoked American cigarettes. Society ate in new restaurants like The Trocadero, danced the Charleston in ballrooms like the Savoy, and drank in clubs like the Embassy and the Café de Paris. Valentino, Tallulah Bankhead, and Noel Coward emerged as major celebrities through the growing popularity of cinema and the stage.

The Roaring Twenties was also a period of enormous vitality in art and design. Fashionable society was immortalised by portraitists like John Lavery and Cecil Beaton who brilliantly captured the glamour of the age. Leisure, pleasure and the excitement of jazz were portrayed in paintings by Burra and Roberts, while the speed of the city and travel were explored in work by McKnight Kauffer and Nevinson.  Furniture and decoration showed the influence of Cubism, Vorticism and other styles associated with the avant-garde, while events like the discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb ushered in an obsession with all things Egyptian and Oriental. This lecture aims to conjure up the energy and originality of the decade and to explore the lives of its leading figures and examples of its most innovative art and design.

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

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

Mark studied History of Art & Architecture (BA Hons), and began his career as a porter and Junior Cataloguer at Bonhams, before moving to Sotheby's where he was a Specialist in the Collectors' Department. Became director of an internet company forming and running a ground-breaking deal with eBay Live Auctions. Was co-author of the internationally published Collectables Price Guide with Judith Miller from 2002-17. Founded his own publishing company in 2005 and has since published over 12 books on specialist subjects in 20th century design and decorative arts. A Miscellaneous expert on the Antiques Roadshow since 2007, and has co-presented three primetime factual TV series on antiques and collecting for BBC2. Operations Director of Ronati UK, an internet company offering innovative digital services to the antiques industry. Has lectured across the world, including at the V&A in London, and contributed to many newspapers, magazines, radio and TV programmes. A Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and a Freeman of the City of London.

The mansions built during America’s “Gilded Age” came in all shapes and sizes, but a significant number of them were inspired by - some may say copied from - a varied selection of classic English houses. They were resurrected and lived in by an eclectic mix of millionaires, all with their own aims and ambitions staked within: the man dubbed 'The American Prince of Wales'; the woman who swapped a necklace for what is now a flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue; and, both the victim and accused of one of the most highly publicized crimes of the 1980s. Their counterparts in England were no less colourful, and include the real-life Squire Allworthy. Through the splendour of the architecture on both sides of the Atlantic, we’ll delve into the characters, quirks, and frequently amusing stories behind these truly international treasures.  

Mark is a writer, the founder of HouseHistree.com, and lectures regularly at societies, festivals and clubs in both Europe and the United States. After leaving Stowe School, Mark worked for twenty years as a plumber in London. However, his real passion has always been for history, particularly the history behind houses through the characters that conjoin to create them. His special interest lies with the great American houses and their relationships with those in Europe, both socially and architecturally. 

I confess to not thinking it much like the original – but that the public will not be able to detect… 

Cassie Austen on her Aunt Jane’s portrait

From Burns to Byron and from Jane Austen to the Brontes; this lecture will uncover the fascinating stories behind some literary portraits of the Romantic period.    We’ll look at various ways in which Romantic writers have been depicted in art, and how these likenesses have been received; both during the writers’ lifetimes, and posthumously. 

We will also explore the afterlives of literary portraits and their use in popular culture – from banknotes and fridge magnets, to tins of shortbread and bottles of gin. 

How do writers’ portraits contribute to literary fame and celebrity? Do these images affect our perception of their lives and work? And to what extent may portraits of writers be said to be fictions themselves?  

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.  She is particularly interested in the material culture of writers’ lives, including the quirky and interesting; from the collar worn by Emily Bronte’s dog, Keeper, to William Wordsworth’s ice-skates. 

This lecture looks at who the Pre-Raphaelites were and what they were trying to achieve in their art.  It examines the biographies and careers of the key figures and how their work developed over the years.  It also explores the impact their work had at the time and the considerable influence they had on other artists.

Rosalind has a BA and MA from Goldsmith’s College, and an MA (distinction) from Birkbeck College. Experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. Lectures at Tate, to independent art societies and on cruises. Leads art appreciation holidays.

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

Born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University. His career has been spent in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark's & St John's University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England. Currently runs two small companies providing training and study breaks.

A look at the astonishing flowering of this highly decorative style that flourished briefly around 1900.  Art Nouveau arose, initially in Belgium and France, as a reaction against Victorian historicism and the so-called “battle of the styles”.  It was the emergence in the 19th century of iron as a building material that allowed for the creation of new forms of architecture.  In a search for these new forms, architects such as Victor Horta and Hector Guimard turned to nature for their inspiration, having been influenced by Britain’s Arts and Crafts movement and the ideas of William Morris.

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

Over the centuries the Livery Companies of the City of London have accumulated fascinating treasures. Quirky, little known and intriguing, from illuminated ordinance books to cups for toasting and chains of office plus objects which represent their craft and trade reveal their history and their vital importance to the commercial life of the City of London. Reinventing themselves despite ravages of fire and warfare, challenges to their monopolies and the disappearance of certain trades, today they are revived and thrive with 31 modern companies formed since 1945. Surprisingly 42 Halls have survived or been rebuilt. These historic buildings, the setting for the private life of the Livery, retain commissioned portraits, furniture, silver and stained glass. Rare and curious items reveal the stories behind some of the world’s oldest crafts and guilds which have kept pace with modern times and are still very relevant today. 

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, often combining with hand printing and painting.  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.

2020 marks the 500th 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 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. Has run study days and certificate courses as well as residential weekend courses. 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.

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. The Royal Christmas Broadcast is now an established part of our celebrations and we shall hear extracts from George V’s, George VI’s and our present Queen’s addresses.

This lecture explores these Royal traditions, 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 Joint Chairman of the Arts Society Windsor.

Formerly Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, now Art History Education Officer. Lectures for BM, London Borough of Bexley and Wallace Collection. Liaison officer at British Museum with The Arts Society. Founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. Guides Special Interest Private Tours of State Apartments Buckingham Palace

Founded in the wake of the World War under the leadership of Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus strove to create a design ethos for a brave new world. Buildings and interiors, domestic things used on a daily basis, needed to reflect the demands of modern industrial life rather than hark back to historical forms; functional and utilitarian imperatives ousted decoration, now seen to be superfluous. Indeed, some even viewed decoration as a form of corruption; the New Objectivity demanded rational, functional, sometimes standardized building. Consequently the Bauhaus aesthetic was driven by the sleek lines of cars, ships and planes. Designers experimented with new materials such as tubular steel and plywood. The mantra of the Bauhaus shifted from art and craft to art and industry, with furniture designer Marcel Breuer conceiving industrial prototypes. Only by embracing mass-production and standardisation could good design be truly democratic.   Driven by socialist ideologies, design gained a political imperative. Inevitably the school, based in Weimar, soon experienced political pressure from conservative circles in local politics. Moving to Dessau, Gropius designed a new school as well as housing for the Bauhaus masters, who numbered the artists Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, as well as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, its architectural director. It was Mies who directed the last years of the Bauhaus in Berlin before it was closed by the Nazis. With many of those associated with the Bauhaus immigrating to America, Modernism was transformed into an International Style that dominated architecture until the 1970s. It’s still with us in the 21st century; the iconic Bauhaus chairs quite at home in the post-modern home.

With a first degree in archaeology and a PhD in English, Anne was a senior lecturer in Art and Design History at Southampton Solent University for 14 year. During 2009-2010, Anne worked on Closer to Home the reopening exhibition at Leighton House Museum, Kensington. She has curated three national exhibitions, including The Truth About Faeries (2009-11) and Under the Greenwood: Picturing the British Tree (2013). Her book on The Perseus Series was published for the Edward Burne-Jones exhibition (2018). She has held several prestigious fellowships including Fellow of the Huntington Library, CA (2008 and 2018) and Fellow of the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Library and Museum (2009/10). Currently a tutor for the V&A Learning Academy, Anne specialises in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement. Her career as an international speaker has taken her all over the world, including Jersey, Spain, Germany, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. She undertook her fourth lecture tour of Australia, for ADFAS, in 2018

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

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

Andrew Prince has had a passion for jewellery since he was a small child. In fact his enthusiasm can be traced back to the time when, at the age of three, he swallowed one of his mother’s pearl earrings having found her jewel box hidden from him in a cupboard.

Two weeks after his 16th birthday, Andrew started work in London’s Bond Street, working for The Antiques Roadshow expert Ian Harris. Under his guidance, Andrew developed an appreciation for jewels that were valued for their quality of design and craftsmanship, rather than for how much the stones in the piece were worth. He then joined the renowned contemporary jeweller Elizabeth Gage and worked with her on the design and production side. Through her and her private collection, Andrew was able to see and handle rare and extraordinary stones with names such as Sphene, Andalusite, Spinel and Dioptase, many of which are far rarer than diamonds. Elizabeth Gage was to have an enormous influence on Andrew's sense of what was possible within the realm of jewellery design.

Andrew's taste for fine 'costume jewellery' can be traced back to an antique market, where he came across a late Victorian brooch set with what he initially thought were emeralds and diamonds. They were, in fact, crystal and green glass set in silver and gold. He realised that beautiful jewellery didn't require expensive stones, and that it was the elegance of the design and the quality of the workmanship that truly mattered. Private commissions then started to trickle in. The trickle turned into a flood, as celebrities such as Michael Jackson (a large crystal and pearl shoulder jewel) and Shirley Bassey (necklaces) were seen wearing Andrew's creations.

In 2002, the V&A commissioned a collection of jewels to accompany the resplendent Tiaras, Past and Present exhibition which became one of their most popular exhibits. The exposure gained by the show then led to Andrew's jewellery appearing in film.

In 2005, he was asked to make tiaras and jewellery for Mrs Henderson Presents starring Judy Dench. In 2009, pieces were commissioned for The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt and Miranda Richardson. In 2012, he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for the third series. The characters played by Maggie Smith, Shirley Maclaine, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery were all adorned with elegant tiaras, combs, earrings and necklaces designed and created by Andrew Prince.

When Howard carter first peered through a hole into the tomb of
Tutankhamun in 1922 he was asked if he could see anything *
"Yes, wonderful things!" was his reply. The tomb itself was poorly
decorated but the funerary goods that helped the young pharaoh
enjoy the afterlife in true kingly fashion are some of the most
exquisite treasures ever discovered. rn this lecture you too will
discover their beauty, hear about their exciting discovery and the
diary entries made by Carter, learn of the symbolism in their design,
the materials used with expert craftsmanship and what has become
of them.

Eileen has an MA from the Department of Archaeology at the University of London, is a published author and an authority on the ancient cultures of the world. She specialises in the History, Culture, Myths & Legends of the Ancient Worlds and is a keen Maritime Historian specialising in piracy in the Caribbean and the South Seas. She spends her time giving lectures to the Arts Society, on cruise ships and to various local organisations.

Her first book “What Did the Poor Take with Them? “ is an academic treatise on Ancient Egyptian funerary goods, while her second book “Understanding Ancient Egypt” is a more accessible introduction to the subject.

Eileen has recently featured as an Egyptologist in a documentary, Neferatri: The Life of an Egyptian Queen (full documentary) published on YouTube by the South African film producer Curtis Ryan Woodside during the summer 2020 covid lockdown.

Public Art is a contentious subject. It is the most visible art form and therefore is an easy target. But how do they come to appear in our public spaces? This lecture tracks the development of public art over the last century and looks at various examples to see why are some loved and others loathed. It also explains the process of procurement from the initial commissioning to the production and installation. Drawing from his own experience and using case studies, Daavid takes the audience through this process and tries to show why we are all richer with the presence of art on the streets.

David Worthington has been drawn to abstract sculpture since seeing a Barbara Hepworth in a school history book aged 10. He graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, then studied fine art in London, Barcelona and New York. A maker he also curates and writes about art. He was shortlisted for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2009.

David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors, and was Vice President in 2010-13.

He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America and Japan. His work is in the museum the Creative Cities Collection Beijing China. He has had solo shows at the Lefevre Gallery, Sladers Yard, Horatio’s Garden, the William Bennington Gallery, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and in October 2017 at the Lightbox Gallery Museum, Woking. He took part in exhibitions at Colyer Bristow Galle

The'poor little rich girl' who changed the face of twentieth century art. Not only was Peggy Guggenheim ahead of her time but she was the woman who helped define it. She discovered and nurtured a new generation of artists producing a new kind of art. Through collecting not only art but the artists themselves, her life was as radical as her collection.

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

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

On the 21st we will be entertained and informed by Nicola on the subject of Turner Vs Constable. She is an independent art historian, specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly, she was a curator at Tate Britain, and she has curated a number of exhibitions, and has published widely on J.N.W. Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). ln addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

 

The Nutcracker ballet has delighted audiences at Christmas for many decades yet it was deemed a failure at its initial performances. Based upon the current Royal Ballet production by Sir Peter Wright, this lecture takes 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, dance and a little bit of stage ingenuity all come together to make the most magical escape for young and old alike. Includes several performance video clips.

Nigel Bates has been a performer for more than forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and eight years as the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet.

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 thirty years, including many arts societies and conservatoires in the UK and across Australia.

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 has 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 Sotherby's institute of Art. Her publications include articles for the Art Newspaper, The Times Literary Supplement and Art Quarterly, and she is a contributor to the book 'Insiders/Outsiders: Refugees from Nazi Europe and their contribution to British visual culture'.

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

Like the Renaissance artists he admired, Salvador Dalí did not restrict his creative output to painting but was also a writer, poet, engraver, sculptor, architect, photographer, theatre designer,  and jewellery designer. As well as designing the latter, Dalí selected the materials to be used, focusing not just on the colours or the value of the material, but also on their symbolic meanings. Jewels such as ‘El cor reial’ (1953, The Royal Heart) have become iconic works and are considered to be as exceptional as his paintings. He also was an omnivorous reader who was as interested in science as he was in art and in this his work also reflects the Renaissance artist he admired. This lecture explores the work of Dalí the designer and science enthusiast – a Renaissance artist in the 20th century.

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 is currently working towards her Ph.D. at the University of York the involvement of Roger Fry and the Bloomsbury Group in the development of the Contemporary Art Society from 1910 to 1937. She is a lecturer in Art History at the City Literary Institute (City Lit).

Sometimes called Britain’s greatest  ‘Art Form’, pantomime has been a popular form of entertainment for over 300 years. In the early 18th century the word was used to describe the performances at Drury Lane Theatre based on the Italian Commedia dell’arte. In the 18th century it was often seen as an opportunity for political satire but it is through the 19th century that the fairy-tale story plots were established and the extrovert Music Hall entertainers created the traditions that we know as pantomime today.

Malcolm studied at University of London and King’s College, London & RADA. He has worked as an actor, director and teacher and even backstage at the Royal Opera House. He was Workshop and Events Manager at the V&A Theatre Museum in London for 10 years. Since 2009 he has lectured on the V&A Short Course and Year Course Programme on Theatre and has worked on the Art and Expression Programme. He has taught at Rose Bruford College, Mountview Theatre School, The Actors Centre and RADA. He has written material for The National Theatre Education Department and contributed as a speaker on theatre to many television programmes while working at the Theatre Museum. He lectures for Road Scholar USA for Theatre groups visiting London and has lectured in America.

Fine art has provided advertisers and their agencies with a great deal of material to use in their creative campaigns.

Tony describes some of the processes by which these advertisements have been created and why the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo have been a particularly rich source. From the Renaissance through to the present day fine art continues to provide opportunities to enhance Brand imagery with admiration, humour, satire and irony.

In an entertaining and informative lecture Tony uses a wide range of visuals and video to show examples of the original works, the creative process and the (not always entirely successful) advertisements that are the end result.

Tony was educated at Highgate School, starting his career in advertising in 1965 as a mail boy in J.Walter Thompson. He graduated through the training system there to become an account director and subsequently worked in a number of agencies before setting up on his own in 1985. There he handled primarily Guinness advertising in Africa and the Caribbean, where he produced many commercials and print ads for them over a period of 15 years. He remains active as a consultant in the industry, but now concentrates on more philanthropic projects - producing a film in the rural villages of Nigeria for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. More recently he has completed a sanitation project in Haiti after it was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  

He has been a member of The Arts Society for many years. His earlier lecturing experience includes presenting to client groups, sales conferences and students of creative advertising in the UK and overseas. More recently he has been lecturing to Arts Societies in the UK and Europe.

Dr Paul Roberts is the newly appointed Sackler Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University. From 1994 to 2014 he was Senior Roman Curator in the Department of Greece and Rome at the British Museum, where he was the driving force behind the major exhibition Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum. At the Ashmolean he worked on an exhibition for 2016 Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Sicily and the Sea- telling the history of Sicily through shipwreck finds around the island. He studied at the Universities of Cambridge, Sheffield and Oxford and lived in Italy for several years, in Milan, Rome and Naples. He has excavated in Britain, Greece, Libya, Turkey and in particular Italy, where he directs excavations in the Sabine hills near Rome. His research focuses on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people in the Greek and Roman worlds. He has accompanied tours to Sicily, the Bay of Naples and Rome and has written books on Roman daily life, Roman Emperors, mummy portraits and Roman glass. He is currently writing a walking tour of Ancient Rome.

Tim Redmond spent his earlier career as a detective in the Metropolitan Police, working on murder, kidnap and anti-corruption investigations as well as in covert criminal intelligence. He finally retired as a Detective Superintendent and as the first police adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. On retirement Tim decided on a complete change of direction, becoming a City of London tour guide and working for a London tour operator, specialising in tours around the UK. He then used the knowledge gained to become a guide within the Palace of Westminster, specialising in tours of Big Ben. His many guests on tours of the clock tower have included people such as Michelle Obama, Bill Gates and members of both houses of parliament.

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

Everyone is aware about “1066 and all that” without necessarily knowing the exact facts about this momentous event. This lecture will present in details the historical, cultural and artistic aspects of that unique masterpiece, the Bayeux Tapestry, which provides posterity with such a startling testimonial of peoples’ lives in the late Viking age. 

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

This talk provides an overview of the Church of England's magnificent 42 cathedrals, jewels in the crown of England's built heritage, some recognised as World Heritage Sites. Beautifully illustrated by Country Life photographer, Paul Barker, in addition to looking at their history and stories, evolving architecture and treasures, the talk considers the role of cathedrals over the centuries and specifically their role today.

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 two illustrated paperbacks to encourage greater enjoyment of these amazing buildings, Director's Choice, Churches of the Church of England and Director's Choice, Cathedrals of the Church of England and produced and presented on a TV series on cathedrals for PBS.

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.

Currently a trustee of the Priory of St John (Hospitallers) and a commissioning editor for Scala Heritage Publishers, Janet received an OBE for services to heritage in January 2017.

This Lecture and AGM is for Members ony

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian, was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school, training in the workshop of Bellini, adding a sense of drama and immediacy that brought a previously unknown realism to his religious, mythological works and especially his portraits. He is often seen as the first 'modern' painter, applying the pigments directly to the canvas without preparatory studies, drawing the figures as he invented the composition, building up the paint in thick sensual layers, drenched in colour and sunlight, a brilliant new style of painting that shaped the art of the Baroque and cast its influence over every painterly painter of the next four centuries.

Douglas Skeggs read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time he has given over 4000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies. He was the director of  'The New Academy of Art Studies' for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at 'The Study Centre', 'Christie's' course 'The History of Art Studies' and other London courses. Overseas he has lectured in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, and has taken numerous tours around Europe. 

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

Why do people look the way they do in portraits of the past? From the alarmingly lead whitened cheeks of the Renaissace, to the disappearing hairlies and mouse-hair eyebrows of the 17th and 18th centuries and rouged-cheeks of the Victorians, portraits have been governed by cosmetics, fashions and ever-changing trends in hair styles, wigs, jewellery, smallpox patches and artificial teeth. From the application of rhubarb or bolied pigeon, mercury or lead, powders and poisons have dominated the 'look of an age'.

While the portraitist strove to capture the individual, this had to be translated through the mask of stylish convention, balancing reality with the 'ideal of beauty'.

Combining the life of the Astors, the Sackville Wests and the Rothschilds with the story of the gardens they have created, despite their very different backgrounds, here in our English countryside.

Caroline Rayman has worked in England, Italy and America conductiong cultural tours for Patrons of American Arts Institutions, visiting private collections and gardens in Great Britain and Europe. She lectures in America and as Guest Speaker on Cruise Boats for Noble Caledonia.

Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum takes the audience on a trip through 40 years of one of the BBC's perennial favourites. A veteran of 20 years, he talks about the best finds and ties this in with his eclectic knowledge on the history of collecting, together with a hands-on look at some interesting pieces from his own collection.

Nell Gwynn became mistress to the Merry Monarch Charles II. But she started simply as a tavern wench and orange seller. She graduated to the theatre, where she was eventually talent-spotted by King Charles, when he found out that acting was not her ony talent.

She is best known through descriptions by the diarist Samuel Pepys, who says she was a brilliant comic actress. Her ingenious and witty ways helped her triumph against her wealthy aristocratic rivals. She had two children by the King, and her descendants survive as the Dukes of St. Albans.

From her birth in Hereford, to her homes in Burford, Highgate and Windsor, her story takes us to historic towns in England, and some of the grand houses she lived in and how she dealt with her rivals.

The Hanseatic League was established some time in the early Middle Ages to promote trade and was based primarily around the Baltic with its centre in Lübeck.  Bearing in mind that national boundaries at this time were ill-defined, the gradual rise in influence of this organisation far exceeded the parameters of a mere trading organisation. This wide geographical presence of the League had political and military ramifications.  However, it was the artistic ideas it helped to disseminate throughout Europe, as far south as the Iberian Peninsula and as far north as Bergen, which will command our attention. An example of this would be the concept of Gothic architecture which was carried by dint of association from Northern France to Northern Europe, where its manifestation was different but still emulating the ideas of the country of its origin.

Henri Matisse met Pablo Picasso for the first time in 1906. Matisse had become leader of the artistic avant-garde in 1905 through his invention of Fauvism; Picasso made his own mark in 1907 with 'Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon'. Despite many differences between them, they became friends. However,  Matisse said that each of them looked over the others's shoulder to see what they were doing. The lecture explains how their friendship and rivalry manifested themselves in their respective lives and art making. It will explain how the Second World War made it impossible for them to communicate, as Matisse was in Nice and Picasso in Paris, and how they resumed their friendship and jousting from 1945 to Matisses's death in 1954.

This lecture charts opera’s close contact with the society that is paying for it. The talk moves from the 17th and 18th C preoccupations with princely patronage, classical plots, courtly manners, enormous costumes and happy endings - through the gear change of the war and revolution - to the 19th century concerns of nationalism, epic themes and doomed heroines. The talk is based on years of writing articles, programme notes and lecturing for the Royal Opera House and the BBC.

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

A look at the art, architecture and magnificent royal courts of the Mughal emperors of India, whose creative building culminated in the sublime Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan's memorial to his beloved queen. The Rajput rajas and marahrajas, firstly under Mughal and then Britiah rule, built majestic fort-palaces in their state capitals where they held glittering court and commissioned artists and craftsmen who created distinctive styles of art.

Sue Rollin works as a tour guide and lecturer in India and the Middle East, and as a freelance interpreter at the European Commission and other international organisations. 

# THIS IS ALSO OUR ANNUAL MEMBERS' SUMMER LUNCH #

Ancient traditions in this rugged country have an amazing and colourful history, rich in unique art and architecture. Frescoes and murals bring even the smallest highland church to brilliant life, and there are an estimated 3,000 varieties of metalwork crosses, paraded each year at 'Timkat', Ethiopian Epiphany. From the traditional art forms found in manuscripts and church murals, has grown a body of more recent artwork. The most spectacular architecture is the incredible rock-cut churches of Lalibela, the fabled castles of Gondar, and then there is the Ark of the Covenant….  

Christopher Bradley is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa.   He is a professional tour guide and he has written extensively on Arabia. He is the author of The Discovery Guide to Yemen, Insight Guide to the Silk Road and the 2006 Berlitz Guide to Libya.   He is a photographer of some standing.   He has lectured widely including to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects.   As a film producer and cameraman he has made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.

On the basis of sensational new evidence from archaeological fieldwork, Neil will contrast the legend of Lawrence of Arabia with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916 to 1918. Is the legend a myth? Was Lawrence, as some claim, a liar and a charlatan? Or does the legend reflect reality? Was he, in fact, a brilliant military commander and a sincere advocate of the Arab national cause?

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

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

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

Neil Faulkner lectures widely on archaeology, ancient history, classical civilisation, modern history and current affairs. He is editor of “Military History Monthly” and an honorary research fellow at Bristol University. He is a broadcaster and the author of numerous articles, academic papers and other publications. His latest work, “Lawrence of Arabia’s War” was published in April 2016. 

# THIS IS ALSO OUR ANNUAL AGM (starts 10:30 am) #

At this meeting the AGM and Lecture are for members only.

This is the likely date on which we will first start selling tickets for our Visit on June 14. Details - yet to be advised -  will appear here then scroll down L/H panel). 

The work of S J Peploe and J D Fergusson was seen in Edinburgh and London in the decade leading up to World War I, but G L Hunter and F C B Cadell were less well known. All were bold pioneers in the field of rich colour and exuberant brushwork. The strong light and bright colour they discovered in France was easily harnessed to their favourite places in Scotland. People, places, interiors and still life were among their favourite subjects.

All four painters knew each other but they did not work together as a cohesive group. The labelling “Scottish Colourists” was given to them posthumously because of their similar interest in subject matter and their insistence on strong colour as a primary tool.

Alice Foster MA has lectured for Oxford University, Department of Continuing Education since 1998. She lectures at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. Her busy free-lance career also includes organising themed study days with colleagues, and regular weekly classes in Oxfordshire and Worcestershire. In 2004 Alice joined The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) and has lectured in Great Britain and Europe. Since its inception in 2003 Alice has been a tutor on study holidays with Learn Italy Ltd. In 2012 she was elected President of Banbury Fine Arts Society.

NB at this meeting tickets first go on sale for our Visit - Godinton House & Gardens and Chapel Down Winery on  23 May: details here - and see L/H panel.

After WW1, there was rejoicing in Paris, but there was also an uneasy feeling that once again this peace may not be everlasting. It seems the people of Paris decided to throw caution to the winds and simply enjoy the peace whilst it lasted. We consider the Paris of the time – the eccentric personalities and the visiting American jazz musicians, along with the five major artistic movements of the era. This lecture contains a lot of art history and sets our artists and their work within their time – and within the lively Paris of the Jazz age. 

Many of the Black American serviceman who had been in Paris during the war stayed on in the city. They had the prospect of segregation at home whereas Paris was always said to be colour blind. The exchange rate between the franc and the American dollar was also good. In return, they brought Jazz to the city. Jazz was a way of enriching the European culture and it was also seen as a way of rebelling. As Duke Ellington said, ‘Jazz is not the sort of man that you would want your daughter to associate with’.

The artists in Paris left the Montmartre of the Impressionist era and centred themselves around a busy crossroads in Montparnasse. They could now sell their paintings without the need for the Academies or the Salons and they were able to make money. Montparnasse was glitzy and exciting. It had Brasseries and American Bars on almost every corner. Most are still there today – La Coupole, Le Dome, La Rotonde. There was just about every nationality in the world here with the intention of having a good time.

The art of Purism opened this era. It was influential but perhaps too straight laced to last for long. Dadaism was closer in appealing to the people of the city, but it was Surrealism that appealed the most to people who lived their lives in a surrealist fashion. Indeed "Sur – real" was indeed beyond the real.

Do join us as Linda elaborates upon all of this and more.

Linda Collins was employed by the Historic Royal Palaces for more than 20 years before becoming an independent lecturer and lecture organiser. She has a BA (hons) in Early Italian art, an MA in the works of Georges de la Tour, and a Diploma in French language and Culture.

She researched her MA in Paris which led to a special interest in French Art. She spends much of her time lecturing to adult education groups, Fine Art societies, Antique groups, The National Trust, U3A, and various universities in the UK and worldwide and I has fairly recently returned from a third lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand for the The Arts Society . Linda also works as a freelance lecturer at the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Modern.

2018 is 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918.  To mark the centenary of women first getting the vote after decades of struggle, this lecture will explore the story of the suffragettes through portrayals in art and their own artistic productions.  It will also look at how contemporary artists choose to depict female politicians,  and the controversies surrounding these portraits, with regard to power, dress and gender: all so familiar to the suffragettes.

Dr Caroline Shenton is an archivist, historian and writer.  She was formerly Director of the Parliamentary Archives and a senior archivist at the National Archives, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society.  Her book The Day Parliament Burned Down was published to rave reviews in 2012 and won top prize at the inaugural Political Book Awards in 2013.

NB at this meeting tickets first go on sale for our Visit - The Banqueting House & Imperial War Museum Thursday March 22 details here - and see L/H panel.

Please watch this space for further information - David Tinkler Website Co-ordinator 11 May 2017

Opera began in Florence around 1600, and has since spread worldwide. It has always been an extravagant, visually-exciting  art form, and has inspired many fine drawings and paintings of costume and set design. The lecture begins by looking at  17th and 18th century opera houses and their stage mechanisms, which were the settings for operas by Monteverdi, Vivaldi,  Purcell, Handel and the French court composers, and continued to be used in the same form until the death of Mozart and  the French Revolution. During the 19th century theatre design became more ambitious, with new ideas of staging such as the Parisian Grand  Opéra. We will look at the rise of Mozart. Nationalism in opera brought about the work of great Russian, Czech and Polish composers, as  well as inspiring the Verismo school in Italy. In technical terms, it was the development of stage illumination by gaslight and  limelight that made the greatest advances, while the orchestra found itself  confined to the pit below the stage where it has subsequently remained. The years before the First World War were crucial to the development of 20th  century opera, with works by Richard Strauss, Schoenberg and Stravinsky  revolutionising the language of music. We will look at the designs of Alfred  Roller, John Piper, David Hockney and other important theatrical artists, and  bring the story up to the present work with a glance at some recent operas  and their staging.

Simon Rees studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature. Taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries. From 1989 to 2012 was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production. Now a freelance writer and lecturer, lectures widely on opera, art history and literature, travelling extensively with travel companies. Has published several novels (including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass), poems and opera librettos.

# THIS IS ALSO THE DAY OF OUR ANNUAL MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH #

NB at this meeting tickets will first go on sale for our SPECIAL INTEREST DAY - 'A Passion for Rubies' to be held on Thursday 22 February: details here - and see L/H panel.

A chronological history of the outstanding and diverse Devonshire collection told through the interests, characters and tastes of its collectors over 16 generations, from Elizabethan beginnings to the current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and their family. Each generation has left its mark on the collections, whether as connoisseurs, passionate and enthusiastic patrons and acquirers, fortuitous marriage, or the occasional benign indifference, and it is fascinating to see how these diverse personalities, linked only by family, have contributed to what is now considered one of the finest surviving family collections in Europe. This story features outstanding work by artists as varied as Rembrandt, Reynolds, Canova and Freud, and comes right up to date with the current Duke and Duchess's passion for modern British sculpture. The lecture includes Old Master drawings, fine books and archives, silver and rare jewels, portraits ancient and modern, sculpture spanning 2000 years of European culture, furniture by outstanding cabinet makers and other unique treasures.

Simon Seligman studied art/architectural history at Warwick University, including a semester in Venice. Also Graduate of the Attingham Summer school. From 1991 until 2010, worked at Chatsworth, in a variety of roles, latterly as Head of Communications. Has lectured about Chatsworth, the Devonshire Collection and associated topics, throughout the UK and on several US tours (including the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery of Art). Gave numerous public presentations and interviews with the late Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. Publications include written or edited guidebooks and articles for and about Chatsworth.

Gustav Klimt and his colleagues broke away from the imperially endorsed art institutions in Vienna in 1897 and founded the Secession. That was the same year that Gustav Mahler arrived to take charge of the Opera House in the city. Comparing these two totemic fin de siècle talents, this lecture places Klimt and Mahler in context, asking what fundamentally links and, indeed, divides them.

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

NB at 9:45 am today tickets first go on sale for JOHN RUTTER'S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

on Wednesday 6 December: details here - and see L/H panel

Ticket price £42.00 pp - includes concert ticket, return coach + driver's tip.

__________________________

also at 9:45 am today we will be selling tickets for our Christmas Lunch

Thursday 21 December - price £22.00 pp

Bonnard and Vuillard are often considered as painters of the simple pleasures of life – but their works offer so much more. When they began painting in the 1890s, Impressionism seemed to be a thing of the past – young radical artists wanted an art that spoke to the spirit, to the imagination, and looked at the work of the Japanese print makers and the paintings of Gauguin, Seurat and van Gogh. Bonnard and Vuillard realised that a modern art had to spring from a powerful engagement in modern life – one that would suggest not simply how things look, but how things feel. Their art reaches deep into the psychological aspects of our shared experience – its joys and its anxieties in paintings that rank with those of Chardin and Vermeer as objects of sheer visual seduction.

Michael Howard, pictured above, is a member of the Royal Society of Arts, President of The Arts Society Bolton and leader of the School of History & Art of Design at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he teaches both academic and non-studio based students. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and also President of The Arts Society Bolton!! His wife is the painter Ghislaine Howard, also an Arts Society lecturer. Michael is a practising artist, a painter, sculptor, printmaker and ceramicist. He has exhibited at the Royal Academy and his work is represented in the Manchester Art Gallery and in many private collections here and abroad. He has also exhibited at the Royal Academy.

He has published widely, notably on Lowry, Goya, Whistler & Cezanne but also on European Art (19th & 20th centuries).  His work is in Manchester Art Gallery and in private collections at home and abroad. He has featured on TV & Radio and has many awards including the prestigious Peabody Award. He and his wife run a studio Gallery in Glossop where they hold weekend + one day courses. He's curated many exhibitions at the Lowry, Manchester Art Gallery, the Imperial War Museum North and elsewhere. Currently Michael & Ghislaine are currently working on an exciting 3 year project with York Minster.

NB at this meeting tickets first go on sale at 9:45 am for our SPECIAL INTEREST DAY - Art and Architecture of the American West - Thursday 2 November: details here 

Stonehenge is the most celebrated and sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the British Isles. This lecture explains why Stonehenge must be regarded as architectural in its layout and construction, embodying  techniques that for centuries convinced antiquarians that it could not have been built by ‘primitive’ ancient Britons but must be a product of ‘sophisticated’ Romans.

We then explore how, over the last two centuries, this iconic structure has inspired painters, potters and poets. Blake, Turner, Constable and Moore are amongst those who have all been drawn to this magnificent ruin, resulting in a diverse catalogue of images and impressions. Finally, we will look at Stonehenge as a global icon and how it’s instantly recognisable stones now grace tea towels in Wiltshire, phone cards in Japan and stamps from Bhutan. 

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

NB at this meeting tickets first go on sale for our Visit to the Beaulieu Motor Musuem 16 October:

details here - and see L/H panel.

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.

## THIS MEETING IS ALSO OUR MEMBERS' SUMMER LUNCH!! ##

        (Tickets first go on sale at 9:45 am Thursday 20 April)

NB at this meeting tickets first go on sale for our Visit - a Backstage tour of The National Theatre and quided tour of South Bank on 7 September: details here - and see L/H panel.

The Shakers (the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing) are a religious sect that began as an off-shoot of Quakers (Shaking Quakers) in Manchester in the mid-1700s. The Shaker's founder, Ann Lee, and eight followers settled in Watervliet, New York (north of Albany) in 1774 to avoid persecution in England.

In North America, Mother Lee was able to attract loyal followers who spread the gospel in New England, the Midwest, and the South.

At its height in mid-1800s, Shakerism numbered over 5,000 "brothers and sisters" living in some 18 communities, or "societies," in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. Today, there is only a handful of Shakers left in New Hampshire & Maine.

However the Shakers of North America have left behind an enduring and intriguing legacy - their way of life is remembered through Shaker museums, restored Shaker communities which are open to tourists, Shaker manufactured goods such as chairs and oval boxes, and Shaker songs such as "The Gift to Be Simple." In this presentation, John Ericson explores why there is still so much interest in the Shakers today, and examines examples of their beautiful buildings, furniture and artefacts. He looks at the origins, beliefs and way of life of this fascinating sect.

John Ericson graduated from the University of Sussex in 1972 and spent his early career as a master at Cranbrook School but after 10 years returned to his studies at the University of Wales where he became interested in educational research. This led to a career in teacher education culminating at the University of Bath, where he specialised in course design & evaluation, and teaching presentation skills to his academic colleagues. He lives in Salisbury but has worked extensively overseas as a consultant in teaching and learning.
 

At 9:45 today, tickets will first go on sale for our Visit to Belmont House & Gardens, Kent - Thursday 29 June. For details click here.

This lecture explores the way in which the East India Company developed its methods of trade. It shows how the 17th century textile trade with India established a methodology for sending out patterns to be copied by the artisans, replacing the original system of importing textiles that were native in design. The system of sending out patterns to be copied was the norm by the time the East India Company made inroads into China in the 18th century – a precursor of modern trading methods. The Company rapidly evolved its strategies, sending out several ships at a time to China and eventually setting up permanent settlements in Macao. The currency and balance of trade is explained, and methods of production are illustrated with a number of Chinese export pieces, predominantly Chinese painted silks but also including furniture and porcelain. It concludes with drawing the distinction between Chinese export and Chinoiserie, using examples made in Europe during the same period. 

Viv Lawes is a lecturer, curator, author and journalist, with over twenty years’ experience in the art market.

She works at several prestigious Higher Education institutions in London, leading the Modern and Contemporary unit of the Asian Art & Its Markets semester course at Sotheby’s Institute and the History of Decorative Style (c.1400-1970) course at the City & Guilds of London Art School. She also lectures for the University of the Arts and IESA (Institut d’Etudes Supérieures des Arts), London.

As Senior UK Consultant to Singapore gallery One East Asia since 2011, she has co-curated many exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London and Singapore. Her current project is a book is on themes in equine sculpture, commissioned by the Sladmore Gallery, London.

This is also our ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - which commences 10:30 am, and is for Members only - sorry no guests.

at 9:30 am tickets (£21.00 pp) will first go on sale for our MEMBERS' SUMMER LUNCH                 

Our Talk today: A persuasive introduction to buying antiques and integrating and using them in today’s homes. The state of the antiques market and the different meanings of the word ‘value’ are considered, and we take a look at what current and future generations of collectors are buying, why they are buying it and how they are displaying it.

Mark Hill is an antiques and 20th century design specialist, author, publisher, lecturer, dealer and TV presenter (Antiques Roadshow, Cracking Antiques, Antiques Uncovered & Collectaholics). He has published ground-breaking books on new areas in 20th century design and the decorative arts and is co-author of Miller’s Collectables Price Guides. Has lectured at prestigious locations across the world and is a member of the vetting committees for Olympia Fine Art & Antiques Fair, BADA Fair & Antiques For Everyone.

at 9:45 today,tickets will first go on sale for our Visit to the David Hockney Exhibition at Tate Britain Thursday 4 May.

Please note: The Committee has recently agreed that, in future, a member can buy one ticket for themself  plus one ticket for another member. This applies to the first day of sales only. David Tinkler Website Co-ordinator 7/2/17

Four hundred years of international jewellery design, examining the changing styles from the pomp of High Renaissance enamelled gold work to the glamour of Harry Winston diamonds. This presentation covers many of the key elements of manufacture, including the progress of diamond cutting, Neo-classicism and Romanticism, 19th Century Archaeological and Renaissance Revivalism, the impact of diamond mining in South Africa, Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts and Art Deco, Post War Modernism and designs of the future. Other important areas covered include Cartier and the introduction of platinum jewellery as a statement of style and the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor.

John Benjamin is well known to us all from the Antiques' Roadshow, and from his appearances at our own meetings. He has worked in the antiques trade from a very young age and has become a specialist in jewellery. Qualified in gemmology, he is now an independent jewellery valuer, historian, lecturer and author. He was formerly 'International Director' of Jewellery at Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers in London, and in 1999 set up his own lecturing and valuation consultancy.

George III is unjustly remembered solely as having been mad and having lost the American Colonies. The lecture should correct this impression and show that he was a discerning art collector, patron of the arts and artists, friend of America and Americans and a committed family man. He was also a keen architect who added the future Buckingham Palace to the Royal residences.

Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He was born in London in 1955. After graduating with a starred First from Cambridge, he undertook research at Oxford and has subsequently been Professor of History at the universities of Durham and (since 1996) Exeter. Editor of Archives and a Council member of the Royal Historical Association, he is a prolific lecturer and writer - to date the author of some 60 books. Many of these concern aspects of 18 Century British, European and American political, diplomatic and military history. He has also published on the history of the press, cartography, warfare, culture and on the nature and uses of history itself. In January 2016 he was created a Freeman of the City of London.

Tickets will first go on sale at 9:45 am for Visit:  Thursday 6 April - Eltham Palace/Rangers House.

This lecture will focus particularly on the development of the wine glass, but will also look at glasses designed for other beverages, such as beer, cider, ale, and cordial - even the humble water glass.

It will consider the drinking habits of different countries and the types of glasses associated with those countries, eg the fragile wing-stemmed glasses of Venice, the German roemer, the Dutch flute and the sturdy English baluster-stemmed glass; and will illustrate the prominence of fine glass drinking vessels in scenes of feasting and above all, conviviality - CHEERS!

Jane Gardiner - has an MA in the History of Art (London), she  trained at the V&A and still lectures there. Was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art (17 years), becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's UK. She has also lectured for the NT, 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, at antiques fairs and interior design conferences in the US.

## THIS MEETING IS ALSO OUR MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH ##

         (Tickets  - £20.00 pp - first go on sale at 9:45 am Thursday 20 October)

Ticket sale 9:45 am today: the Special Interest Day "Enamelling": Thurs 23 Feb 2017.

Our Talk today: The magical qualities of stained glass windows in the historic churches of the City of London – windows, both old and modern, created by a series of remarkable artists and craftsmen in a variety of styles.  Discover their symbolism, spiritual dimensions and above all radiant visual beauty.

Alexandra Epps - BA Saint Martins School of Art, MA London College of Printing. By profession a graphic designer who ran a design consultancy for many years. Guide and Lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Official Guide to the City of London. Co-author of the book Lord Mayor's Portraits 1983-2014 (2015).

The history of gardening in Ireland broadly reflects the changes in Irish society over the last few hundred years. Centuries of military conflict give way to an era of peace and prosperity with outbreaks of temperament as new social classes and mores displace those apparently entrenched.

There are no Irish gardens of note extant before the late 17th century. Formal gardening in the French manner was carried on, only Kilruddery survives. English classical gardening was carried on, only gardens created by Dean and Mrs. Delany at Delville survived. The broad and simplified landscape sweep of Capability Brown did indeed find enthusiasts. But, it was the more wild and romantic landscape style of the late 18th/early 19th centuries which found a ready welcome.

The 19th century  saw the development of new ideas as the professional classes began to garden. Ideas of husbandry and horticultural worth were widely debated and all gardeners benefited (or not) from the extraordinary range of plants arriving from all over the globe. From Ireland came one of the most influential figures of the late Victorian gardening world, William Robinson; also one of the greats of plant collecting, Augustine Henry.

20th century gardening was something practiced quietly. Great advances were made culminating in recent years with a true renaissance: old gardens restored, new gardens created, such as Helen Dillon’s marvellous garden in Dublin.

Tom Duncan - educated at Trinity College, Dublin; studied History of Art and Classical Archaeology. He then studied in the United States and moved to England in 1984 to complete his PhD. He taught at University level and now lectures widely to heritage and artistic organisations such as the ART FUND and NADFAS.

at 9:45 am today tickets will first go on sale for 2 events:

[A] VISIT - Thursday 1 December:

      Canterbury Cathedral & Christmas Market.

 [B] MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH - 15 December - Tickets £20.00 pp.

Also today - Judith Price and the committee look forward to meeting recent New Members at a buffet lunch reception which will be held after the main meeting.

Our Talk today: In 1955 Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the 1000 mile open-road endurance race round Italy with a staggering average speed of 98.53 mph.

In 2014 Libby, driving an iconic red Alfa Romeo followed the route in a more leisurely fashion. In a multi-media lecture combining photographs, film, songs, and quotations from writers and poets she offers a kaleidoscopic view of the cars and characters involved in the race from its inception in 1927.

There are numerous detours to sample local food, wine, music, architecture and art along the way!

Libby Horner - a freelance art historian, curator, film producer, lecturer and writer. She has a PhD in Victorian Art & Architecture and has worked as a graphic designer in the Middle East and in Hong Kong. Dr. Horner has been a NADFAS lecturer for 15 years.

Unfortunately our advertised speaker for today is indisposed, so we are very grateful to Valerie Woodgate for kindly standing in at short notice. It may be possible to re-arrange the Degas lecture for another occasion, meanwhile Valerie's topic will be: 

Can Art Change the World?

Art with something to say

 Kandinsky (1911): “Every work of art is the child of its time".

This lecture concentrates on those artists who have used their art to communicate ideas, opinions and fears about their world and, in doing so, tell us a great deal about the period in which the works of art were created.

Artists as varied as Goya, Manet, Chagall, Picasso, Grayson Perry and many others have created powerful, exciting, moving and sometimes disturbing works of art dealing with topics as varied as poverty, racism, feminism and gender politics, and war and propaganda.   

Valerie Woodgate is a Lecturer and Guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, plus many other London Galleries. She also lectures to the National Trust and other organisations and forThe Tate on P&O Cruises.

Valerie is a former member of the teaching team at the Dulwich Picture Gallery; and Script-writer for the Living Paintings Trust, which brings art to the blind and partially-sighted.

She has lectured to NADFAS audiences throughout Britain, and to related organisations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

at 9:45 today, tickets will first go on sale for the Visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard incl The "Mary Rose" Thursday 6 October.

The moving image has been a powerful source for imagination from the first moment a magic lantern flickered into life in the 17th century. In this lecture Geri Parlby will be looking at how the Motion Pictures industry first developed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. How it then went on to change the face of entertainment and inspire the imaginations of some of the greatest artists of the early 20th century. Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film PR. She has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art (the Courtauld Institute) and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University.

Dr Parlby has been lecturing for the past ten years both in the UK and internationally and now heads up the Visual Arts distance learning programme for Exeter University. She is also principal lecturer on the NADFAS South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

## THIS MEETING IS ALSO OUR MEMBERS' SUMMER LUNCH!! ##      Tickets went on sale on 21 April.

At 9:45 am today, tickets will first go on sale for our Walk with Andrew Davies on Thursday 7 September: “Limehouse & the Isle of Dogs”.

Throughout the 19th century women artists had been struggling for recognition at the official Paris salon.  The breakaway Impressionist group embraced women artists from the beginning and three took advantage:  Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassat and Marie Bracquemond.

Bernard Allan has a BA (Hons) in History and an MA in History of Art. Having taken early retirement, commenced a new career as an art history tutor for the WEA. Has taught French and British art of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as women's art, for the past 8years. Lectured to various societies, and guided parties around galleries in London and Paris. In addition to teaching, he's now researching artists working in Sussex in the 19th century, with a view to publication.

This talk will take us on a journey through the Weaving History of the Nomadic Tribes of the Near East, Persia and Central Asia.

The story begins in Outer Mongolia in the 5th century BC and follows the 11th century migrations from Central Asia, the cradle of weaving, into the Caucasus, Anatolia, Persia and Afghanistan. We will be introduced to the nomadic tribes of these countries and their woven rugs, carpets and dowry bags, particularly those of the 19th century and earlier. These tribal weavings illustrate the skill of the women who produced exquisite works of art using vegetable colours and age-old designs while living and travelling in primitive conditions and hostile landscapes.

The tribal weavings of the 19th century and earlier represent the pinnacle of achievement and are highly desirable and collectable works of art. Brian MacDonald will be bringing a selection of rugs and tribal weavings to exhibit and for members to handle.

Brian McDonald has been a dealer and consultant in antique oriental rugs and carpets since 1979 after his return from Iran. He is the author of 'Tribal Rugs - Treasures of the Black Tent' which was originally published in 1997 and was re-printed in April 2010. Brian is one of few western dealers to have lived and worked among tribal groups in remote areas of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1970s and then again, after the Iranian Revolution, in the 1990s. In 1990 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his work amongst the Persian tribes. He has lectured for NADFAS since 1986.

THIS IS ALSO OUR AGM (10:30 am) - MEETING OPEN TO MEMBERS ONLY

NB  Tickets for the Summer Lunch will first go on sale today from 9:45 am - cost £18.00 per member.

Tickets for the Visit to Chelsea Physic Garden & The Royal Hospital Chelsea on 23 June 2015 will also first go on sale @ 9:45 am - cost £35.00 per member

Our lecture today:

Between 1885 & 1916 Carl Fabergé made fifty jewelled eggs – Easter presents from Russia's last two emperors to their wives. They have become the most famous surviving symbols of the Romanov Empire, being supreme examples of the jeweller's art but also the vulgar playthings of a decadent court. Given almost total artistic freedom, Fabergé & his designers had to conform to just 3 rules – that the present should be egg shaped, that it should contain some amusing surprise & that it should be different from all predecessors. The result was a series of creations demonstrating ingenuity & creativity for which there are few parallels in any other field. Their styles range from traditional Russian to Art Nouveau & their materials from carved hardstone to exquisite enamelled gold.  Illustrations include pictures of the Romanovs, their palaces and, of course, of the eggs themselves.

For information about the speaker, including a full 'CV', please click on:

http://www.tobyfaber.co.uk/

The lecture will focus on the ground breaking visual ideas of Picasso and Braque which were developed in Paris from 1907 onwards during their early creative period that was later termed Cubism.

Cubist ideas inspired numerous radical avant-garde groups in the early twentieth century, such as the Italian Futurists and British Vorticists. They were later to become sources of inspiration for a large number of American artists during the inter-war years.

The use of collage and non fine art materials that were a part of Picasso and Braque's creative processes, were instrumental in avant-garde challenges to the status of the art object.

Tricha Passes has a BA from the Courtauld Institute and MA from Bath Spa University; her thesis examined the work of Roger Fry and Roland Penrose. Research posts include work on 150 years of the Bristol School of Art (2003), Peace Gardens of the 1980s (2005) and Stanley Spencer: Journey to Burghclere (2006). She has taught in the Art History Department at Bristol University since 2005 and in 2009 won the Teaching and Learning prize for the Faculty of Arts. Has also taught in the Visual Culture Department at the Faculty of Creative Arts at Bristol UWE since 1998, the Department for Continuing Education at Oxford University since 2008, and for American Studies Programmes in London since 1999.

This should prove to be a delightfully entertaining look at the history of pleasure piers covering just over 200 years, from the first pier in the Regency period up to the present day. Almost 100 pleasure piers were built around our coastline, diverse in designs and some crowned with exotic palaces or pavilions. These elegant structures bear witness to the remarkable skills of the Victorian engineers and are an important part of our social history, symbolising the nation’s love of days out and summer holidays at seaside resorts. Generations have enjoyed a promenade along Britain’s piers, breathing in fresh air and admiring the sea views. Old and young alike have been captivated by the amusements and entertained by a variety of artists. As well as discussing the unique history of the British pier and the pleasure and enjoyment they have brought, Jackie will discuss the incredible surviving piers’ success stories and the struggle to keep them. She will also look at how seaside holidays have evolved over the years, helping to shape our lives and memories.

Jackie Marsh-Hobbs is a specialist guide, researcher and teacher working at the Royal Pavilion, Preston Manor, and Brighton Museum. She has taught on adult education courses on behalf of the University of Sussex covering architecture, decorative arts, local history, and research skills. Initiates, researches and runs her own tours of Brighton Station, Palmeira Mansions and The Old Ship Hotel; local history walks and piers.

Widely known for his appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire, Grayson Perry RA is now a core part of the art establishment. Ten years after winning the Turner Prize he gave the brilliant BBC Reith Lecture in 2013. His works of ceramics, textiles and prints are highly sought after. Often controversial, he is able to tackle difficult subjects in a poignant yet witty way. This talk will examine Grayson Perry’s works, his exciting and thought provoking exhibitions, and we’ll look at the character inside the flamboyant frocks.

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. Also a qualified and active freelance London guide and a member of both the City of London and Westminster Guide Lecturer Associations. Clients include NADFAS and 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.

THIS MEETING IS ALSO OUR MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH!! Tickets will go on sale from 9:45 am October 15.

The scene of the Adoration of the Magi is central to our image of the Christmas story. It may therefore come as a surprise to learn that their representation was a later addition to the biblical account. By the 16th century even more changes had taken place.

Shirley Smith is a graduate of the University of East Anglia, with a History of Art degree specialising in Italian and Renaissance Art & Architecture. A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she is also a part-time lecturer to the Art Fund.

The fireworks that mark great events such as the opening of the Olympics or even the start of the New Year make an enormous impact. Despite their brevity, the displays live on through film and photography.

For centuries, the very fact the fireworks, themselves, were seen only for seconds and yet cost large amounts of money, provoked a strong desire to record them, and a large archive of visual evidence remains.

When rulers, such as Louis XIV or the Russian Emperors, began to see the propaganda value of circulating images designed to impress and amaze, fireworks graduated from popular entertainment to become a sophisticated instrument of stagecraft.

This lecture takes an exhilarating look at one art form that is never likely to gather dust in a museum!

Timothy Wilcox read Modern Languages at Cambridge, then History of Art at the Courtauld Institute. He was a curator at the V&A, in Liverpool and Hove, and from 2001-03 was Acting Assistant Keeper in the British Museum Department of Prints and Drawings. As a freelance curator and lecturer since 1997, he has taught at the Universities of Brighton and Surrey and the Cambridge Summer School. He has curated numerous exhibitions including for Tate, The Lowry, Dulwich Picture Gallery and elsewhere.

This talk will be a practical, step-by-step guide to the conservation of paintings and artworks through the ages. It starts with a brief history, illustrating the different approaches and techniques involved in conservation and we will see many pictures of ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’.

The frames housing various paintings undergoing conservation are discussed with illustrations showing the various stages involved. One particular project appraised will be a 16th century Holy Family group in terracotta This was the subject of a catastrophic accident, and Julia will show how it was rescued and nurtured back to health.

Julia usually illustrates her talk by bringing along some items from her studio.

Julia Korner is a specialist in fine art conservation and restoration of paintings, sculptures and frames. She is also an international art dealer, valuer and lecturer. For 20 years she was with Christie's as a paintings specialist, building extensive knowledge of Old Masters, and of British, European and American paintings from the 1700s onwards. She has worked independently in her own studio in Chiswick for 15 years. Here, she and her small team, give specialist conservation work personal, expert attention. She is an elected member of BADA (where she exhibits her pictures each year) and many other bodies, including The British Association of Paintings Conservator Restorers.

‘Follow your desire, allow the heart to forget’, so sang the ancient Egyptian harpist as he encouraged the partygoers to relax and have a good time. The ancient Egyptians loved nothing more than to feast and celebrate whenever the opportunity arose.

This lecture will explore the depiction of celebration in Egyptian art, from the elaborate temple festivals to banquets with family and friends.

Lucia will examine the ancient art in order to explore the clothes and adornments worn; the food and drink consumed; the games played; and the entertainment enjoyed. She will also pay particular attention to the so-called ‘banqueting scenes’ on the wall of the New Kingdom (c1550 – c 1069 BC) non-royal tombs at Thebes (on Luxor’s west bank).

Lucia Gahlin is an Egyptologist who works in museums and on excavations in Egypt, but who mostly lectures. She is an Honorary Research Associate at University College London, teaches Egyptology for the Universities of Exeter and Bristol, works in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London and leads tours to Egypt.

She is Deputy Director of Bloomsbury Summer School and chairs the Friends of the Petrie Museum. Publications include - Egypt: gods, myths, religion (2001).

Dick Bolton is closely following the conservation and restoration of this much loved building and contents. Meticulous research is followed by skilled work.

He talks of carved stone/timber, beaten lead, forged iron, jewel-like glass, ancient paint on plaster & wood, and delicate gilding on the wings of angels.

The conservation of such fabric is vital to preserving what is so special about our national heritage of architecture and fine arts – it’s a fascinating story.

Lt Colonel Dick Bolton returns by popular request, after the fascinating lecture: "England Brick by Brick!" which he gave us a few years ago.

He is a 'Man of Kent’, Canterbury Cathedral Guide, Registered Blue Badge Guide for SE England and the City of Canterbury and is Accredited to Rochester Cathedral and York Minster. He is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass and is member of the British Brick Society (known in NADFAS as the Brickman!).

### THIS MEETING IS ALSO OUR MEMBERS' SUMMER LUNCH!! ### (Tickets £18 pp went on sale 9:45am 16 April)

Mr Punch – the most famous puppet character of all time. His comic irreverence gave “Punch” magazine its title. His anarchic vitality has inspired opera, ballet and punk rock and his enduring popularity has seen his likeness on goods ranging from Victorian silverware to computer video games. Appearing in England in 1662, Punch is descended from the Italian clown Pulcinella of the 15th century Commedia Del’Arte tradition. Even today this Lord of Misrule uses his slapstick to dispense with oppressive authority, be it politicians, political correctness or the devil, while proclaiming his notorious refrain; ‘That’s the way to do it!”

Bertie Pearce has a BA (Hons) in Drama from Manchester University, and a Diploma Internationale from the École Internationale du Théatre, Jacques Lecoq. A member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star. Past experience includes lecturing to cruise ship audiences, the Women’s Institute, theatre clubs and the Sussex Magic Circle, as well as NADFAS. In addition, has toured the world with a magic cabaret show and a one man show entitled ‘All Aboard’. Has written an article on entertainment for the Guardian newspaper.

Gillian White specialises in the visual arts of late-medieval and 17th century England. She formerly worked for the National Trust as Curator /Collections Manager at Hardwick Hall. She now teaches part-time at Leicester University, predominantly in the Centre for the Study of the Country House, and is involved with the Continuing Education Department at Oxford University, as well as freelance lecturing.

This is also our ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - WHICH COMMENCES 10.30 am

The King’s Grand Staircase at Kensington Palace was decorated in the 1720s by William Kent, the definitive artist of the Georgian age. The wall paintings he created on the staircase included portraits of forty-five real servants who lived and worked in the royal household of George I. This talk uncovers for the first time the identity of many of Kent’s sitters, and gives their unique, below-stairs view of life in an eighteenth-century royal palace. The characters on the staircase include mysterious turbaned Turkish valets, a dwarf comedian, a kindly doctor, a Wild Boy and the painter himself, William Kent, ‘very hot, & very fat’. Anyone who thinks that George I was a boring king will change their minds after hearing about his and his servants’ adventures!

Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and leads the team of sixteen curators who present properties such as the Tower of London and Hampton Court to 3.2 million visitors annually. Previously she worked for Glasgow Museums, and before that for English Heritage. In her spare time she has written two acclaimed books, Cavalier and Courtiers. She is also a TV presenter with several series for the BBC.

As a young reporter working for the Lahore Gazette Kipling took a journey through Rajasthan in 1888 during which he produced some magical and evocative descriptions of the buildings he saw there. Nowadays he is overwhelmingly associated with the world of the Empire and the British Raj in India. But as the son of the Principal of the Bombay Art School and a talented artist himself, Kipling’s ‘seeing eye’ and his love of India provide a wonderful way in to the world of the Moguls and Maharajahs. In his company we explore some of Rajasthan’s magnificent architectural splendours and gain some insights into the rich cultural history of the ‘Land of Kings’

NB THIS LECTURE REPLACES THE TALK ON MACHU PICHU SHOWN IN YOUR PROGRAMME CARD

Elizabeth Merry BA, MA, PGCE has over 25 years' experience lecturing on a range of subjects including classical art and architecture, aspects of the visual arts and the links between literature and art. Has lectured for the WEA, the Universities of Bristol and Southampton Departments of Continuing Education, Royal Society of Arts, Dillington House, Jane Austen Society, Thomas Hardy Society, Brussels Brontë Society, Finzi Society, the Art Fund, Dorset County Museum and literary, historical and philosophical societies nationwide. She has also lectured on study tours to Rome, Aachen, Cologne, Brittany and the Dordogne, as well as all over the UK. Elizabeth lectured in Australia and New Zealand in 2011 and is returning to Australia for two further lecture tours.

William Orpen was born into a wealthy Protestant family in Ireland. His sympathies with the Nationalists made him something of an outsider in England. As an official war artist in France during the First World War he created controversial pictures.

However, during the 1920’s in London he became a hugely successful and wealthy portrait painter, seen as Sargent’s successor. But after his death at the age of 53, due largely to alcohol and syphilis, and with the emergence of new artistic styles, he was quickly forgotten.

A large retrospective exhibition at the Imperial war Museum a few years ago has led to him being re-appreciated. Today, Ann Clements will tell us more about this complex, generous, brilliant artist with a superb sense of colour and draughtsmanship, not to mention a very colourful private life.

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

The Largest pot of Roman coins ever found in Britain

Sam Moorhead is National Finds Adviser for Iron Age and Roman Coins in the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum. He taught Classics & Archaeology before joining the British Museum in 1997, and is an Honorary Lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. He has excavated widely in the Mediterranean and Britain, is a past Chairman of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and is currently Honorary Secretary of the Roman Society. Has lectured to numerous literary, historical and archaeological societies, as well as guest lecturing on cruise ships. Publications include 'The Roman Empire' and 'The Frome Hoard', as well as co-authoring 'AD 410 - The Year that Shook Rome'. He has forthcoming books on Roman Britain, the Battle of Actium and Pompeii.

This is also our MEMBERS' CHRISTMAS LUNCH MEETING

(The Lunch is sold out, with a long waiting list - very sorry)

Toys form an intimate part of our own personal histories. Some toys are universal: rattles, balls, kites and dolls entertained children in ancient times. Others reflect modern concerns: clockwork toys have been superseded by battery-operated and electronic toys. The making and the design of toys parallel the evolution of materials and technologies, trade and marketing, cultural trends and ideas about childhood.Whatever changes affect the toys of the future, however, the relationship between creativity and play will surely remain central. Toys teach children about the environment that surrounds them, while allowing them to explore the inner world of the imagination.

As a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Chloe Sayer has carried out fieldwork, curated several exhibitions, and assisted on TV documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4.

Caroline Rayman has lectured for many years to universities and art organisations in America and on cruise boats. She was an official guide at the British Museum and has published articles on samplers. Her lectures range from the role of the royal mistress in history to more scholarly lectures on Frederick the Great of Prussia and the other lectures listed above.

Viv Hendra studied at both Cambridge and Exeter Universities and has given numerous talks to organisations. He is an authority on John Opie, and is consulted by private individuals and galleries in New York and London. he published 'The Cornish Wonder: a Portrait of John Opie' in 2007.

Valerie Woodgate is a Lecturer and Guide in Tate Britain and Tate Modern, and for Tate on cruises. She is also a Lecturer in other major galleries, including the Dulwich Picture Gallery, and, on religious art, in churches and cathedrals. Script-writer for Living Paintings Trust (art for the blind and partially-sighted).

Roger Rosewell is a professional lecturer, award-winning author and widely published photographer. Since 2006 has been the Features Editor of Vidimus, the online magazine published by the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (GB committee) and the author of Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches (2008); a history of Stained Glass (2012), The Medieval Monastery (2012) and Medieval Wall Paintings (2014). Forthcoming books include Medieval Saints, Shrines and Pilgrimages and a guide to medieval and renaissance stained glass in France. Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University; former Leader writer Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers. Every lecture is individually tailored to the host Society and wherever possible includes local examples of wall paintings, stained glass or monastic remains. In addition: Tours, Study Days and Excursions.

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

In view of this milestone in our history, Chairman Judith Price, former Chairman Sue Brown and everyone on the committee have pleasure in inviting members to celebrate on that very day, by joining us at a special Champagne Afternoon Buffet Tea Party at Kingswood Golf Club. Invitations were dispatched to all members, but you can find a copy by going to ABOUT US, clicking on DOCUMENTS and then on the “16/05/14” strip and you should be able to see the invitation there. Tickets went on sale on Thursday 20th February, but there are still some available (17/4/14). Contact: Judith Price - judithaprice@gmail.com / 01737 832189. To make sure as many members as possible see this Notice, a copy is also being shown under News and under Lectures. DAVID TINKLER Website Co-ordinator - 8/2/14 Updated 17/4/14

Twigs is a garden historian, author, researcher and lecturer. Her interest in garden history grew out of her original career in landscape archaeology and landscape history, and blossomed during a period of lecturing for the University of Cambridge. She now carries out freelance research in the history of specific gardens and parks for bodies such as English Heritage, the National Trust and various private clients. She has a specific interest in social and political aspects of the garden, as well as the portrayal of parks and gardens in art and literature. In addition to this very serious side of her work she likes to explore the quirkier and less trammelled aspects of gardens in the past and her publications include Allotments, History of Garden Gnomes, History of Women in the Garden, and the highly illustrated A Nation of Gardeners. Twigs is currently working on the Eighteenth Century Diaries of the Marchioness Grey of Wrest Park.

Eric has over twenty-five years experience lecturing to museums and galleries around the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Art Deco Society of New York, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the South African Antique Dealers Fair, along with countless antique societies in the UK. He hosts Fine Art, Antiques and Architectural trips in the UK, USA and Europe, and has broadcast for thirty years with the BBC's 'Antiques Roadshow'.

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

Malcolm is an experienced retired specialist police and private detective, investigating art and antique crime. Formerly the Recoveries Director for the Art Loss Register which operates an international commercial database of stolen cultural property. Formed his own company and developed training programmes designed to educate law enforcement officers in all aspects of this area of criminal activity, undertaken in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Art and Antiques Unit at New Scotland Yard, London. Has lectured to police conferences, customs officers, auction house staff, museum employees, Interpol and FBI. Solely digital presentations. A projector and cabling is available if required. He lives in Northampton from October to March, and the rest of the year in France.

Caroline is a design and decorative arts journalist and author as well as being a London Blue Badge guide, specialising in tours for museums and art galleries. In the early 70s she worked for Terence Conran copy writing and editing the Habitat Catalogue.

Dr Bostwick is a lecturer and consultant in the Cultural History of the Medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods. Specialist in medieval imagery and interior furnishings and decoration 1400-1700. Tour leader. Former Keeper of the Social History Collections, Sheffield City Museums. Lecture tours to USA and Australia. Consultant on historic buildings and their interpretation to the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Scotland.

John Meyer graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Theology, and has worked for Bonham's, Sotheby's and The Fine Art Auction Group. He also headed up the 19th Century Furniture Dept for Sotheby's in Europe. 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.

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

Rupert Willoughby is a prize-winning historian who specialises in the domestic and social life of the past. A graduate with First Class Honours in History from the University of London, he is the author of the best-selling Life in Medieval England for Pitkin, of guides to castles owned by English Heritage and Hampshire County Council, and of a series of popular histories of places, including Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village and Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture. He contributes regular obituaries to The Times and The Daily Telegraph, writes privately-commissioned histories of houses, and is an experienced lecturer - and occasional broadcaster - on a broad range of topics, with a particular interest in architecture, interior decoration and costume.

John 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, and has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the National Trust and the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice. He also lectures on art for cruises. In 2012, he wrote the new guidebook to the newly opened Strawberry Hill.

Richard is a freelance artist (drawing, painting and embroidery), lecturer, teacher and author since 1985 and was previously Head of Art at Avery Hill College of Education. He has taught in schools from nursery to secondary and presently teaches and lectures to adults at Education Centres, and to independent organisations. He exhibits his work regularly at various galleries throughout the country and works in watercolours, oils and acrylics as well as his particular form of textile art. As an art historian, Richard lectures widely to a variety of independent organisations such as NADFAS. He exhibits his work regularly at various galleries throughout the country

Susan Kay-Williams is a Fellow of the RSA and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has been Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework since 2007, with a brief to bring the RSN into the 21st century. She has subsequently introduced a degree programme, a Diploma course in technical hand embroidery, a Collection and a Studio which works on new commissions and conservation of textiles. Most recently the RSN was responsible for the lace appliqué on HRH The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, veil and shoes which had to be kept secret until 11am on Friday 29 April 2011. Susan has had a long standing interest in textiles, especially colour, and is writing a book on the history of colour in textiles due out in 2013.

Janusz Karczewski-Slowikowski MSc B.Ed Dip, has himself been a NADFAS member since 1982, and is an antique dealer and freelance lecturer in English furniture history. He has lectured for over 30 years throughout Britain, Europe and Australia, giving particular consideration to the aesthetic, craft and socio-economic aspects of fine furniture.

Harry Fletcher MA in Ed, BA, MLIA (dip) is a portrait painter and practising artist who has had work shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Educated at Hartlepool Grammar School and the College of the Venerable Bede in Durham, he worked previously as Head of Art & Design in a large Comprehensive school, and as an A-level examiner. He has tutored the History of Modern Art, Art & Design and Art and the Environment for the Open University and he has been an OU examiner. He has led art appreciation holidays around the UK, in France and in Spain and he is a freelance lecturer. He gives painting demonstrations in oil, acrylic and pastel, and the combination of lecture and related painting demonstrations has been popular with NADFAS societies as a study day.

This lecture gave us a critical review of contemporary public sculpture and what makes an effective public sculpture commission, and questioned whether the British public is currently getting the public sculpture it deserves, and if not, why not? Traditionally, sculpture has provided a fitting focus for our towns and cities but today’s public sculpture looks very different and often attracts controversy. The lecture discussed some of the most memorable examples – Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North in Gateshead, the forth plinth project in Trafalgar Square, the proposed White Horse at Ebbsfleet, Anish Kapoor’s Orbit Tower at the Olympic Park, and many more. Mary Yule occupied the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square for an hour in 2009 as part of Gormley’s One and Other project, so she was well placed to give her ‘view from the plinth’. All-in-all this was a most interesting and informative talk. ________________________________________________________________ Mary Yule studied art history at Birkbeck College and the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she obtained an MA in 20th Century British Art. She has lectured for the Art Fund, at Kingston University, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection and at Museums Association conferences and study days. Her publications include A Place for Living Art: The Whitechapel Art Gallery 1952-68 in Artists and Patrons in Post-War Britain (2001) and articles in Art Fund and museum publications.

Tony Tucker, who lives nearby in Carshalton, is a very well respected author and a fascinating speaker. He lectures to Friends of the City Churches, WEA, various historical Associations, NADFAS societies and other adult education groups. He also leads regular Walks within the City where he has worked for 35 years, and is a regular contributor to Cityguide magazine.

Annie Gray is a food history expert specialising in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. She has degrees in history (MA Oxon) and archaeology (MA PhD) from which she derives an interest in the materiality of dining, including the cooking and eating of historic recipes; in addition she works as a consultant to historic sites looking to maximise the potential of their kitchens and dining areas . Dr Gray lectures academically, and publicly, and has published a number of articles. She also works as a costumed interpreter, leading a team at the award-winning Audley End House, representing Victorian servants at work, and has appeared in and out of costume in the media, including TV - "The Great British Bake Off" and "Mrs Beeton Unbuttoned".

Louise Schofield was for 13 years Curator of Greek Bronze Age and Geometric Antiquities at the British Museum, and was responsible for the Mycenaean collection. She has also worked on international archaeological projects, principally in Turkey, Albania and Greece, and now spends some time living in a tent in a small village in Ethiopia, running an archaeological, conservation and development project. She has lectured for a number of universities and institutions, including Florida State University, Christie?s Education, and Swan Hellenic Cruises, and recently published The Mycenaeans (The British Museum and the Getty Museum).

Rosalind Whyte holds a BA and MA from Goldsmith’s College and an MA from Birbeck College; she is an experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The Royal Academy and Greenwich. She also lectures at the Tate, Dulwich Picture Gallery and on cruises, and leads art appreciation holidays. She lectures widely in the UK and Europe; and has even spoken in South Africa.

Andrew Davies is extra-mural Tutor for London, Essex and The Open University. He is author of many books, including 'The East End Nobody Knows'. He is a frequent contributor to radio and television, has lectured all over the world and also organises walks to complement his lectures.

Dr. Suzanne Fagence Cooper was educated at Merton College, Oxford, Christie's Education and the Courtald Institute before becoming the Victoria & Albert Museum Research Fellow at Buckinghamshire New University in 1999. Her involvement with the V&A dates back to 1996, when she was appointed curator, and in 2001 she co-curated the V&A's major exhibition 'The Victorian Vision.' Suzanne's published work includes the book Victorian Women (V&A Publications, 2001) and two essays for the book that supported the exhibition 'The Victorian Vision' in 2002. Her book Pre-Raphaelite Art in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Publications, 2003) brought together objects normally dispersed around the museum to examine the relationship between the V&A and this group of Victorian artists. Her renowned knowledge of Victorian art and culture has led to numerous broadcast opportunities. She has been interviewed for Radio 4, the BBC World Service, and the television programme Victorians Roadshow (BBC2), and has worked as a consultant for the programmes What the Victorians Did for Us, (BBC2), presented by Adam Hart-Davis, and Simon Schama's series History of Britain (BBC2). She has also given many public lectures, including regularly on Cunard's Queen Mary II, as part of the Oxford University Discovery programme (2004). Suzanne lives between London and York with her husband and two daughters.

Peter Medhurst GRSM ARCM is a hugely popular lecturer to all NADFAS audiences. He appears in the UK and abroad as musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Linda Smith BA (Hons) MA is well known to Walton DFAS and a very popular lecturer. She holds two first-class degrees in Art History. She is an experienced guide and lecturer at Tate Britain, Tate Modern and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Linda also lectures to secondary schools audiences and independent arts societies.

Frank Woodgate BA MBCS ACIB is Lecturer and Guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, lecturer at Dulwich Picture Gallery and scriptwriter for the Living Paintings Trust (art for the blind and partially-sighted).

Professor Tom Beaumont James FRHistS, FSA is Fellow of Antiquaries (London and Scotland) and the Royal Historical Society. His publications include Clarendon: Landscape of Kings (2007), Winchester: Prehistory to the Present (2007), The Story of England (2003). He has contributed to many radio and television productions and lectured in UK, Europe, Russia, USA and Australia.

Hilary Hope Guise MA Fine Art (UCT) MA (Lon) lectures in the main museums in London for American universities, has toured widely in the USA and lectured for the Smithsonian Institution. She has also worked for The Art Fund, taught courses for Cambridge University and been a guest speaker on cruises. She trained as a painter at Central St Martins and exhibits abroad, most recently in Berlin and France.

John Vigar MA FSA Scot FRSA has been a professional freelance historian since 1977. He has been part-time tutor at the University of Kent since 1990 and Lecturer for The Historic Churches Preservation Trust. He is author of 2 books including Kent Churches (2001).

Dr Claire Walsh BA (Hons) MA (Distinction) PhD has worked at the V&A and lectured for numerous groups and universities. Currently she is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the History of Retail and Distribution at the University of Wolverhampton.

After University, Jo Walton BA Dip Hist Art (Oxon) began teaching and lecturing, combining this with a career in art bookselling. She set up and ran the Atrium Bookshop in Cork Street – the heart of London’s art world – and worked with Christie’s the fine art auctioneers. She now combines freelance lecturing with work in publishing and is a guide at Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

Jonathan Hinden BA Cantab ARCM LRAM studied at St Paul’s School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is Principal Coach at Glyndebourne Opera (was Head of Music Staff until 1997) and Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. He is also Tutor at the National Opera Studio.

Yasha Beresiner qualified as a lawyer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has lived in England since 1963 and has lectured extensively to a wide range of societies around the country. He is also a qualified City of London Guide and a regular contributor to various magazines and other publications including The City of London Masonic Guide, a Collector's Guide to Paper Money, and British County Maps.

Kevin Karney MA has a life-long interest in the history of timekeeping and cosmology, particularly sundials as objects of art, craft and science. He gives lectures on various aspects of sundials in UK and USA to general audiences, but also to the British Sundial and North American Sundial Societies. Publications include articles in the Journals of both these Societies.

Andrew Davies is known to Walton-on-the-Hill members. Recently he guided us on a London Walk, see below. He is an Extra-Mural Tutor for London, Essex and The Open University, author of 9 books, including "The East End Nobody Knows", frequent contributor to radio and television, has lectured all over the world, organises walks to complement his lectures, and is very popular with NADFAS members. In March, last year, we ourselves enjoyed a Walk entitled "NOOKS, CRANNIES & CHURCHES" (for pictures see GALLERY - under London Walk), when for a few hours we revelled in the City’s 2,000 year history, and visited places the tourist never sees. Little known alleys and buildings, the Roman wall, medieval churches and the glorious legacy of Sir Christopher Wren were all revealed! The GOOD NEWS is that, in 2012, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, Andrew Davies will be conducting another Walk for us, this time in Dickens' London - so please watch the Visits' Section of this website for full details which will be publishing later in the year.

Frances Hughes spent 38 years in Education, 18 as a head teacher. She is now a freelance lecturer in Art and Theatre History. She is Hon Secretary of the Shakespeare Reading Society(founded 1875) and Chairman of the Irving Society. Those members who were at our Visit to the Garrick Club, in January, will remember that Frances acted as our host.

Valerie Woodgate works as a lecturer and guide in Tate Britain, Tate Modern and other major galleries, and on religious art in churches and cathedrals. She is a member of the teaching team at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and a script-writer for the Living Paintings Trust (art for the blind and partially sighted). She also runs courses at colleges of further education.

Dick Bolton is known within NADFAS as "The Brickman". He lives in Kent and is a Blue-Badge guide for S-E England and the City of Canterbury. He is also an accredited guide to the Cathedrals of Canterbury, Rochester, Salisbury and York Minster. A member of the Lutyens Trust and of the British Brick Society,

Leslie Primo lectures at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. LESLIE PRIMO is new to the NADFAS Directory, and came across as a dynamic and amusing lecturer when we heard him at the Directory meeting earlier this year. He gives lectures, guided tours plus special talks at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery; talks at the City Literary Institute, National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

The Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, a former Bishop of St. Alban's, has an MPhil and PhD in Art History from the University of Leicester. He lectures widely in the UK and in Italy.

Owing to the illness of Shirley Turner, our Christmas Lunch lecturer, we have had to find a replacement lecturer. Our lecturer is now going to be Mrs Anne Sebba, who will be speaking about Jennie Churchill: Winston's American Mother: Style Icon or Ambitious Seductress. We have been very lucky to find Anne, who is an experienced lecturer and broadcaster on Radio 3 and author of nine books including a biography of Jennie Churchill.

Between 1993 and 1997 Rebecca Hossack served as the Australian cultural attaché in London. (Her ‘unworthy predecessor’ Sir Les Patterson saluted her as ‘one beaut sheila’.) She is on the board of LAPADA (the Association of Art and Antiques Dealers) and of Resurgence (the influential periodical of alternative thought). She writes regularly in the national press, and lectures internationally. She teaches a course on Aboriginal Art and Culture at Schumacher College in Devon. Her portrait was included in Australians, an exhibition of photographs by Polly Borland at the National Portrait Gallery (with an accompanying book) celebrating ‘the contributions of 55 famous Aussie “ex-pats”.’ Hossack is a dedicated campaigner on environmental issues. In 2006 she was elected as Councillor for the Bloomsbury Ward in Camden. Last year she ran in the New York Marathon, raising over £20,000 to plant trees in Central London.

nb, change of lecture