The lecture focuses on the stories behind five distinct blues which are features of Morocco's history and culture. From Essaouira to Safi, through Marrakech, Fez and Chefchaouen, we'll hear about the blues brought from abroad (with the Jewish community, from Algeria, from France and in trade with the UK) and generated from within Morocco, in pottery, dyes and painting. The story of Morocco’s blues takes us from Yves Saint-Laurent via German cigarettes and porcelain at Sèvres, to a very special snail.

Elizabeth Gowing studied at Magdalen College Oxford before training as a teacher and working in Lambeth, Hackney and Islington. She moved to Kosovo in 2006 and there worked with the Ethnological Museum in Pristina and co-founded Ideas Partnership, a charity working on education and cultural heritage projects. Elizabeth speaks fluent Albanian and has translated two books (the unauthorised biography of Yugoslavia’s longest-held prisoner, Adam Demaci; and the memoirs of one of the leaders of the 1912 uprising). She is also author of four books about Kosovo - Travels in Blood and Honey; becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo (2011); Edith and I; on the trail of an Edwardian traveller in Kosovo (2013); The Rubbish-Picker’s Wife; an unlikely friendship in Kosovo (2015); and the Silver Thread; a journey through Balkan craftsmanship (2017). Her latest book (2022- with Robert Wilton) is No Man’s Lands; 8 extraordinary women in Balkan history. Elizabeth is a regular contributor to Radio 4 (Saturday Live, Excess Baggage, From Our Own Correspondent) and the BBC World Service. She has worked as a member of the advisory board of Guide KS, the NGO for Kosovan tour guides, and the board of Faktoje, the Albanian fact-checking organisation.

In this talk we will focus on women artists who worked in Paris throughout the 19th century, from Rosa Bonheur to Berthe Morisot, as well as less famous ones like Elizabeth Jane Gardner and Marie Bracquemond. We will consider how they could train, exhibit and sell their works. We will look at the subject matter they represented and the style in which they did so. We will see how they were considered by their peers and the reviewers, and reflect upon the obstacles they had to overcome to be professional artists.

The illustrated  work is by Marie Bashkirtseff and is entitled "In the Studio" exhibited in 1881 (Dnipro Art Museum)

Dr Caroline Levisse is an art historian based in London. She was born in France where she studied art history before moving to Copenhagen. In Denmark, she focused on research work and completed a PhD on the relations between art and religion in contemporary Scandinavian art. After graduating in 2013, she moved to London and started teaching art history with adult education providers. She has since developed a range of courses focusing on 19th and early 20th century Western art. She has published articles in French and English in academic journals as well as magazines and newspapers, such as Church Times and Arts sacres

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in America, this lecture will explore 25 iconic works of American art including Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic,’ Dorothea Lange’s 'Migrant Mother,’ and Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks'. We will trace the history of America through those paintings, sculptures, land art, and photography that exemplify vital moments in Americanhistory such as the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement.

illustrated: Portrait of the Copley Family Painting by John Singleton Copley

Marie-Anne Mancio trained as an artist before gaining a DPhil in Art and Critical Theory from the University of Sussex. She has lectured in art history for numerous institutions including the City Lit, Tate Modern, the Course, Art in London, V&A, Dulwich Picture Gallery, HENI films, and Ben Uri gallery.  Marie-Anne also runs art history study tours abroad for ACE and is a Director of InFems art collective for whom she curates exhibitions and writes.

This is a Special Interst Day

This lecture is a change from our published programme.

The late Christopher Hitchens, who knew a thing or two about feuds, once wrote that a really first rate bust up requires one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the great early Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader, Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo, who painted out and amended each other’s works. There are many more. They are highly entertaining but they also tell us a great deal about key issues in art history.

Illustrated. a paint brush duel at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris by Antoine Cucuel.

 Barry Venning is an art historian who has published books,articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable andBritish landscape painting, He has also an ongoing research interest inpostcolonial art and British visual satire. His media work includes two BBCTV documentaries, radio appearances and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.

Sir Christopher Wren was a promising young 17th century mathematician and inventor.  With strong links to the Church and Crown, he grew up in politically challenging as well as scientifically exciting times.  Wren could have turned his hand to a range of endeavours and after the Great Fire of London 1666 proposed an ambitious new grid design for the City of London. Instead, over the next 50 years Wren rebuilt 50 of the City’s 80 parish churches that had burned down with huge variety and ingenuity. In so doing Wren created the auditory church, setting the standard of the new reformed Church of England for the next 200 years and as it spread across the globe, whilst creating works of architectural genius - such as his domes and the geometrical staircase in St Pauls’ cathedral - that helped establish the great 18th century metropolis of London.

Illustrated: “St Paul's caught fire at 8.00 pm. Quickly, it became an inferno, the roof caved in, crashing through the Cathedral floor to the Crypt beneath.” As observed by Dr Taswell

Janet Gough OBE (MA Cantab- history and history of art) works on strategic projects to conserve and develop historic church buildings for wider enjoyment. After working in the City and ten years at Sotheby’s, for eight years she was Director of Cathedrals and Church buildings for the Church of England. Janet has written three books on cathedrals, church buildings and cathedral treasures. She lectures regularly at the V&A and elsewhere (recently on Wren rebuilding London out of disaster in 51 churches; George Gilbert Scott and Victorian church architecture and the subject of her latest book - Divine Light, the Stained Glass of England’s Cathedrals). In 2017 Janet was awarded an OBE for services to heritage.

The Wallace Collection, a national museum containing an outstanding array of paintings, furniture, porcelain, arms and armour, was brought together by five generations of one family between about 1760 and 1880. All the Founders were remarkable men in their own right, but the greatest collectors were the 4th Marquess of Hertford, and his illegitimate son, Sir Richard Wallace, who lived most of their lives in Paris. This lecture tells the fascinating story of the Wallace Collection’s formation, and also presents many of its finest treasures.

Illustrated The Laughing Cavalier (1624) is a portrait by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals in the Wallace Collection in London.

Stephen Duffy was formerly Senior Curator of the Wallace Collection where he had particular responsibility for exhibitions and nineteenth- century paintings. He has given countless tours of the Collection for visiting groups, as well as many lectures on its art and other art historical subjects at home and abroad. His most recent publication, The Discovery of Paris, is a book on early nineteenth-century watercolour views of Paris by major British artists such as Girtin, Turner and Bonington. He has written many articles and reviews for art magazines.

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. 

Illustrated Hendrick Avercamp, Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters, c. 1608 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

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. 

When we walk into any gallery, why do we see so many depictions of the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, but not Viking ones? This lecture explores how Norse myths and legends have been portrayed in the decorative and fine arts over more than 1,300 years and reveals quite how few depictions we have (although some are superb) and how varied they can be. In order to explain key themes in the artworks, the talk begins with a brief overview of the pantheon of deities, the Norse creation story and Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods.

Please note that this lecture was originally scheduled for the 16th October but due to matters beyond our control has been rescheduled to 20th November 

Illustrated : Mårten Eskil Winge’s “Thor’s Fight with the Giants”, 1872, Nationalmuseum Stockholm. 

James Vaux

James Vaux is a researcher and lecturer, specialising in Nordic arts, culture, design and history. Having taken a law degree at Oxford (with First Class Honours) and qualified as a solicitor, he then became Managing Director of the International Bank Rothschild. He set up and ran the bank’s Nordic operations, living and working in Scandinavia. James gained an MA at UCL in Scandinavian Studies, with a dissertation on Swedish design. He has also studied interior design and art history at the Inchbald School and electric music at Point Blank. He hosted a local radio show for four years.

Viking Gods and Valkyries: The Art of Norse Mythology James Vaux Additional Resources Featured major artists UK Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) William Blake (1757-1827) Denmark Nicolai Abildgaard (1743-1809) C.W. Eckersberg (1783-1853) H.E. Freund (1786-1840) Lorenz Frølich (1820-1908) Sweden B.E. Fogelberg (1786-1854) Nils Blommér (1816-1853) Mårten Eskil Winge (1825-1896) Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Bengt Lindström (1925-2008) Norway Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831-1892) Germany Emil Döpler (1855-1922) Anselm Kiefer (1945-) Where to see Scandinavia Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), Copenhagen National Museum, Stockholm Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo (These display mainly the 19th century history paintings / sculptures) Germany Neues Museum, Berlin, Vaterland Hall  (Restored frescoes depicting the Eddas) United Kingdom Nearer to home, the Royal Academy occasionally shows Fuseli’s Thor (currently not on display). There is a ‘Nordic Noir’ exhibition of prints at the British Museum (Room 90) which includes Norse myth as one of its themes (9th October 2025 to 22nd March 2026). Birmingham Museum holds Edward Burne-Jones’s studies for stained glass windows of Odin, Thor and Frey for the Vinland mansion in Newport, Rhode Island (the original windows are now lost). A copy of the Gosforth Cross is in the V&A sculpture hall. A copy of the Thorwald Cross (showing Odin devoured by Fenrir the wolf at Ragnarök) is in the Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man. The Finglesham Buckle 

Odin invoked in a weapons dance) is in the Ashmolean, Oxford.  Anselm Kiefer often exhibits at the White Cube, Bermondsey. Pam Glew’s series of Norse goddesses, ‘Dark Tales’, can be seen online here: https://www.pamglew.co.uk/p-dark-tales. Further Reading There are only three books I have found dealing specifically with the art of Scandinavian Mythology. All are out of print; one is in Icelandic and one in Danish! However, you can purchase the English one (accompanying an exhibition in York and Nottingham in the late 1990s) second hand, e.g. from Abe Books. Wilson, David M, 1997. Vikings and Gods in European Art. Aarhus: Moesgaard Museum BUT…this excellent book does include many reproductions of the artwork shown: Larrington, Carolyne, 2023. The Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think. London: Thames & Hudson For the art of the Viking Age more generally, this is a good primer: Graham-Campbell, James, 2021. Viking Art. London: Thames & Hudson To get into the minds of the Vikings (including their beliefs) there is no better book than this: Price, Neil, 2022. The Children of Ash and Elm. A History of the Vikings. London: Penguin For Norse Mythology generally, the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda are both available in Penguin, but I suggest starting with a modern introduction such as: Gaiman, Neil, 2017. Norse Mythology. London: Bloomsbury Larrington, Carolyne, 2017. The Norse Myths – A Guide to the Gods and Heroes.  London: Thames & Hudson Crossley-Holland, Kevin, 2011. The Penguin Book of Norse Myths. London: Penguin If you like YouTube, Old Norse educator Dr Jackson Crawford @jacksoncrawford posts fascinating, academically accurate and readily understandable short videos on Norse mythology and literature. In addition to Larrington’s 2023 publication above, these books cover the cultural reception of the Norse myths over the ages: O’Donaghue, Heather, 2008. From Asgard to Valhalla. London and New York: I.B. Taurus Arnold, Martin, 2011. Thor: Myth to Marvel. London and New York: Continuum Lindow, John, 2021. Old Norse Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press Helgason, Jón Karl, 2017. Echoes of Valhalla. London: Reaktion Books 

CENTENARY of the 1925 PARIS EXPO

In 1925, 16 million visitors witnessed PARIS’S EXPO - The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. What would we have seen in this landmark exhibition, if we had been one of those visitors? What drew the Crowds? And how did this seminal exhibition play a fundamental role in giving rise to a new international and truly GLOBAL style that we have come to know as ART DECO? 

Please note that this lecture was originally scheduled for the 20th November but due to matters beyond our control has been rescheduled to 16th October.


 

Pamela Campbell - Johnston has an MA Hons in  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 RA’s Adult Education Department.
Also conducted numerous guided tours, residential trips and focused gallery talks on individual works of art. Specialises in British Domestic Architecture and Modern British Art - with a particular love for the 1920s and 1930s. A permanent career at Royal Academy of Arts for 12 years.
Work experience also undertaken at Bonhams, Art Loss Register and National Trust. 
Now a freelance art consultant and lecturer. Recently curated a collection for the Lansdowne Club.

We love standing in a museum gazing at a painting by Titian or Caravaggio, but we rarely question where it was before it came to be in that museum, or who in earlier times stood in front of it and gazed, nor by what practical means it got there. When Napoleon invaded Europe, he had the best of Europe’s works of art sent back to Paris for his new Musée Napoleon. But HOW did they get four life -size bronze horses of San Marco down from their place on the basilica in Venice,  over the Alps and all the way to Paris? What practicalities did shipping a painting over 15 feet high, or a statue such as Michelangelo’s David, involve?

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

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

Starting on Oxford Street’s ‘golden mile’, we’ll set off on a cultural tour of the capital’s big stores – from snooty Marshall & Snelgrove, to Pontings, ‘House of Value’; from Kennards’ wart-removal service, to the live flamingos atop Derry & Toms; from Bodgers of Ilford, to Bon Marché of Brixton. How did it feel to enter a great store in 1850 – and in 1950? What was it like to serve? From shoppers to shop girls, publicity stunts to wow factor window dressing, a fascinating slice of social history, with wonderful period images. 

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 Lost Department Stores

Tessa Boase

Thursday 19 June 2025 at 10.45

A live Meeting at Shalford Village Hall.

Coffee in the Club Room from 9.45 hosted by

The Arts Society Guildford Wey Valley

If you would like to bring a Visitor to this meeting  (£8 at the door) please let us know in advance by email to info@tasgwv.org.uk and, if you can, please do car share ,Thank you 

Throughout all of human history eating together has evolved in form, function and purpose.
Elaborate rituals were developed particularly in ancient Persia and Rome, finally culminating in the glitteringly opulent State Banquets at the courts of Versailles and Imperial St Petersburg.
In this talk, Andrew illustrates how these powerful occasions were intended to display the taste, wealth, influence and political power of the host, together with the creation of some of the most beautiful objects ever designed.

Andrew Prince has had a passion for jewellery since he was a small child. After leaving school he started working in Bond Street for Ian Harris, the Antiques Roadshow expert, developing an appreciation for jewels that were valued for their quality of design and craftsmanship rather than their worth. His next job was with the renowned contemporary jeweller Elizabeth Gage, working in her design and production department. In recent years Andrew has created jewellery for celebrities including Michael Jackson and Shirley Bassey, and also for a number of films. In 2012 he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for their third series. Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGoven and Michelle Dockery were all adorned with tiaras, combs, earrings and necklaces designed and created by Andrew.

This talk informs people about my artist process and what was involved in making this public work of art.

Mary Branson is best known for her large scale conceptual light installations, particularly the 2016 New Dawn sculpture in the Houses of Parliament, which celebrates the centenary of the Suffrage movement. This is the first permanent piece of contemporary abstract art in the Palace of Westminster. This lecture explains the artistic processes involved in the making of this public work of art.

Mary is an award-winning printmaker, a choreographer for performance and dance events and a public speaker, having recently returned from a lecture tour in the United States. She has created works for the 2012 London Olympics, the Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede, Royal Holloway College and more recently Harvest, a huge site-specific installation at Box Hill in collaboration with the National Trust. Her latest work Ladders of Light fills Salisbury Cathedral. She has held a number of artistic residences including the British Council, Crisis, the National Trust and HM Prison Service. She is currently the Artist in Residence at Watts Gallery in Compton.

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth. Yet beneath the dazzling veneer of works such as Madame X, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw lurks a much rawer world by far. Sargent certainly scandalised Parisian society and the city’s Salon with his frank depictions of human sexuality, yet he was even more modern than they might have feared. This talk charts the artist’s life and his prolific output, showing that, like the era he came to represent, Sargent was always on the cusp of seismic change.

Illustrated: Charles Stewart Sixth Marquess of Londonderry Carrying the Great Sword of State at the Coronation of King Edward VII, August, 1902 by John Singer Sargent

 Gavin Plumley is a writer and broadcaster who has appeared on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines, opera and concert programmes worldwide. He lectures widely on the Culture of Central Europe and has given talks at the Hay and Cheltenham Literature Festivals, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the British Museum, the National Theatre, and the V and A. His first book A Home for all Seasons has recently been published.

This is a Special Interest Day

Ronnie explains that "take 4" is a series of theme based lectures.   He looks at each theme through the work of 4 different artists in different places and periods, or from 4 different points of view. 

In LAND he looks at works by Claude;  Caspar David Friedrich; Joan Eardley; Andy Goldsworthy.    

In each case, there is a "main" image with supporting works.  We will see the very different intentions of these 4 artists, setting them in their time and place and how these intentions and differences in temperament produced very different work in technique and content.  

Illustrated Caspar David Friedrich and the Dusseldorf School of Painting

Biography: 

Ronnie Ireland is an artist, based in southern England. He exhibits his own work, teaches art and gives lectures on art history. His main interest is in the How and Why of art.  Why did the artist make this; how did they make this and crucially, how do these two aspects interact?   

Academic -  Glasgow School of Art; Jordanhill College; The Open University

He taught art plus freelance illustration and commissions and was involved in organising, performing and  writing music in parallel with visual art.

As a freelance artist he exhibits; teaches his own classes and demonstes to workshops and lectures on art history to Arts  Societies,

During the early years of British settlement in India, the nature of the lifestyles to be adopted was uncertain. Looking at portraits and printed material – both serious and satirical – we will examine how the lives of the early settlers were presented to a wider audience. Through this, we will explore some of the tensions between maintaining their Britishness and adapting to local conditions.

Illustrated : Mrs. Belnos, A Civilian Going Out, 1832, coloured lithograph fromTwenty-Four Plates Illustrative of Hindoo and European Manners in Bengal (Yale Center for British Art).

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

The history of this enduring and peculiarly British Institution, from its origins in 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte through the influence of 19th century Music Hall, to the family shows much loved today. On the way we examine the origins of some of the stories used in pantomime and some of its traditions, interspersed with personal anecdotes from Ian’s years of working and appearing professionally in pantomime.

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.

This lecture will look at Hopper’s unique contribution to American Art in the 20th century, with his haunting images of loneliness in the midst of bustling urban life.

Illustrated: Automat 1927

Lydia Bauman was Born in Poland and studied for her BA in Fine Art at University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and an MA in History of Art from Courtauld Institute of Art, London. 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. Since the pandemic began in March 2020 Lydia had devised and delivered a programme of upwards of 180 online lectures to her own group Art For The Uninitiated.

This is a Special Interest Day.

CLICK HERE for details 

With slides of art projects and prisoners’ art, Angela will demonstrate how, within the process of creating art of any discipline, there are vital opportunities for offenders to confront their crimes and develop life skills so essential in leading a positive and productive life. Art is absolutely vital, hugely relevant and potentially life changing.

Angela Findlay is a professional artist, writer and freelance lecturer with a long career of teaching art in prisons in Germany and England. Her time ‘behind bars’ and later as Arts Coordinator of the London-based Koestler Arts, gave her many insights into the huge impact the arts can have in terms of rehabilitation. Though novel, her ideas were effective and in 2016 she was invited by the Ministry of Justice to support the case for the arts to be included in new, progressive programmes of rehabilitation and education. Brexit unfortunately reversed the direction of prison policy but art's role is still vital. 

Angela has a BA(Hons) in Fine Art, a Diploma in Artistic Therapy (specialising in colour) and her paintings have been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally. Her book - In My Grandfather’s Shadow - expanding on the above subjects was published by Penguin Transworld in July 2022. 

Over the past twenty years, Heatherwick Studio has used an intriguing combination of curiosity and experimentation to produce a vast range of solutions to design challenges from the Olympic cauldron, iconic new London bus and the new HQ for Google. This talk considers the problems presented and the wonderfully creative ways Heatherwick and his team have responded.

Illustrated Angel Wings

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

We celebrate the bicentenary of the National Gallery in 2024. This lecture considers the design of the famous building, the establishment of the wonderful collection of European paintings and the high and low points of the early years. A number of key paintings from the collection will be considered in close up.

Simon Whitehouse is an  actor, lecturer, presenter, a voice teacher and an award winning London Blue Badge guide.

He has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and also lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English

illustration: Portrait of Christina of Denmark (or Portrait in Mourning) is an oil on oak panel painting by Hans Holbein the Younger completed in 1538

our speaker is on the left.

The Lecture will start at the usual time of 10.45

A Live Meeting at Shalford Village Hall.

Hosted by 

The Arts Society Guildford Wey Valley

Coffee from 9.45

If you are planning to be  a Visitor (£8 at the door) to this meeting please let us know in advance by email at info@tasgwv.org.uk and, if you can, please do car share. Thank you.

Landscape photography is a way of life and an essential method of expression for Charlie Waite. In discussing his work, Charlie will refer to ‘pre-visualisation’ that was first used by Ansel Adams, from which he draws much inspiration, as well as the other artists who have inspired and shaped his photographs.

Illustrated: Shangri La,  Yunnan, China

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

The Lecture will start at the usual time of 10.45

A Live Meeting at Shalford Village Hall.

Hosted by 

The Arts Society Guildford Wey Valley

Coffee from 9.45

If you are planning to be  a Visitor (£8 at the door) to this meeting please let us know in advance by email at info@tasgwv.org.uk and, if you can, please do car share. Thank you.

This richly illustrated talk is a series of extraordinary archaeological adventures. Louise will take you with her to a mysterious and atmospheric ancient city on the coast of Albania, to the banks of the two great rivers of Mesopotamia, the Euphrates and Tigris and then to the wild mountains of Ethiopia.

Illustrated - One of eleven monolithic churches carved out of rock in the mountainous region at the heart of Ethiopia. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela, who set out to construct a ' New Jerusalem ' after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land. 

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.

From the late 1300s to 1737 the Medici family advised, ruled, were exiled, and returned to rule again in Florence. They helped to create one of the most vibrant artistic centres of the Renaissance and beyond. This is a story filled with larger than life characters and great art, alongside historical events, assassinations and their eventual decline. Illustrated: Fra Filippo Lippi Madonna and Child, c. 1440

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

Only a very small proportion of listed buildings in Britain are related to sports and recreation. Why are these buildings, among them grandstands, pavilions and squash courts, so important and what do they tell us about our sporting heritage and social history? Simon’s lecture will answer these questions, using a range of examples, some of which will be local.

Illustrated : LA Weston Divers

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

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

The illustration is the The Icknield Way- an ancient trackway that goes from Norfolk to Wiltshire. Artist: Spencer Gore President of The Camden Town Group  Created: 1912

Nicola Moorby 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 a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group

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

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

She has lectured for the British Museum, National Trust, U3A, Arts Society and Smithsonian and featured on BBC Radio Women's Hour and Television's Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace. Her published work includes: A Tudor Christmas, in collaboration with Alison Weir, (2018), The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, The Golden Age with Linda Collins (2019), King and Collector: Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship (2021) and she is currently working on Gloriana: Elizabeth I and the Art of Queenship.

When Diego Velázquez arrived at the court in Madrid from Seville, he stepped into a world that was the polar opposite to the bustle and chaos of his hometown. The court of Philip IV was governed by strict codes, hierarchies and prejudices. Yet, in his portraits of the king (Illustrated), courtiers, jesters, and dwarfs Velázquez manages to peel away mask of formality to reveal the individual beneath. This lecture explores these paintings and the relationships behind them. Isabelle will end with a discussion of Velázquez’s greatest and most enigmatic masterpiece, Las Meninas

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

This is a Special Interest Day - click here for details

Picasso remains the twentieth century’s single most important artistic figure, a towering genius who changed the face of modern art. His influence on modern British Art is undoubtable, artists like Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, Francis Bacon and David Hockney have all been indebted to the works of Picasso. Each one of these artists had an epiphany moment when confronted by Picasso’s work. Throughout the 20th century the shape shifting Spanish artist had an enduring influence on these major British artists. We can see how each artist took from and then adapted Picasso’s work, to create their own unique versions of Modern British Art.

Illustrated: Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937,

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

Theatrical scene design is one of the world's most beautiful, varied and lively art forms. In his talk, Bertie looks at the relationship between actor and audience and how this transformed the space and architecture of theatre throughout the ages. Beginning with the Greeks and their remarkable innovations to pageants, masques, liturgical drama, through the science of perspective, to court theatre. A quick glance at Commedia dell'arte before entering the Elizabethan stage of the Globe and the Fortune and arriving at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. From great architects such as Inigo Jones and Frank Matcham, to practitioners such as Granville Barker and Gordon Craig and designers Cecil Beaton and Oliver Messel, Bertie brings to life the magical world of theatre

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

Illustrated: The Ommegack in Brussels 31st May 1615. The Triumph of Archduchess Isabella by Denys Van Allot. 1616.
 Photo credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Michael Harris was one of the innovators of the international studio glass movement and transformed 20thC glass and its creation. His pioneering work at Mdina Glass on Malta and, later, at Isle of Wight Studio Glass is examined, including influences, production techniques, major ranges and the heritage he left behind.

Mark Hill 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.

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.

The lecture will be followed by the Summer Luncheon.

Rosalind Whyte

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.

Illustration:John Everett Millais (1829-1896) Ophelia 1851-1852 Tate.

Pubs and their signs are a fundamental part of our history and cultural heritage. In this colourful and entertaining lecture John shows some of the most interesting and distinctive signs before exploring the fascinating stories behind the origin of some of their peculiar names. Who could fail to be intrigued by ‘The Bucket of Blood’, the ‘Cow and Snuffers’ or even the ‘Eager Poet’ – and who on earth was ‘Blind Jack’? 
 

CLICK HERE For a colourful flyer of this lecture.

John Ericson

Formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world.

Over the last decade he has been a popular speaker on the Arts Society circuit in the UK and Europe as well as a frequent visitor to the societies in Australia and New Zealand.
In his professional life he has developed a particular interest in presentation skills including the role of pictures in learning and the appropriate use of PowerPoint. This coupled with his ability to relate well to people of all ages and backgrounds makes him an impressive and confident public speaker.

As well as the talks he has developed from his professional background, he offers presentations on an eclectic range of topics that are derived from his diverse interests and enthusiasms such as, Pub Signs, Children’s Book Illustrations and the Shakers of North America. All his talks are entertaining, highly informative, very well illustrated and presented with warmth and humour.

This is a Special Interest Day - click here for details

Appreciate the astonishing range of signature buildings of faith communities settling in London. New arrivals leave their imprint on a city – nowhere more so than in London where Jews, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Hindus, Methodists, Sikhs, Buddhists and Orthodox Greeks have each added their own layer. Not least, they have all left a remarkable signature. Here are eight faith communities which can each point to a special place they built, not on first arrival, but when numbers and self-confidence had grown in the knowledge they had established themselves for the long term. Crucially, it was when they had the wealth and resources to commission great architecture. So we have a synagogue, a chapel, a gurdwara, a monastery, a couple of cathedrals, a temple and a mosque, permanent markers of the highest quality. Their differences stretch across cultures and 300 hundred years of persecutions and economic crises. But their similarities are also striking.

Illustrated - BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Neasden, London

photo credit - John Gooding

Charlie Forman

as a London walking tour guide and lecturer, I highlight the social, architectural and artistic history of my home city. It is a city I am passionate about, not least because it has a historic core larger and richer than any other world city. A member of the City of Westminster Guide Lecturers Association, my talks focus on the forces that have shaped and changed this multi-faceted metropolis and the artistic and cultural heritage that this has given us. After many hundreds of walks and a four-decade long career in housing and regeneration I have absorbed a deep understanding and appreciation of the capital. I’ve had some fascinating vantage points like the seven years build-up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games where I played a role in channelling potential long-term benefits into surrounding East London communities. My publications include Spitalfields: A battle for land.

Antony Gormley makes fascinating and challenging sculptures based on his own and other people’s bodies. Many of his works are life-size and made of lead or other metal, and can often be found in unusual locations such as the Australian desert, in the sea off the Liverpool coast or on the rooftops of London. Works other than these very personal portraits range from the enormous Angel of the North, (Illustrated)which is 65 feet (20 metres) high and can be seen at a great distance from the A1 at Gateshead, to his various fields of tens of thousands of small clay figures made under his guidance by ordinary members of the public. At both ends of the scale, his work is astonishing and thought-provoking, and sheds a new light on the tradition of sculpture involving the human body.

Photo Credit -John Todd

Frank Woodgate is a  Lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, lecturer for the Art Fund, the National Trust, U3A and other organisations. Lecturer and runs courses at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Alice's lectures provide a painter’s perspective on famous artworks across the centuries.

Her popular talk 'Ways to Look at Painting' takes the audience behind the scenes of the creative process. With rare glimpses inside the sketchbooks, paint-boxes and studios of four key figures in the history and practice of art, this sumptuously illustrated lecture showcases Alice’s clear, engaging presentation style as she uncovers a new way of seeing painting.

Illustrated:  The Miraculous Draught of Fishes , Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), The National Gallery, London  Photo credit: The National Gallery, London

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 Kings College London, The Art Worker’s 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. 

Awards include the Russell and Chapple Prize for an Outstanding work in Oils (Royal Society of Marine Artists 2017) and the Time Space Money Bursary (A-n The Artist Information Company/Arts Council England 2020).

Find out, in this very light-hearted lecture, about the various ceremonial events that take place around Christmas time. Carol services, concerts and even Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor all play their part. How do the Chelsea Pensioners (Illustrated) prepare and celebrate the festive season? All will be revealed so, come along and feel wrapped in a blanket of Christmas loveliness.

Graham Jones

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 unequaled 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. 

Graham’s charitable work includes event planning in support of the Royal British Legion and sitting on the London fundraising committee of the Army Benevolent Fund.

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This lecture focuses on the design impact of the Great Exhibition and the need for a 'legacy institution' in the form of the South Kensington Museum. We look at the building as a work of art and explore the work of William Morris, Fredrick Lord Leighton and other influential designers of the Victorian Age.

Anna Warrillow graduated as a Blue Badge Guide early in 2013 and won an award for the best new guide at Westminster Abbey. Since then she have been conducting bespoke private tours for discerning visitors to London. She established her own guiding company Canvas and Stone Tours in 2018 (www.canvasandstonetours.co.uk)

Her background and passion is Art & History.She studied for her BA in History of Art & Italian at the University of Sussex and did her MA in Renaissance Decorative Arts & Design at the Royal College of Art. 

She worked for 6 years as a curator in the Sculpture Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum as well as in smaller collections such as the Henry Moore Family Trust. As well as guiding she is an adjunct lecturer at Richmond The American International University in London where she teach undergraduates The History of London. 

She lectures regularly for art, history and academic societies as well as providing training courses and Continual Professional Development courses for students and guide members of the Institute of Tourist Guide

The illustration is the Victoria & Albert Museum Central Garden

A Special Interest Day click here for details

In a series of vibrantly colourful images the ‘Kebra Nagast’ holy book tells us of the union of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Also, how their son Menelik founded the Solomonic dynasty at the capital Axum, of which Haile Selassie was the last ruling emperor. Frescoes and murals bring even the smallest highland church to brilliant life, and there are an estimated 3,000 varieties of crosses. The most spectacular architecture includes the incredible rock-cut churches of Lalibela, the fabled castles of Gondar, and then there is the Ark of the Covenant!

Christopher Bradley

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

Illustrated Church Painting, Lake Tana, Ethiopia.

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" (illustrated) 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.

Illustrated: The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

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 and the National Trust.

Cleopatra, for whom Anthony is imagined to have given up the chance to rule the Roman world, has been inspiring painters, poets and film-makers for over two millennia. Their voluptuous depictions of her show the changing concepts of beauty, and the racial and sexual assumptions underlying them. Images range from Roman to Renaissance to 20th century film stars such as Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor and the 'Carry On' team's Amanda Barry. Cleopatra became a screen onto which artists have projected their wildly differing fantasies about exotic danger and erotic bliss.

The illustration is unattributed 

Lucy Hughes-Hallett is the author of The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio - which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Duff Cooper Prize and the Costa Biography Award - and of Cleopatra and Heroes. Her novel, Peculiar Ground was described as 'almost Tolstoyan in its sly wit and descriptive brilliance' (The Guardian) and 'full of drama, vivid characters, wit, gorgeous writing and fascinating detail’. (New York Times)

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Historical Association, she has reviewed for all of the UK’s serious newspapers and for Radio 3’s Night Waves. She teaches Creative Writing at Arcadia University and at Arvon.

For millennia mankind has been fascinated by the sea, marvelling at its awesome power and ethereal beauty, and utilising the coastal sea-roads and the great oceans for travel and trade. Artists have depicted the sea in all its moods and our involvement with it, and the range of subjects in marine art is wide, including seascapes, ship portraits, naval battles, strange sea creatures imagined and real, portraits of naval heroes and explorers, the seaside as a location for recreation and pleasure, and the reality of the seafarer’s life. In this talk Justin introduces unfamiliar and well-known examples from around the world and across the ages

Justin Reay

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

Illustrated : "The Anne at Grand Harbour, Valletta, 1685" Richard Endsor Artist's Collection

Please note that the Summer Lunch follows this Lecture - Tickets (£12 per person) will be on sale, in the Club Room, at the April Meeting. Please have the right money. Thank you.

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

Susan Kay-Williams is the Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court. She has a long-term interest in textiles and was introduced to dyeing on a one-day workshop in the 1980s. Susan is constantly in demand as a speaker, especially forThe Arts Society in the UK, and internationally in the US and Japan. She is a fellow of the RSA.

Illustrated: Pigments for sale at a market in Goa, India.

Photo Credit: Dan Brady

From cathedrals to churches, cottages to coastlines, Piper is best known as a painter, but he was also a distinguished potter, photographer and writer, and a master of tapestry, stained glass and graphics. Truly a man of many talents.

Alexandra Epps

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

Illustrated 'St Mary le Port, Bristol', John Piper, 1940 | Tate

Andrew was inspired to produce this talk after visiting the National Portrait Gallery. Seeing all the Tudor, Stuart and Hanoverian monarchs, dressed in their finery, he wondered where had all their spectacular jewels gone? Among the many jewels he traces, Andrew follows ropes of glowing pearls that belonged to Catherine de Medici, Mary Queen of Scotts, Elizabeth the First, Queen Victoria and now Queen Elizabeth II.

He also follows a spectacular and historic diamond that belonged to King James the first of England, King Charles the First and was later sold, worn by Marie Antoinette, stolen during the French Revolution, purchased by a Russian Aristocrat and later mounted in a tiara by Cartier for an American Heiress, who then became a British Member of Parliament!

Illustration Unattributed

Jewel hunting has never been more fascinating.

Andrew Prince has always had a passion for jewellery.

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. Elizabeth Gage was to have an enormous influence on Andrew's sense of what was possible within the realm of jewellery design.

Andrew 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

The original January lecture Splendours and Secrets of the Royal Collection by Jacky Klein has been cancelled but will be included in the 2023 Programme.

We are very grateful to Barry Venning who has agreed to talk to us at very short notice about a very different collection:

Since the 1980s the collector Charles Saatchi has become one of the most powerful figures in contemporary British art. The lecture examines Saatchi’s rise to prominence as an advertising magnate and as a tastemaker, charting the changing shape of his collection and his effect on artistic reputations. Although he is most closely associated with Britart – the label attached in the 1990s to the work of younger British artists such as Gavin Turk, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, the Chapman Brothers and Chris Ofili, his collection has changed considerably over the years because he sells as well as buys work. The lecture ranges widely over Saatchi’s collecting, embracing art from various countries and in many different media. Saatchi’s beautiful gallery, located in the former Duke of York’s Regiment HQ in Sloane Square, is one of the largest galleries of purely contemporary art in Europe and has been the venue for ground-breaking exhibitions of Chinese, American, Indian, Middle Eastern, Russian and German art.

This lecture tells the Christmas story through a selection of well-loved paintings and illuminated manuscripts by Italian and Flemish artists, including Botticelli, Fra Angelico and Jan van Eyck, together with many less well-known images. From the Annunciation to the Nativity, the Journey of the Kings and the Flight into Egypt, it explores the rich symbolism of Christmas imagery, highlights the ways in which spiritual ideas and devotional practice shaped the depiction of the narrative, and introduces some less familiar aspects of the story, such as the Midwives and Joseph’s stockings.

The illustration is "The Nativity" by Gerard David - On view at The Met Fifth Avenue.

Paula Nuttall is Director of the 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.

This is a three lecture Study Day

Click here for the details

The chairs illustrated are a Medieval Throne Chair, a Victorian Partner’s Desk Chair and Stavanger Cathedral  Bishop’s Chair

If you think of St Pancras International or New York Grand Central you imagine long romantic journeys. You know they are special places promising excitement and adventure. But there are dozens of other glorious stations in the UK and abroad.

The illustration is of Antwerp Central Station

We will take a journey around some of the most evocative and splendid stations in the world. We will look not only at the magnificence of the architecture and the brilliant engineering but will discover numerous artworks within the stations and examine many depictions of stations in art – like Claude Monet’s Gare St Lazare or William Powell Frith’s Paddington. It may sound a bit anoraky, but it’s definitely not. It’s lavish, colourful and fun.

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

This is a live lecture at Shalford Village Hall

The invasion of the Iberian peninsula in 711AD by the Umayyad Caliphate quickly overthrew the Christian Visigothic kingdom and began the nearly 800-year occupation that ended only in 1492AD, when the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel, completed the reconquest of the Kingdom of Granada – the same year that those two visionary monarchs also sent Christopher Columbus off to discover the New World. During the intervening centuries, the mixture of Islamic, Christian and Jewish influences produced a unique hybrid culture.

This lecture tells the story of the Moorish invasion and the Christian reconquest, through an introduction to the surviving architecture and other areas of the material culture, such as silk textiles, carved ivory caskets, bronze sculptures and refined ceramics.

Ian Cockburn

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

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

A pictorial history of drinking glasses through the ages, studied through images of actual objects and through paintings. The 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, cordial etc. It will consider the drinking habits of different countries and the types of glass associated with those countries, e.g. the Venetian wing-stemmed glass, the German roemer, the Dutch flute and the English balusterstemmed glass; and will discuss the association of fine glass drinking vessels with feasting and conviviality.

Illustrated are 3 wing-stemmed Venetian glasses

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

The Romans have left us with a remarkable artistic record of their lifestyle, beliefs, achievements and entertainment in the form of beautiful mosaics. From the best sites and museums in the world we see how they built on earlier Greek traditions; the cities in which they lived; the Gods and myths in which they believed; and the exotic lives of the Romans themselves - from Britain to Sicily, from Morocco to Syria.

Mosaic of Bacchus.

Sarsina, Museo Archeologico Nazionale

This lavishly illustrated lecture uses only mosaics from start to finish, bringing the distant world of the Romans gloriously back to life with vibrant images full of action. This is the rise and fall of the Roman Empire as you have never seen it before – through the eyes of the Roman people themselves and the contemporary mosaics they created to reflect and decorate their fascinating, colourful world.

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

Can a single year adequately encapsulate an artistic environment in British art history? This lecture, The Art of 1935, explores that year’s many aspects of decorative and fine art, demonstrating how these artistic forms reflected the period in a fitting and cohesive manner. Set against the backdrop of the 1935 Silver Jubilee Celebrations of King George V and Queen Mary, audiences are transported back to this fabulous time and learn about this pivotal year.

Illustration : Portrait of a young woman - Meredith Frampton 1935

The fully illustrated talk examines the range of contemporaneous art forms; including the work of the celebrated British portrait photographer, Cecil Beaton; magazine, poster and Penguin paperback book design; architecture; Silver Jubilee memorabilia; commemorative stamps; locomotive design and fashion. An exploration of the year 1935 would not be complete without a study of certain significant works by the Polish-born artist Tamara de Lempicka which have come to personify the age of Art Deco. We also review Art Deco interiors on stylish cruise liners and film sets, as well as acknowledging the importance of The Lansdowne Club which opened its doors for the first time on 1 May 1935. Sporting and motoring trivia are also revealed.

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

We shall be exploring the stunning buildings and gardens of the Mughal Emperors that have left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape.Before the British arrived in India, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Emperors. The stunning buildings and gardens they constructed from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century have left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape. Mughal architecture fused elements from Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural traditions, and gave rise to some of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in the world. From the Jama Masjid in Delhi, to the Taj Mahal in Agra, to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, this lecture will take you on a tour of some of India’s greatest buildings, and provide insight into the historical contexts and colourful personalities involved in their construction.

Dr John Stevens

Dr John Stevens is a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and a member of academic staff at the SOAS South Asia Institute. His PhD in History is from University College London. He teaches British Imperial history, Indian history and Bengali language, and is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh. He publishes widely in the fields of British and Indian history. His biography of the Indian guru Keshab Chandra Sen – Keshab: Bengal’s Forgotten Prophet - was published by Hurst and Oxford University Press in 2018. He appears regularly in the Indian media, and was a guest on BBC Radio Four’s In Our Time, discussing the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.

Click here for details of this STUDY DAY

This lecture  will be delivered as a Live broadcast using Zoom. Online Visitors are very welcome - click here for details.

British photography enjoyed a golden age in the 1960s. Young, talented newcomers broke out of the conventional studio to revolutionise perceptions of fashion, portraiture and popular culture. This lecture looks at a range of superb images from photographers such as David Bailey, Terence Donovan, Lewis Morley, Tony Ray­Jones and Jane Bown.

Brian Stater is a Senior Teaching Fellow at University College London, where he has lectured since 1997. His principal academic interest lies in the appreciation of architecture, while a strong personal enthusiasm is for photography. He therefore explores both business and pleasure by offering lectures on each of these subjects.

He has written on architecture for a wide range of publications and an exhibition of his own photographs has been 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.

This lecture  will be delivered as a live broadcast using Zoom. Online Visitors welcome, Click here for details.

Caravaggio was the definitive bad boy of art history – determined and ambitious yet irascible and highly volatile. In 1606 his life was to change forever following a particularly violent and bloody brawl in which Caravaggio, himself badly injured, ended up killing a certain Ranuccio Tomassonl with his sword.

David with the Head of Goliath, 1609–1610,

Galleria Borghese, Rome

This lecture will explore in particular the remarkable stylistic transformations that took place during the last four years of Caravaggio’s life, a period of restlessness and yet extraordinary creative activity when the artist was forced to leave Rome, realising that his own life was now on the line.

Siân Walters Studied at Cambridge University. Lecturer at the National Gallery and The Wallace Collection and taught at Surrey University, specialising in 15th and 16th century Italian painting, Spanish art & architecture, and the relationship between dance and art.  Sian has lived in France and Italy, where she worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice

This lecture  will be delivered as a Live broadcast using Zoom.

Mankind has exploited the medicinal properties of plants for thousands of years, yet the role of plants in modern medicine is still considered to be peripheral by many people.  This talk attempts to put the record straight and to show that plant products are used every day by all of us to relieve pain and suffering, to heal wounds and cure diseases.

Timothy Walker studied Botany at University College, Oxford. From 1988 to 2014 - he was Director of the Oxford University Botanic Garden . Since 2014 He has been a college lecturer and tutor at Somerville College Oxford and recently a lecturer at Pembroke College and Hertford College, Oxford.

The event will be a Live broadcast using Zoom.

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.For many people, the cartoons of Carl Giles were as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and the Queen's Speech. Today we look at Giles' life and work, with particular emphasis on his seasonal cartoons.

Barry Venning is a 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.

The illustration is from Hamlyn

The event will be a Live broadcast using Zoom.

Vermeer's 'Girl With a Pearl Earring'? Rembrandt's 'Night Watch'? Hals' 'Laughing Cavalier'? Familiar paintings, but today's lecture examines what prompted the amazing flowering of Dutch Art in the 17th Century.

Dutch art was quite different to any other art of the seventeenth century. It dealt with the real lives of people: at times ordered, at others bawdy or self important and  occasionally tragic. This lecture looks into why this is so. It shows how Holland achieved its independence through its bitter wars with Spain; how its new Protestant mentality allowed astonishing advances in science as Rembrandt shows in his portrait of Dr Tulp; how its merchant wealth is reflected in serene seascapes by Van de Velde and Van Goyen, its civic pride in the brilliant portraits of Frans Hals, and its insistence on moral order and well-scrubbed households in the enigmatic poetry of Vermeer. It’s a lecture that shows how art is the mirror of its age and how the age is preserved in its art.

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 8000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies. He was the director of  The New Academy of Art Studies for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at The Study Center, Christie's course 'The History of Art Studies' and other London courses..

Our illustration is: "Girl with a Pearl Earring", Painting by Johannes Vermeer

 The event will be a Live broadcast using Zoom.

If Donald Trump thinks he invented the concepy of Fake News then he is sadly mistaken.

Fake News has been around since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs and art has always been one of its favourite media.

This talk  will be uncovering the subtle art of spin and propaganda from the glories of Ancient Mesopotamia to the Norman Conquest and then on to Elizabethan England and the dark days of Nazi Germany.

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

Geri Parlby describes herself as a rather idiosyncratic art historian who studies history through art rather than the history of art.

The event will be a Live broadcast using Zoom.

Wine has been a part of our global society for over 7000 years and has been represented in drawings, paintings, buildings, pottery and wine labels. Our lecture traces this history, but sadly without any free samples!

Our illustration is entitled "After the Summer Luncheon”

David Wright has been a wine retailer, importer and distributor for 30 years. In that time, he has presented tastings and talks on wine to trade and private audiences.David descibes his talk as" a great subject, and full of rich evidence, going back 7,000 years."

This lecture will be delivered as a Zoom lecture to Members only - invitations will be sent out on 8th. July 2020

As Jane says, this talk is about two of her favourite things: English Country Houses and Dutch 17th century art. English country houses have traditionally been the home to Dutch Golden Age masters including impressive works by some of the best loved artists. The British have a fondness for collecting Dutch pictures with examples collected by some of the Nation’s most important patrons and displayed in some of Britain’s greatest houses. The National Trust has over 13,000 works of art, of these over 1,000 are Dutch 17th century paintings. Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Aelbert Cuyp, and Meindert Hobbema were extremely popular with the British nobility and entrepreneurs from the 17th to the 20th century. Some of the most beautiful examples of these artists are to be found in these houses. The talk will include the variety of paintings to be found, the artists who painted them and how they came to be in these houses.

The illustration is: Self-portrait, wearing a Feathered Bonnet Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 – Amsterdam 1669)   Buckland Abbey ©National Trust Images/Chris Titmus

Jane E. Choy Thurlow is a docent and enjoys giving lectures and tours at the Mauritshuis, Prince William V gallery and Huygens Museum Hofwijck in The Hague, The Netherlands. A few of the many exhibits in the Mauritshuis she has been part of are: the legendary Johannes Vermeer exhibit, Rembrandt by Himself and Holbein, Portraitist of the Renaissance.

An active member of The Arts Society, she is a founding member of DFAS of The Hague and has fulfilled committee positions including chairman and Mainland Europe Area Chairman and presently is Area Trainer and a New Societies committee member. She received her BSc from Salem State University, USA, her Med from Trinity College Dublin and continued art history studies at Leiden University.

Please note that this Lecture has been cancelled and rearranged for:

March 18th.2021

Please note that this Lecture has been cancelled and rearranged for:

June 16th.2022

Cleopatra has inspired artists, writers and, more recently, film makers for over 2000 years. Looking at images ranging from Roman portrait busts to Elizabeth Taylor and 'Carry On Cleo', we examine what this changing image of Cleopatra tells us.

Lucy Hughes-Hallett is the author of The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio - which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Duff Cooper Prize and the Costa Biography Award - and of Cleopatra and Heroes. Her novel, Peculiar Ground was described as 'almost Tolstoyan in its sly wit and descriptive brilliance' (The Guardian) and 'full of drama, vivid characters, wit, gorgeous writing and fascinating detail’. (New York Times)

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Historical Association, she has reviewed for all of the UK’s serious newspapers and for Radio 3’s Night Waves. She teaches Creative Writing at Arcadia University and at Arvon.

Please note that this Lecture has been cancelled and rearranged for:

June 17th. 2021

A Video Presentation

Please note that this Lecture has been cancelled and rearranged

for: March 17th. 2022

From cathedrals to churches, cottages to coastlines, Piper is best known as a painter, but he was also a distinguished potter, photographer and writer, and a master of tapestry, stained glass and graphics. Truly a man of many talents.

 Alexandra Epps is an Official Guide and Lecturer at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Guildhall Art Gallery. A Pallant House Gallery Lecturer and 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. She is a 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.

The illustration is by John Piper (1903-1992) Interior of Coventry Cathedral, the morning after the Blitz, 1940 Oil on canvas laid on board Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, UK

Wikipedia

With Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January, this is an appropriate time to look at the vital role played by the arts in expressing remembrance, loss, apology and atonement in postwar Germany.

In this country, very little is known about Germany’s unique post-WW2 process of remembrance and efforts undertaken to find art forms which honour victims of one of history’s darkest periods.

With all traditional forms of memorial deemed irrelevant and inappropriate. German artists were faced with questions of apology and atonement. But how do you express national guilt and shame rather than pride and patriotism? How do you remember what you would rather forget?

The “Counter Memorial” artists came up with art forms that are extraordinary, brave, and inspiring and aim to keep the memories and lessons of the past alive in the individual psyches of the people.

Angela Findlay is a professional artist, writer and freelance lecturer.She has a BA(Hons) in Fine Art, a Diploma in Artistic Therapy (specialising in colour) and her paintings are widely exhibited both nationally and internationally.

With her Anglo-German roots and personal connections to the subject, Angela is ideally placed to give insights into this hugely interesting and topical subject that has led her to research Germany’s largely unknown post-WW2 process of remembrance. So completely different to the British one. 

Angela lectures regularly to TAS Societies - you may find her report on a lecture she gave to a North London Society helpful in understanding what to expect from this lecture : click here to read Angela's own words.

The image is of the Holocaust Memorial. This vast monument is situated near the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin. The site is a sloping field covered with 2,711 concrete slabs, or "stelae." Built in 2005, the memorial commemorates the six million Jews killed by the Nazis. It includes an underground information center that documents the fates of individuals and families.

Today we focus on the important role of the lute in paintings through the ages. Several pieces of live lute music will be performed as part of this lecture by our accomplished lutenist.

our image is Caravaggio’s The Lute Player (1595-96)

Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, lutenist and lecturer. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in History at UCL in 2010 he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

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. 

Chloe Sayer

Many members will remember Chloe's outstanding lecture 3 years ago on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and we are delighted to welcome her back.

She is a freelance specialist in the art and culture of Latin America and has curated exhibitions, and assisted on TV documentaries for BBC and Channel 4. She has made collections in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum, and is Research Associate in the Department of World Cultures at the Royal Ontario Museum. In 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Ohtli medal by the Mexican government and is the author of many publications.

Paul Nash was one of the most important British artists of the Twentieth Century, and one who united the pastoral and mystical tradition embodied by English artists such as William Blake and Samuel Palmer, with the modern European movements of Futurism, Surrealism and Abstraction. Based on the lecturer’s books Paul Nash (2002) and A Crisis of Brilliance (2009), this lecture explores Nash’s life, from his discovery of the English landscape as a young boy, through his artistic education at the Slade, to his experiences as an official War Artist in both World Wars.

 Dr David Boyd Haycock read Modern History at the University of Oxford, and has an MA in the History of Art and a PhD in British History. He is the author of a number of books, including Paul Nash (2002), A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War (2009) and Augustus John: Drawn from Life (2018). He has lectured widely at galleries and museums in the UK, including Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Watercolour Society and Pallant House. He was formerly a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford, and at UCLA, and was Curator of Maritime and Imperial History at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. He is now a freelance writer and lecturer.

Our picture is "The Menin Road"

This lecture undertakes a comparison of the way in which the modern treatment of traditional genres in art is different from that of the Old Masters, the effect of these differences, and whether they add to, or change, our understanding of the subject and its message. The lecture will cover all of the traditional genres, i.e. History Painting, Portraits, Genre (pictures of everyday life), Landscape and Still-Life, and we will consider the way in which the treatment of these subjects has changed over the centuries, up to the present day. 

Val will take us on a fascinating journey through more than 5 centuries of art, exploring connections and interactions between periods, genres, artists and subjects. 'All art is in some way about other art', says Val. Sounds like she will give us plenty to think about!

Val Woodgate is a  lecturer and guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, also at many other London Galleries and for various art organisations.She is a former member of the teaching team at Dulwich Picture Gallery and has lectured to The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) throughout Britain, and to related organisations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Lecturer and runs courses at Pallant House.

The collage  shows “The Women of Algeria by  Picasso (1955) and Les Femmes d’Alger by Eugene Delacroix (1834)

“Antiques. I don’t understand them and they’re beyond my budget. They’re not for me.” This is 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.

Expect some surprises as our Antiques Road Show expert offers an introduction to current trends.

Mark Hill 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. He has been a Miscellaneous expert on the Antiques Road Show since 2007, and has co-presented three primetime factual TV series on antiques and collecting for BBC2. An auctioneer running 20th century design auctions in partnership with Dawsons Auctioneers, Mark 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 illustration is of Mark Hill on the cover of

National ANTIQUES Week

Encouraged by photographer and gallery owner, Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe abandoned her teaching career to eventually become one of America’s most popular artists, with an international reputation. She is best-known for her dramatic, and sometimes controversial, pictures of flowers, in which she enlarged the smallest of petals to fill the entire canvas and arrest the viewer’s attention. Her legacy of some 900 paintings also embraces New York’s skyscrapers, her almost abstract treatment of Lake George’s scenery, and sun-bleached animal bones depicted against the rugged New Mexico landscape. After visiting New Mexico regularly from 1929 it became her permanent home from 1949. Here she worked right up to the end of her life; she died at 98. Throughout this long and productive career, she was conscious of European avant-garde trends in art, but remained faithful to her own unique vision of the natural world.

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

Mr Punch – the most famous puppet character of all time. His comic irreverance 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 Dell’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!”

If you thought that Mr Punch was merely seaside puppetry for children, come along and prepare to be amazed!

Bertie Pearce will need no introduction to members who have heard him speak previously! He has a BA (Hons) in Drama from Manchester University, and a Diploma Internationale from the École Internationale du Théatre, Jacques Lecoq. He is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star. Past experience includes lecturing and performing on cruise ships, and to U3A, historical societies, festivals, schools and colleges. In addition, he has toured the world with a magic cabaret show and a one man show entitled All Aboard and has written articles for newspapers and magazines on entertainment and theatre.

« 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 us. Using stunning images, he will take us on a virtual tour of the interior, saving us 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 us behind those magnificent clock faces, show and explain the workings of the enormous clock mechanism, before finally taking us into the belfry and presenting before us – Big Ben, the most famous bell in the world!

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 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 now closed for a lengthy refit but Tim still guides people on tours around parliament and continues to talk on many aspects of history and stories relating to parliament.

The importance of the role played by Byzantium as a link in the great chain of world history is an important theme. With its roots firmly in the Ancient World of Greece and Rome, the Byzantine period – AD 330 -1453 – spans the medieval centuries. While much of the West was in deep decline Byzantium, mistress of the Mediterranean and centre of Christendom, was a symbol of wealth, power and cultural ascendancy. It was here, in the eastern Mediterranean that Christianity took root and spread, giving us the architectural forms and imagery that are still a part of the faith. We look at mosaics, frescoes and icons, opulent liturgical vessels in gold and enamel, silks, ivories, manuscripts and the centrally planned domed churches, designed as microcosms of the Universe.

Our image is just one of the many of George and the Dragon - a very popular  subject in Byzantine  iconography

JANE ANGELINI is a freelance lecturer for The Arts Society and other arts organisations. She runs her own art tours company, specialising in cultural visits. She speaks several foreign languages and has translated a number of works of 19th century Russian literature for Penguin Books and Oxford University Press. She has a BA in Russian Studies and an MA in Byzantine Studies.

While Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) and Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 – 1564) are two of the most familiar figures in Italian Renaissance art, the rivalry and antipathy that existed between them remains a story without an author. This lecture, in this 500th anniversary year of the death of Leonardo, throws light on these themes, using selected examples of their work which, it is argued, hold the key to understanding the motivations for their animosity. Particular emphasis is placed on the commission given to both artists to provide frescoes for the great council chamber in Florence. Though unfinished, the surviving designs placed Leonardo and Michelangelo in direct competition with one another, as well as indicating their differing artistic approaches.

DR JAMES LINDOW was the first Renaissance PhD from the Royal College of Art and the V&A. He has convened and presented at international conferences, lectures widely in the UK and overseas and is currently a fine art underwriter in the City. He has written articles on diverse aspects of the Renaissance, and his book entitled The Renaissance Palace in Florence: Magnificence and Splendour in Fifteenth-Century Italy was published by Ashgate Press in 2007 to widespread critical acclaim.

Our picture is Leonardo's "The Last Supper"

These “passionate potters” of the 19th and 20th Centuries rejected the uniformity of mass production following the Industrial Revolution. Instead they produced works which are stunning, imaginative, even bizarre, but always unique.

JULIAN RICHARDS Studied archaeology at Reading University and has since worked as a professional archaeologist, in commercial archaeology, for English Heritage, for the BBC and as an independent. He has been involved in teaching and is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) and a member of the Institute for Archaeologists (MIFAm).

Among the Potters that Julian will feature are:

De Morgan whose work is heavily inspired by the brilliant colours of Islamic pottery, especially the bright turquoise he had first admired on Persian (Iznik) work of the 16th century which he had studied at the recently opened South Kensington Museum - today known as the Victoria and Albert

Founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, the Leach Pottery, St Ives, is among the most respected and influential potteries in the world. Over the last hundred years it has forged the shape of Studio Pottery in the UK and beyond

Sir Edmund Elton, the potter baronet, ranged even wider in his search for influence, marrying pre-Colombian forms with startling metallic lustre glaze, all produced from his stately home with the assistance of a local flower-pot thrower

The Martin Brothers (Wallace, Walter, Charles and Edwin) produced some of the most imaginative- some might say bizarre - salt glazed pots and sculptures of the late 19th. century in their London studios

(Please note – our Christmas lecture will take place on Wednesday 12th December 2018)

The most beloved American illustrator of the 20th century always portrayed life as he wished it would be. And so it was that Norman Rockwell was most at home portraying the ideal family Christmas, often with direct connections to Dickens and the English Yuletide tradition. A bounty of Christmas posters, magazine covers, cards and even Norman Rockwell Christmas gifts will keep us entertained throughout as our American-born lecturer shares his own experiences of the ideal American Christmas.

Charles Harris B.Sc

Charles Harris is an award-winning Creative Director of international advertising agencies who has lectured extensively on the role of posters and poster artists in the history of advertising, and on design and illustration styles. He has himself created posters for major brands, including BA, Nestle, Sony, General Motors and Shell and is responsible for hundreds of TV and Radio commercials.

In 2018 the Royal Academy of Arts celebrates its 250th anniversary, so it is an opportune time to explore its history and the role it has played in the development of British art. We will look at the position of artists in London before and after the formation of the Academy in 1768 and at some of the characters involved. These range from the first President, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other establishment figures, to artists who have taken a more oppositional stance, whether individually, such as Reynolds' great rival Gainsborough, or as a group, such as the (initially) clandestine Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of young artists who sought to subvert the Academy from within. Like any important institution, the Academy has been embroiled in intrigue and controversy over the years and no scandal or outrage will remain unexposed as we trace the history of one of Britain's most important cultural bodies, from its inception to the present day.

Rosalind Whyte BA (Hons) MA MA

Rosalind holds a BA and MA from Goldsmith's College and an MA (distinction) from Birkbeck College. She is an experienced guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. She lectures at Tate, Dulwich Picture Gallery, to independent art societies and on cruises, and leads art appreciation holidays.

On the basis of sensational new evidence from archaeological fieldwork with which he is closely involved, Neil will contrast the legend of Lawrence of Arabia with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916 - 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 reinvention of the legend from 1919 onwards, through memoirs, photos, films, paintings, biographies and documentaries, and some representative archaeological objects will be on display.

Dr Neil Faulkner PhD

Educated at King’s College Cambridge and the Institute of Archaeology UCL, Neil works as a lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster. He is a Research Fellow, University of Bristol; Editor, Military History Monthly; is the author of several publications and has appeared on Channel 4’s Time Team, BBC2’s Timewatch, Channel Five’s Boudica Revealed and Sky Atlantic’s The British.

This lecture will be preceded by the Annual General meeting at 10.15am.

Artists and designers have always imitated their predecessors, with motives ranging from genuine respect to outright parody. The more a work is copied, adapted, quoted and repackaged, the more it lives on in the public imagination. This is a lecture that deals with artistic borrowing, drawing on a very wide range of art and design. The artists on whom it touches include Constable, Leonardo, Manet, Warhol, Turner, Dali, Harry Beck (the Tube Map), Alexander McQueen (fashion) and the photographers Martin Parr and Lewis Morley, and we conclude with a look at the strange ‘afterlife’ of Alfred Leete’s famous WW1 recruiting poster of Lord Kitchener.

Barry Venning BA MA

Barry is an historian of British art with a particular interest in JMW Turner, on whom he has published widely. His interests and his teaching extend from medieval architecture to contemporary British art. He is currently an  Associate Lecturer with the Open University and lectures on a freelance basis for the Arts Society, Christie’s Education and other organisations.

The oldest stained glass windows of some artistic merit invariably date from the late 12th century and are famous for their blue and red richness. As sculpture became more important in the interiors of the great cathedrals, the need for more light resulted in lighter coloured glass being favoured. After the Black Death (1348) the art slowly recovered, and by the Renaissance ‘pictures’ filled the window space. The Gothic Revival focused on the importance of the lead line surrounding the deeply coloured glass and exquisite painted details. Modern stained glass, required after the destruction of the Second World War, gave Chagall and Piper a wealth of opportunities.

Diana Lloyd

 Diana has been a freelance lecturer in ceramic, glass and the history of interior design. She lectures at the Inchbald School of Design, the Interior Design School, the NT, Antiques Societies and for Christie’s Education. She has a Diploma with Distinction in the Fine and Decorative Arts from the Inchbald School of Design.

This talk combines a look at the lives and the family history of the Astors, the Sackville-Wests and the Rothschilds with the story of the gardens they have each created, despite their very different backgrounds, here in the English countryside.

Caroline Rayman

Caroline has lectured for many years to universities and art organisations in America and on cruise ships. She was an official guide at the British Museum and her lecture topics range from the role of the royal mistress in history to Frederick the Great of Prussia.

This lecture looks at the artist’s journey from Bradford to Swinging Sixties London, hedonistic California and back to Bridlington and the ambitious and extraordinary paintings of the Yorkshire Wolds in the 2012 Royal Academy Exhibition. The talk will also look at Hockney’s art since 2012 and will consider generally how, like his hero Picasso, his career has been marked by a restless seeking after challenge and experimentation.

John Iddon BA MA

John is a lecturer and guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. He ran an M.A. course in Heritage Interpretation at St Mary’s University College and has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the NT and to the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice. He lectures on art for cruises and in 2012 he wrote the guidebook to the newly opened Strawberry Hill.

As adults, we carry in our heads huge numbers of images from childhood, and some of those most deeply etched come from illustrations in books that we read as children. Images of ‘Tigger’ and ‘Toad’ or even ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’ will probably remain with us for ever!

In addition to a wide range of examples, John will examine how illustrations contribute to the development of understanding and how the interaction of image and narrative creates such powerful memories.

John Ericson BA (Hons)

John was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath, where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education, with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas and has given presentations at conferences all over the world. He has a particular interest in presentational skills including the role of pictures in learning and lectures on an eclectic range of topics derived from his diverse interests.

Over the last 25 years, the Docklands area of London has been transformed. Here are not only some of the great Georgian warehouses and dock buildings, but state-of-the art office buildings designed by the great architects of today. Canary Wharf is also a dramatic and witty sculpture park. Even the lamp posts, benches, pavements, planters and ventilation shafts are specially commissioned and designed to the highest standards.

Sue Jackson BA (Hons)

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

Under the grey skies of Northern Europe, a genius artist longed for the sun. Out of his own inner turmoil and with the unstinting help of his practical brother, Van Gogh explored colour and landscape in ways which have shifted everyone’s perceptions. This lecture tells that story and opens our eyes to his world...

Christopher Herbert has lectured at the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute, King’s College, Westminster Abbey and the University of Rikkyo in Japan. He was until recently Bishop of St Albans and a member of the House of Lords. He has an MPhil and PhD in Art History from the University of Leicester. Christopher was created Visiting Professor in Christian Ethics in the School of Medical Science at the University of Surrey and has also been awarded 2 honorary doctorates.

Please note - our Christmas lecture will take place on WEDNESDAY 13th December 2017.

They've adorned our Christmas cards; taken pride of place in our cribs and school nativity plays and provided centuries of artists a chance to add a dash of exotic colour into their mellow scenes of the birth of Christ.  In this lecture we will be looking at the oldest images of the Magi from as early as the 3rd century; the legend that links them with the first Christian artist and their metamorphosis into the exotic kings.

Dr Geri Parlby MA PhD FRSA

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film publicist.  She has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London.

She has been lecturing for the past eleven years both in the UK and internationally.  She is also principal lecturer on the 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.

***Wine and Mince Pies will be served after the lecture***

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

James Russell MA (Cantab) studied History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, but was galvanized into writing about art by a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  A passionate advocate of 20th century painting and design, he writes and lectures widely.  His books include the popular 4-volume series Ravilious in Pictures, about British watercolourist and designer Eric Ravilious (1903-42) and other titles devoted to Paul Nash, Peggy Angus, Edward Bawden and Edward Seago.  He curated the 2015 exhibition Ravilious at Dulwich Picture Gallery and has lectured all over the country, from Rye to Glasgow and from the V&A to the Royal West of England Academy.  He has also entertained audiences at venues including the National Maritime Museum, and Pallant House Gallery.

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

Brian Stater BA MSc

His chief interests lie in photography, architecture and history and he combines all three in his lecturing career.  He has taught at University College London since 1997 and became a NADFAS lecturer in 2003.  He is a member of the Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography and an exhibition of his own photographs has been staged at UCL.  In an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of the skills of some great photographers of the past, he has begun to work with a pre-War Leica camera, as used by his great hero, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and many others.

This lecture will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting at 10.15am.

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 Macau.  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.

Vivienne Lawes BA MA studied History/History of Art at York University, followed by an MA in Fine and Decorative Art at Sotheby's Institute, London.  She is a lecturer, writer and curator, working in the visual arts field for the last 25 years; she teaches at several institutions in London.  She is a Faculty staff member at the City & Guilds of London Art School, teaching History of Decorative Style c.1400-1950 and the Classical Tradition in Western Sculpture; she also lectures on 17th and 18th century East-West trade and modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art at Sotheby's Institute and the Institut d'Etudes Superieures des Arts (IESA), London.  She is Senior UK Consultant for One East Asia, a Singapore-based art gallery, art advisory and education centre and has co-curated regular exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London since 2011.  She writes as an arts journalist for publications including The Art Newspaper, Art+Auction, Country Life, the Guardian and the Antiques Trade Gazette.  She is the author of a forthcoming book, Horse: a History of Equine Bronze Sculpture, to be published by the Sladmore Gallery, London.  Vivienne is currently working part-time towards a PhD at the University of East Anglia on the teaching practices and institutional developments in post-war British art school eduction.

With its six world-class orchestras, two opera houses and abundant venues and events, and a major centre of popular music, London can be called the musical capital of the world.  This lecture explores how the city developed its wonderful traditions of public music from the 16th century to the present day; from royal court and coffee house to concert hall and the stage.  The story involves many colourful individuals, Purcell, Handel and Elgar among them, who have left their mark on the musical life of the city.  This lecture, richly illustrated with musical examples, also explores how many of our national institutions are inextricably linked to some of the greatest music.

Roger Askew, MA. B.Mus

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

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

(Illustration above depicts Hanover Square Rooms in London where concerts of Handel's music took place.)

The fusion of art, design and pleasure on the Cote d'Azur in the 1920s and 1930s.

Since the 19th century, English high society had 'wintered over' on the Cote d'Azur, but always left by April.  In the early 1920s, however, an intoxicating mix of artists, writers, musicians and international visitors, inspired by a mythological seascape of luminous colours, created a new summer season.  Sun tans and sportswear soon became 'de rigeur' in the chic new coastal resorts, villas and hotels.  This liberating playground of ideas across the visual design arts was stimulated by impresarios Serge Diaghilev and Paul Poiret.  Traditional boundaries were torn down.  Matisse, Picasso, Dufy, Cocteau and Chanel merged the worlds of fashion, theatre and interiors.  Cole Porter, Scott Fitzgerald and the intriguing Gerald and Sara Murphy introduced an American perspective and attracted an influential new set of discerning patrons and collectors.  We will 'time travel' to meet them.

Mary Alexander BA MA has thirty years' experience as a lecturer, with a BA in History and History of Art and a MA with distinction in History of Art from University College London.  Her experience includes public lectures in museums, tutoring for the Open University, visiting lecturer at Christie's Education in London, museum curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of Costume, Manchester.  She is now a freelance lecturer to various arts, heritage and antiquarian societies. She also worked in Pentagram design consultancy in London and New York, organising conferences and special events.  Author of various articles on design and visual awareness issues, her background combines an unusual blend of adademic and visual communications skills.  She lectured for ADFAS Australia and New Zealand in 2011 and 2013.  Mary is an enthusiastic member and President of Glaven Valley DFAS.

Followed by the Summer Luncheon.  Tickets on sale from the March lecture onwards.

A look at the mystery of this painting - who are the characters it portrays and what can they tell us about England at the turn of the 15th century?

Ever since the mysterious double panel painting known as the Wilton diptych was acquired for the National Gallery in 1929, speculations regarding its origins have been rife, because although many discoveries have been made regarding its subject, we are still none the wiser regarding its origins.  Who are the characters in this painting, what are they trying to tell us, what can this painting tell us about England or for that matter Europe at the turn of the 15th century, for what purpose was this enigmatic painting made and why has it come to represent the quintessential example of a style of painting we now call International Gothic?

Through the lens of the Wilton Diptych this lecture will look at Medieval England, patronage, saints and kingship, and also unearth the many hidden signs and symbols in this painting that have been slowly revealing themselves to us over the past 80 years or so with detailed close-up, looking at the physical material of the painting to bring to life not only the Wilton Diptych, but also the time in which it was made.

Leslie Primo BA MA holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Renaissance Studies at the University of Reading (in 2005 and 2007) and gives lectures and guided tours, plus special talks at both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.  He also lectures at the City Literary Institute and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

The story of how a transvestite potter from Chelmsford became a national treasure.

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, tapestries 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.  He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and a member of both the City of London and Westminster Guide Lecturer Associations.  Clients include 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.

***Don't forget - Members are invited to "bring a friend for free" to this lecture.*** 

This lecture looks at the ideas behind the development of the English house interior during the second half of the 19th century and at some of the artists and craftsmen who designed the wallpaper, tiles, fabrics and furniture which reflected those ideas.

The English Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the most influential, profound and far-reaching design movements of modern times.  At its heart lay a concern both for the deplorable state of design of manufactured goods in the mid-nineteenth century, and for the role of the craftsman in an increasingly industrial world.  William Morris declared in 1882 that he had "never been in a rich man's home which would not have looked better for having a bonfire made outside of nine-tenths of all it held".  

The lecture will look at the influential ideas of the Movement's precursors, A.W.N. Pugin and John Ruskin, the work of William Morris and his circle as designers of interiors and furnishings and their attempt to bring art back into the lives of ordinary people, together with the varied strands and themes of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the 1880s and 1890s.

Philippa Barton is a freelance lecturer in the fine and decorative arts for NADFAS, the V & A and others, specialising in English architecture, interiors and furniture from the 16th century to the 19th century.  She runs her own lecture series and events and specialised courses.

Hans Holbein was the first great European painter to spend an extended period in England, in the early 16th century.  His painting "The Ambassadors" is one of the treasured masterpieces of the National Gallery in London.  It dates from a time when every part of a painting had a significant, often symbolic, meaning, much of which is no longer obvious to the modern viewer.  This lecture considers the tempestuous circumstances surrounding the picture's creation and its hidden messages, which tell us much about the political tensions of Europe at the time and the hopes and fears of its major players.

Anthony Russell is a cultural historian, writer and artist and has been an adviser to museums, palaces and cathedrals.  He has travelled widely, combining painting with lecturing and leading cultural tours.  He runs outreach events at the British Museum and lectures widely for NADFAS and other organisations.

We all look at Christmas through the eyes of Mrs Beeton.  Her famous "Book of Household Management" does not cover in any depth what the festival meant in mid-Victorian times: an occasion for extended revelry, for celebrating with family and friends, a religious feast, or something else?  Annie Gray will explain how customs we now consider central to the idea of Christmas were invented, reinvented, or indeed are yet to be invented.

Dr Annie Gray is a well known food historian and academic, who lectures widely on food and dining and works as a costumed interpreter of cooks and kitchens for heritage organisations and institutions.  She has appeared on The Great British Bake Off and other TV shows and is a regular panellist on Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet.

This sounds fun - and a great way to start the Christmas season.  Do come and join us.

Wine and Mince Pies will be served after the lecture.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera have iconic status in Mexico, where the revolution of 1910 swept away the influence of European art. Together they helped to shape the cultural identity of 20th Century Mexico.

Frida Kahlo's  "self portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" is shown above.

Chloe Sayer is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and has curated exhibitions and assisted on documentaries for teh BBC and Channel 4. She has lectured worldwide on the art and culture of Latin America and written many books and articles.

The Christian revival of the early 19th Century saw a renewed interest in the Gothic style in both domestic and ecclesiastical architecture. *This lecture will consider the influence of Augustus Pugin, and others, on the decorative style of the time and is one of a series of lectures on the Gothic Revival 1810-1910.

The northeast chapel at Pugin's St Giles' Roman Catholic Church, Cheadle (seen above) was completed in 1846.

The lecture will follow our AGM which begins at 10.15 am. (Coffee from 9.30 am)

Christopher Rogers is a past Head of Geography at Downe House School, Newbury. he lectures for the National Trust and at summer schools for Marlborough College.

This lecture explores the skill and styles of manuscript art from 7th to the 15th Centuries across Europe, with subjects varying from the intensely spiritual to the everyday.

This amusing illustration is from Li Livres dou Sante by Aldobrandino of Sienna and shows a monk-cellarer sampling the wine from a barrel while filling a jug (France late 13th Century)

Patricia Wright is the author of many books and articles published in the UK and overseas. She is a past winner of the Bodley Head Historical Novel Prize.

From architectural decoration to disputed cultural objects, this lecture will explore the response to the marbles in Britain, from the original controversy over their purchase to the current debate surrounding their restitution to Greece.

 The Elgin Marbles, in a temporary Elgin Room at The British Museum, surrounded by English staff, a trustee and visitors are depicted in this portrait of 1819

Alan Read is a Gallery Guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain  and the National Portrait Gallery and has lectured at many institutions. He is also a Blue Badge Guide to the City of London.

These American heiresses married into the European aristocracy. Their wealth helped tp preserve grand houses collections and estates. 

Anne Sebba is a biographer, historian and author of nine books who also lectures to the English Speaking Union, Royal Overseas League, the Nationa Trust, The British Library and the Imperial War Museum. She has appeared regularly on television, introducing her books, one of which 'That Woman' was an international best seller.

*This lecture is one of a series related to the Gothic Revival c1810-1900 and will be followed by The Summer Luncheon. [Tickets available from the March meeting.]

This lecture will consider the role of historic organs in the life of the City of London churches and at their decorative function. 

The organ of Temple Church, City of London is illustrated

Tony Tucker is a Blue Badge Guide and former Chairman of the City of London Guide Lecturers Association and Trustee of the Friends of the City Churches. He leads regular guided walks for the City of London Corporation, the Friends of the City Churches and other groups.

This lecture will look at artists from Raphael to Hockney who have produced designs for plays, ballet and opera.

Jo Mabbutt is a decorative artist who works in a variety of media. She was awarded the City and Guilds Silver Medal and has studued at Central St. Martin's. Jo has curated for the Guildhall and is a Freeman of the City of London. She now lectures and runs workshops on art and design.

Booking for the Summer Luncheon on 19th May will open at this meeting.

Members are invited to "Bring a Friend for Free" to this lecture meeting.

Architects, from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the modernism of Mies van der Rohe have contributed to the decorative arts in unusual and fascinating ways. This Art Deco  terracotta sunburst design above the front doors of the 'eastern' Columbia Building in Los Angeles (built in 1930) is an illustration.

Marina Vaizey is an art critic who has worked for the 'Financial Times' and 'The Sunday Times'. She is a past editor of  'Art Quarterly' and 'The Review' and has been a member of the Arts Council. Marina is currently a trustee of several museums.

Booking for 'Heraldry: It's all Around Us' will open. This is  a Special Interest Day arranged for 28th April.

click here for details

John Sell Cotman lived from 1782-1842. This lecture will reappraise the work of a celebrated watercolourist in the broader context of the English Watercolour Movement and the Romantic Revival. 

*The lecture is one of a series related to the Gothic Revival c 1810-1900 and will be followed by a Reception for New Members.

Timothy Wilcox has been a curator at the V&A and an acting Assistant Keeper at The British Museum. He has taught at the Cambridge Summer School and has curated exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, The Lowry Gallery and Dulwich  Picture Gallery.

The illustration is Cotman's "The Entrance into the Cornmarket, formerly the Chapel of St Louis at Bayeux" dated 1817.

Magic has aroused a fascination since early times. Egypt was the cradle of ancient magic; sorcerer priests created illusions for use in worship and held people enthralled. Tudor magicians were known as “jongleurs” lest they be sentenced to death for witchcraft. Magic gained a new respectability with the emergence of music hall. Audiences flocked to watch rabbits pulled from top hats and ladies sawn in half. This lecture will introduce the “history of mystery” from 3000BC to the 21st Century.

This modern cartoon shows a present day "jongleur" and some of his bag of tricks.

Mr Bertie Pearce BA(Hons) is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star. He holds a Diploma Internationale from the École Internationale du Théatre, Jacques Lecoq. He is an experienced lecturer to cruise ship audiences, NADFAS, theatre clubs and many other organisations. He has toured the world with a magic cabaret show and his one man show “All Aboard”.

After this lecture, all members and visitors will be warmly invited to take a glass of wine and seasonal refreshments. A lovely way to begin of the Festive Season. Happy Christmas Everyone!

Adam’s work in London was often commissioned by clients whose country houses he had designed. The lecture will look at the Adelphi, his important residential development and will consider some of the great town houses he designed, such as 'Home House' and 'Lansdowne House', both with splendid interiors. It will also look at Adam’s updating of some of the large houses on the outskirts of London, such as 'Kenwood House', 'Syon House' and 'Osterley Park'. The illustration shows a corner of the magnificent music room of 'Home House', designed by Robert Adam in 1777. 'Home House' in Portman Square, is now a private members' club.

Mrs Caroline Knight BA(Hons) MA (Courtauld) is an architectural historian specialising in 16th to 18th century English and Scottish architecture. She lectures on courses at the V&A and for the Art Fund and has researched and written a history of Kensington Palace. Her publications include articles on architectural and social history and “London’s Country Houses” (2009). This lecture is the third in a series on the neo-classical period c1750-1830 and links with the The Wey Valley’s visit to 'Kenwood House' and Keats' House on 23rd April 2015.

Botticelli is today one of the best loved artists of the 15th Century. His art encapsulates the cultural, religious and political life of Florence, from the scholarly circle of Lorenzo dei Medici to the mysticism of Savanarola. This lecture will look at the enigmatic works of the artist and at the life and times in which he worked. Boticelli died in virtual obscurity – this close-up from his “Adoration of the Magi” (1475) is thought to be a probable self-portrait.

Mrs Shirley Smith graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class honours degree in the History of Art, specialising in the Italian and Northern Renaissance. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a part-time lecturer for UEA and for Cambridge University Department of Continuing Education as well as a lecturer to the Art Fund and individual clubs and societies. Our AGM will begin at 1015, immediately before this lecture. Coffee will be available from 0930. The lecture will start promptly at 1045 as usual.