Our final lecture may (possibly) be a little more sedate, but perhaps not: this is the return visit of Gavin Plumley, to talk about something very different from fin de siècle Vienna, namely sixteenth century Antwerp and the world of Peter Breughel the Elder and his approach to landscape.

We are delighted to have secured the musician and broadcaster, Sandy Burnett, who is going to lecture on The Age of Jazz – and  we are confident that this will be literally “hands on” as Sandy is bringing his double bass to enliven the proceedings!

The next lecture will, we anticipate, be very entertaining, delving as it will into the dodgy world of art dealers, and in particular the story of Joseph Duveen, who is still honoured by an inscription in Tate Britain.

In March we are able to offer the lecture on the history of Wentworth Woodhouse which we had to replace in last year’s programme: a number of members had asked about this and I am pleased that we have been able to reinstate this “local” topic. The lecture looks at the history of the house and how it is inextricably linked with the colourful lives of the three aristocratic families who lived there.

In this lecture we delve into the world of the Chinese Imperial throne and its obsession with silk. Our lecturer is well versed in the topic, having lived for many years in Hong Kong: he promises to bring some examples with him

For first lecture of 2026 we will be moving into the arena of “Wolf Hall” and other period dramas, when our lecturer compares the actual formal clothes worn by the Tudors with the modern versions as imagined by TV and film directors.

Note that this is not on the 3rd Thursday of the month but the following week.

For this lecture we delve into the history and beauty of the Crowns, Orb, Sceptre and other royal jewels used during the coronation ceremony.  Discover the details of the diamonds, rubies, sapphires and pearls used in the royal regalia used by Kings and Queens since 1661. Secrets and mystery abound within these priceless jewels, seen by millions, worn by one.

The October lecture brings a complete change of mood: one of the AS speakers is a musician who for many years ran the ceremonial music on all the state occasions (as Music Director of the Coldstream Guards), and he is going to give us an insight into the next one in the calendar, namely the Cenotaph ceremonies on 11th November.

We start in September with a delve into the wonderful island of Sicily, with particular reference to its many Greek and Roman works of art, and a concentration on a personal favourite of mine, the mosaics at the Villa Romana.

Dr Paul Roberts is Research Keeper in the Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford University. Paul has been a lecturer with the Arts Society/NADFAS for over twenty years.

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Aristocrat, politician, rake and revolutionary: William Cavendish, 4th Earl and 1st Duke of Devonshire, is certainly one of the more colourful of seventeenth-century noblemen. So wicked was he, that an Italian visitor to Restoration England described him as ‘the most dissolute man in London’. Yet Cavendish is also remembered as one of the great saviours of English civil liberties, part of a small group of aristocrats who overthrew James II and brought William of Orange and constitutional monarchy to the throne. In addition, he remodelled his Elizabethan family seat and transformed it into one of our greatest country houses and a monument to his success, Chatsworth in Derbyshire. 

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“We are the two great painters of this era; you are in the Egyptian style, I in the modern style.” Henri Rousseau said these words to Pablo Picasso in 1908, but how did Henri Rousseau, who had no formal artistic training, come to be accepted by the avant-garde artists of his time and today have his art works hang in many of the world’s greatest art collections? In this lecture I will explore the fascinating and enigmatic life and work of the, sometimes called, ‘primitive’ artist Henri Rousseau. The lecture is full of vivid, bright and dynamic paintings which transport the audience far away to exotic lands that were developed in the artist’s imagination.

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Joseph Wright of Derby was an 18th-century English painter. He was a master of using chiaroscuro, with a particular fondness for dramatic contrasts of light and dark. This technique is what earned him the nickname "the painter of light”. He is especially known for his unique paintings capturing scientific experiments, new inventions, and the atmosphere of the Industrial Revolution. His most famous work, "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump" exemplifies this perfectly.

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

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Prague is one of the great treasure houses of Europe. Reduced to a near ruin under the communists, it has now been restored to its former glory, a unique blend of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. The lecture looks at the rich fabric of Prague’s past, its legends and its history, as well as the artists, composers, statesmen and rogues that have illuminated this fairytale city.

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

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The dramatic rescue of Wentworth Woodhouse, Britain’s largest country house captured newspaper headlines. This lecture looks at its extraordinary history and shows how the story of the house is inextricably linked with the colourful lives of the three great aristocratic families who lived there- the Wentworths, the Watsons and the Fitzwilliams. In the 18th century rivalry between two branches of the family led to each trying to outdo the other by building the larger house. By the 1750s Wentworth Woodhouse was 600 feet long, and the interiors enriched the house with fine paintings, sculptures

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To celebrate the National Gallery's autumn blockbuster exhibition, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers (14 September 2024 – 19 January 2025), our October lecture explores Vincent Van Gogh’s all-too-short career — just ten years. 

The art that inspired Vincent in London and Paris was not just that of his contemporaries but also Old Masters and newly-imported works by Japanese printmakers. An art world of galleries, magazines, a network of friendships and even a shop were some of the sources of Vincent’s ideas – but how did they come together in London and Paris?

In this lecture we follow Vincent to London and then to Paris, looking at how the people he met and the art he saw, and collected, influenced his work.

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

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L. S. Lowry is one of Britain’s most popular artists and yet our very 
familiarity with his work has stopped us looking as closely as we 
should at this extraordinary artist. Though famous for painting the mills and 
factories of the industrial north-west of England, he was really a 
painter of the human condition. In this lecture I suggest that his 
work is the visual counterpoint of T. S. Eliot’s poetry and further, 
that we can claim him as our English Van Gogh. Too much? 
Come to the lecture and decide for yourself! Original works by 
Mr. Lowry and other relevant artists will be available for viewing at the lecture

Michael is President of The Arts Society Bolton. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art, and for many years he taught fn the School of History of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is a practising painter, printmaker and ceramicist and has exhibited at the Royal Academy. In 2006 he represented the UK at the 2006 Varna Biennale, and he shared an exhibition with Joseph Wright of Derby in one of the city’s museums. His work may be found in a number of public collections, including Manchester Art Gallery and in many private collections in the UK and abroad.
 
Michael has written over twenty books including the definitive book on LS Lowry. He is currently working on a two-volume study of the Wigan born painter, Theo Major, whose paintings will be on one of the main features of a £27 million art centre in Wigan, set in one of the most beautiful parks in the the north of England. His book, ‘Being There’, a collection of his own poems and paintings, was published earlier this year. He and his wife the painter Ghislaine, (who is also a AS lecturer) have featured on television and radio many times and they are currently involved in a unique collaboration with Manchester Chamber of Commerce on Deansgate to revitalise the city.

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

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

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Leighton was one of the most slippery characters in the Victorian art-world. He managed to walk a social tight-rope: he was an Establishment figure, honoured as President of the Royal Academy, for his portraits of distinguished men. But he also created some of the most disturbingly sensual images of his generation. This lecture considers the art of self-presentation in the lives of Leighton and his colleague in the Aesthetic revolution, James Whistler, as they pursued ‘Art for Art’s sake’.

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

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Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) was a key player in early twentieth century avant garde art, design and literary/theatrical circles in Paris. As a widely travelled polymath, Dufy's charismatic personality, wit and curiosity about the world was infectious. His imagination and technical virtuosity - across a range of media including painting and lithography, posters, book illustration, theatrical set design, textiles and fashion, ceramics and large murals - cut across all conventional boundaries. Whether a small intricate woodcut illustrating a love poem, or the truly gigantic 1937 world fair murals depicting the role of electricity in the modern age, the effect is mesmerising.

Mary Alexander - Mary lectured to us last year on the world of the Golden Age in Newport, Rhode Island. She now returns with what she bills as her most popular lecture. Mary Alexander trained as an art historian and graduated with a BA Hons in History & History of Art (University College London) and later an MA (with Distinction) in History of Art (University College London). Mary has  combined academic work with the world of design consultancy. As an experienced international speaker, Mary lectures regularly for The Arts Society throughout the UK, Europe and Australia and New Zealand. She also contributes articles to magazines, newspapers and professional journals. She was President of The Arts Society Glaven Valley, Norfolk from 2016- 2021.  

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Mackintosh is recognised internationally as one of the great figures of early 20th century art and architecture. He possessed a wide ranging talent as an architect, painter, furniture designer and graphic artist. In his own lifetime he so quickly fell from fashion that he had to leave his native city of Glasgow and became an exile. In his short but intensely creative career, he produced only a small number of buildings and interiors yet his designs displayed astonishing innovation. He is most famously known for the Glasgow School of Art and in his sporadic career he also designed well over 300 pieces of furniture, together with a wealth of paintings, drawings, graphics, stained glass and textile designs. He often worked in close collaboration with his wife, Margaret Macdonald, whom he met at art school and together they produced some astonishing interiors.

Hugh Ellwood - Studied philosophy in Rome, followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Manchester. Previously an architect partner with Building Design Partnership, the largest multi-discipline design organisation in the UK, and was for some years an external examiner in architecture at the University of Manchester. For several years he was a visiting lecturer in the history of art and architecture at the University of Central Lancashire. A watercolourist, and has also lectured extensively to various societies and organisations, including cruises, on art and architecture. Hugh has lectured to our Society in the past.

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The artist known as El Greco arrived in Toledo from his native Crete in 1577 and remained there for the rest of his life.  This lecture will investigate his life in that fascinating city and how his weird but striking pictures became the hallmark of the city when his greatness was finally recognised in the twentieth century. We will consider his Byzantine influences, and then show how he fell out with Philip II and the Church, often flouting the rules of the Catholicism in quite dramatic ways despite the menacing presence of the Inquisition. We will consider his writings and his personal life and discuss why he is one of the most revered artists today yet after his death, he was unknown for 300 years before early twentieth century artists such as Picasso revived him.

Jacqueline Cockburn - Managing Director of an art tours company, running residential courses in Andalucía, Southern Spain in the art and culture of the region. Jacqueline is a course director and lecturer at the V&A and also lectures at The Royal Academy, The Art Fund, The London Art History Society and has toured New Zealand and Australia for The Arts Society. Her specialist field is Spanish Art, but she also lectures on European Art 1790-1950. Her most recent publication is A Taste of Art, London (Unicorn Press 2019).

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Some of you may recall the exhibition of the works of Zoffany staged at The Royal Academy a few years ago and vividly recall his colourful pictures of life in India under the rule of the East India Company. The location at the RA was appropriate as he was an Academician in the 18th Century but his renown relies on far more than that.

Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) was born in Germany and trained in Italy, but arrived in Britain as an unknown artist in 1760.  However, through his artistic and networking skills, he rapidly became one of the country’s leading portrait painters, gaining several commissions from the royal family. We will explore the reasons for his rise to prominence, as he reinvigorated the conversation piece as a mode of portraiture.  His subsequent career, which included extended spells working in Italy and in India, was marked by ups and downs, as artistic fashions shifted.  Amongst his many experiences, he may even have been ‘the first and last Royal Academician to become a cannibal’!

Prasannajit de Silva - He 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. 

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Elaine has led a Study day for our Society in the past and she returns now to let us wallow in the bizarre and gory personal lives of three pillars of the Italian art world. Prepare to be shocked – and to enjoy some wonderful paintings!

Michelangelo Buonarroti was only twenty six years old when he created his famous sculpture of David in Florence. He went on to decorate the Sistine Chapel in Rome with paintings which continue to elicit awe and wonder today, but he was known throughout his life for his fiery temper.

Caravaggio was arrogant, rebellious and a murderer and his short life mirrored the drama and moving realism of his works. He created the superb Supper at Emmaus and the Conversion of St Paul on the Road to Damascus in the Cerasi Chapel in Rome amongst other great paintings.

A more recent artist, Amadeo Modigliani, produced original portraits and nudes characterized by elongated necks and bodies but he abused his own body through alcohol and drug addiction.

Elaine Hansen - Elaine has a Master’s degree in Education and taught for twenty-seven years. She now splits her year between Italy and Scotland. After taking early retirement she was free to pursue her passion, Art History, which she studied at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. She became a guide at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow in 2009 and gives lectures to her fellow guides.

In Italy Elaine researches her Italian lectures and in Glasgow attends seminars relating to her areas of expertise in Scottish Art.  

In 2018 she was made an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society and since then has been in demand for lectures delivered in the UK, in Europe and on cruises in both Italy and Scotland.

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This subject is architectural history in the broadest form. Nicholas Merchant will tell the story of the great designer through the varied nature of his commissions – including one for a rather special dolls house!

Here is an architect whose work, over a period of half a century, spanned the globe and the British Empire in particular. Born the tenth child of the erstwhile soldier, turned sporting artist, Charles Lutyens, Edwin was a godson of the famous Victorian artist, Edwin Landseer. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that with this background he should show from an early age an artistic bent. In his case this manifest itself in architecture. After a somewhat rickety start in the offices of Ernest George, Edwin set up on his own at the age of twenty. His friendship and encouragement by the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll was of immeasurable benefit and one sees when one looks at the list of Lutyens’ works that by 1897 (when he was 28) that his order book was full with commissions from the great and the good of those halcyon days before the first war. So it was to continue throughout his career. Aided by his marriage to Lady Emily Lytton and his friendship with Edward Hudson, owner of Country Life magazine, Lutyens’ career continued to prosper. The overtly Arts and Crafts style of his early years was transformed into ever more aristocratic mode culminating in his building of Imperial Delhi. Notwithstanding this Lutyens’ work always displayed a lightness of touch, enhanced by his mastery of architectural principles and his meticulous attention to detail. Above all he displayed a most uncommon trait in the architect, a sense of humour. All these attributes have given us some of the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century be it his country house like The Salutation, or his Dolls’ House for Queen Mary. This is the man who designed the dome of the Viceroy’s House in Delhi and the whimsical lights in the nursery of the same building. 

Nicholas Merchant - His career has mirrored his abiding interest in antiques. He has worked for some of the major auction houses in London as well as running his own book business devoted to the decorative and fine arts. His particular interest is English 18th century furniture and country houses; he enjoys discussing objects, particularly in their historical context. He lectures extensively in the USA, South Africa, Europe and UK, including the V&A, as well as for the principal cruise lines. Former Chairman of the West Yorkshire Art Fund. He arranges specialist short breaks for collectors and a range of prestigious clients including groups of The Arts Society who enjoy visiting the treasures of the UK.

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We start our season with an entertaining trip down memory lane with a film and narration by Howard Smith who has put together a compilation of images from the Picture Post in 1950.

Picture Post, published by Hulton press, was the first photojournalism magazine and in the 1940s, was selling nearly two million copies a week. In 1950, under the editor, Tom Hopkinson, it produced intimate and detailed articles on life in Britain. This lecture looks at 1950 Britain, the divides and how the nation lived, including the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Howard Smith - Born during the Second World War, Howard is a graphic designer and film maker, was educated in Scotland and gained an MA from Trinity College, Dublin. In the 1960s he worked for UK and International advertising agencies before starting his own marketing and print company in Canterbury. He was delighted to become an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society in 2017.

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Some members may have enjoyed the major exhibition on Gentileschi at the National Gallery last year. In another take on the theme of women in a man’s world, Chantal will ask: what skills did it take for a woman to become a painter in 17th century Europe? Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654) was by no means the only woman painter of her period, but she is a rarity, and she also ranks amongst the greatest painters of the 17th century.

This lecture considers her training in the very male world of the Roman studio, and explores her skills in painting in a style which is both individual but which also put her in the forefront wherever in Europe she found herself working.

Chantal Brotherton Ratcliffe With 40 years' experience as a lecturer she has taught at Sotheby's Institute of Art on the MA course in Fine and Decorative Arts since 1989.

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Francisco Goya - The first modern artist - everything he produced pulses with stuff of life: all the complexities and paradoxes of what it is to be human are here caught in paint or etched in ink. He is one of the very greatest of painters, the sheer virtuosity of his brushwork and colour and his extraordinary imaginative powers have never been equalled. He is truly an artist for our times. 

Michael Howard is a familiar face to The Arts Society. He is President of The Arts Society Bolton and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Although retired, he continues to teach at the Manchester School of Art.

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David lectured to us on Rodin by  Zoom in January 2022 and had been due to give us a second lecture on Damien Hirst.  This is that lecture.

Having graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, David then studied fine art in London, Barcelona and New York and is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors, and was Vice President in 2010-13.

Damien Hirst is the most famous British artist since Henry Moore. Not even Francis Bacon had such a huge international presence. And yet in his home country he is often seen as a practical joker, pulling the wool over the eyes of the public, and not making proper art at all. This lecture aims to dispel this and show that he is a deeply serious artist making work that is significant and influential

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Julia has a Graduate Diploma in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. 

An American artist in London, James Abbott McNeill Whistler was a leading proponent of the idea of "art for art's sake". Inspired, influential, and infuriating, his art was full of subtle delicacy. He had a wide social network of friends and family and yet, if crossed, could be a formidable opponent. He mastered the art of making enemies.  Julia will tell and illustrate his life and art.

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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.

One of our greatest composers, Edward Elgar was an extraordinary man. Brought up in a provincial town, his father a piano tuner and the owner of a music shop, Elgar was completely self-taught as a musician, evidence of the strong determination behind his original and unique genius.

His path to recognition was hard and bitter. He had to contend with the prejudices of the British musical establishment, religious bigotry (he was a Roman Catholic) and with the entrenched class-consciousness of late Victorian provincial society. However, with his wife Alice as his staunchest supporter, from a hesitant start with pieces written for his local music societies, to cantatas celebrating Britain’s history, “King Olaf” and “Caractacus”, he finally achieved national and international success with his “Variations on an original theme (Enigma)” of 1899. This work demonstrates remarkable technical mastery of form and orchestration and above all an individual and forceful personality. He went on to create two of the greatest of 20th century symphonies, the magnificent oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius” and two concertos, for violin and cello, among the finest ever written. And of course, he expresses a vigorous patriotism in his “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”.

This lecture, illustrated with many notable musical examples, explores the development of this contradictory musician, always wracked with self-doubt, and explains how his music expresses a quintessential Englishness.

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Mary 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. 

This lecture combines art and social history from a fascinating period.  During the Gilded Age, the historic port of Newport, Rhode Island, was often referred to as the 'Queen of Resorts' or 'New York By The Sea'. It was a huge melting pot for the glitterati of the Eastern seaboard, recorded by, amongst others, John Singer Sargent and Henry James.

Mary’s talk will illustrate how  pleasures of summer in Newport had an impact on the social revolution of the early twentieth century when the daughters of the Gilded Age demanded the right to vote,  to dine together, to play tennis in radical new sportswear, to sail a boat solo, or even to bathe on a private beach without stockings! 

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Scott trained as an archaeologist at Leicester University and was a professional archaeologist for ten years before his interests shifted to the world of art, antiques and auctioneering. Since 1994, he has been a lecturer at Southampton University where he teaches courses on the history and theory of interior design and visual culture.

The making of hard-paste porcelain, going back over two thousand years, represents one of the most important technical, artistic and economic achievements in the history of mankind. This talk looks at the amazing, varied, and often very beautiful products of the Meissen factory in the 18th and 19th centuries. The man who is credited with creating Meissen porcelain, Johann Friedrich Böttger had started out trying to change base metals into gold but, in the end, created porcelain, sometimes known as ‘white gold’!

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

Martin studied History of Art at Manchester University and afterwards spent three years in the editorial department of a fine art publishing company. His later career took a detour into the world of information technology but now he researches and writes mainly on French 18th and 19th century art and architecture.

This lecture evaluates the work and contribution to the Impressionist movement of four female artists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, and Marie Bracquemond, in the context of the social strictures upon middle-class women in the late nineteenth century and the subsequent judgements of both ‘traditionally-minded’ male and also feminist art historians.

These four female artists deserve to be better known: they are not exceptional because they were women, but because of their brilliance as part of the Impressionist movement. Their work deserves to be evaluated on that basis alone.

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

Lydia was born in Poland but lives in London.  She has a BA in Fine Art from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and an MA in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute.  She divides her time between painting and exhibiting as well as lecturing widely. She has taught at London's National Gallery for more than 35 years, She is going to take us through the life and work of American artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967).  Most of us will recognise his painting “The nighthawks” but he had a much wider output. Lydia will take us through those to bring out the themes of isolation that make his canvasses so haunting.

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

David Cross is an Hon. Research Fellow, Durham University. Founder of the Cumbrian Biographical Project. Past President of Cumbria DFAS. Specialises in Lake District artists of all genres. In recent years has lectured on cruises in the Mediterranean and Baltic.

The Lakeland counties have drawn lovers of landscape beauty for almost three centuries and have had a considerable effect upon the development, creation and appreciation of landscape art in Britain. Many great artists have visited and wished they were able to stay longer to enjoy the fells, the lakes, the tarns, the waterfalls and the rugged vernacular architecture. Lakeland art offers far more than traditional landscapes and this lecture, the fruit of thirty years and an overview of the rich variety of Cumbrian art, celebrates many unknown treasures.

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

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

Two hundred and fifty years after Antonio Stradivari’s death, his violins and cellos remain the most highly prized instruments in the world. Loved by great musicians and capable of fetching fabulous sums when sold, their tone and beauty are legendary, unmatched by other makers. This lecture explores that central mystery by following some of Stradivari’s instruments from his workshop to the present day. It is a story that travels from the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, and from the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the first phonographic recordings.

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

Arantxa Sardina is a guide at the Tate. She has just completed her M.A. in Art History at the Open University, where her dissertation focused on fellow Spaniard Joaquin Sorolla, the master painter of Mediterranean light and great friend of John Singer Sargent. She is also an enthusiastic amateur musician, playing the cello and the piano and a lover of opera and ballet. A member of The Arts Society in Bromley, she takes every opportunity to learn about art and to find out more about the stories behind artworks.

Joaquin Sorolla hated darkness. Sorolla believed painters could never reproduce sunlight as it really is, and he could only “approach the truth of it”.

Most of us when standing in front of one of his canvases would agree he was the master of light. He managed to capture like no other the light of the Mediterranean beaches he loved and the energy of Spanish life. He painted what he saw, quickly, to capture that precise moment. As he said "I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly. Every effect is so transient, it must be rapidly painted.” In this lecture we will look at Sorolla’s life and art, from early education to success; having been almost forgotten to be rediscovered in the last few years.

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

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

In this lecture, Tony will talk about how classical music has recently grown in popularity and how it has enhanced the drama/tension/romance/memorability of many feature films and TV commercials. We will also take a look at how the internet has enabled a composer to assemble and record a choir of over 8000 singers from 120 countries without any of them ever having to leave their homes. Tony will also explore how classical musics melodies and chords have been the inspiration for a huge number of popular songs and he will play the guitar and sing in order to illustrate this. 

Face to face live lecture, Tapton Hall at 11am.

Douglas read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time, he has given over 8000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies. Overseas he has lectured in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, and has taken numerous tours around Europe. He has written and presented various TV documentaries, notably the Omnibus programme on Whistler and the exhibition video on William Morris.

Krakow was the ancient capital of Poland up until the 17th century. Its great market square, the spider’s web of medieval streets, the curiously irregular towers of St Mary’s with its magnificent carved altarpiece, the university where Copernicus first studied the stars and the majestic cathedral over-looking the Vistula river. This lecture is a personal tour of Krakow in search of the gems of art and architecture, the triumphs and tragedies that have shaped this remarkable nation.

We had planned for this to be a face to face live lecture at Tapton Hall but because of the upsurge in coronavirus infections it has been CANCELLED. The morning lecture is being presented on Zoom and members and those on our waiting list will be sent a link to join by Zoom.

Damien Hirst is the most famous British artist since Henry Moore. Not even Francis Bacon had such a huge international presence. Yet in his home country he is often seen as a practical joker, pulling the wool over the eyes of the public and not making proper art at all. This lecture aims to dispel this and show that he is a deeply serious artist making work that is significant and influential.

We had planned for this to be a face to face live lecture at Tapton Hall but because of the upsurge in coronavirus infections it has been CANCELLED. This lecture is being presented on Zoom and members and those on our waiting list will be sent a link to join by Zoom.

Morning Lecture: Commencing 11 am

David Worthington graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, then studied fine art in London, Barcelona and New York. A maker he also curates and writes about art. David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors and was Vice President in 2010-13. He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America and Japan and his work is in many museums and galleries in the UK and abroad.

Rodin is one of the heroic figures of 19th century art history and was internationally celebrated during his lifetime. But after his death his reputation slipped and there were questions about his use of the female image. Now that is very much being reassessed and he is seen as having in one career taken sculpture on a revolutionary path. This lecture surveys his work showing why he is one of the greatest sculptors ever, looking at his work in relationship to 19th century sculpture as well assessing his continuing relevance.

Face to face live lecture at Tapton Hall.

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

The festive works of Canaletto and Francesco Guardi shaped the image of Venice in the minds of northern Europeans. Other Artists included Turner, Manet, James McNeill Whistler, Sickert, Paul Signac, and Monet. Captivated by its unique atmosphere and beauty these artists found new approaches to challenge the run-of-the-mill visual stereotypes, marking a turning point in their work and making considerable contributions to the development of modern art.

We have planned for this to be a face to face live lecture at Tapton Hall.

Morning Lecture: Commencing 2pm

Waiting List and guests welcome at an Entrance Fee £8.00

In the Ancient Egyptian city of Tanis in the Nile Delta, an entire complex of royal tombs was discovered during the 1939-1940 excavation season by the French Egyptologist Pierre Montet - three were still intact! The treasures uncovered there are one of the greatest, and most beautiful archaeological discoveries of all time, rivalling even those of Tutankhamun. But because of its discovery during World War II, and published only in French, it went unnoticed. This lecture covers the exciting discovery of the tombs and images of the gold and silver treasures, fine jewellery and artefacts which are now housed in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.

We have planned for this to be a face to face live lecture at Tapton Hall.

Morning Lecture: Commencing 11 am

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

From pyramids and temples to jewellery and furniture, every item from Ancient Egypt is steeped in religious symbolism and magical power. This lecture reveals the meaningful messages behind the artistry, unravels the religious symbolism inherent in their world and lays bare their greatest hopes and fears.

We have planned for this to be our return to face to face lectures but this is dependant on so many factors working for us. If it proves possible, we very much hope that you will be able to join us at Tapton Hall and perhaps return to a little normality

Ian has lectured to us before. He went to Oxford University, qualified as a Chartered Accountant and then became a professional magician. He is a Member of The Inner Magic Circle.

David Devant was the first President of The Magic Circle and the first magician to be booked on a Royal Variety Show. He is considered by many to be the greatest magician this country has ever produced.  Ian performs some Devant-inspired tricks from his own repertoire.

Online Lecture - Thursday 19th August at 11 am

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

Nigel Bates has been a performer for more than forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and eight years as the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet.  He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series.

For more than three centuries Sadler's Wells has been a place of entertainment and a part of London's theatrical history with a reputation known across the world.  The theatre has hosted and nurtured an impressive array of performing companies over the years.  We follow the unique story of The Wells  which includes pony racing, naval warfare, Shakespeare with Sir John Gielgud as well as the strongest connections with the worlds of opera and dance and the roots of today's Royal Ballet companies. 

Online Lecture - Monday 19th July at 6.00 pm

(Please especially note the day and time)

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

Harry graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth with a BA in history, formed a touring theatre company in rural Wales and with the Channel Theatre Company in Ramsgate, Kent, before giving up acting and becoming a cartoonist instead. His work has been a weekly feature in The Guardian since 1996. In 2016 he was awarded Strip Cartoonist of the Year by the UK Cartoon Trust. He is also a Sony Award winning writer of radio comedy.

In 'The Art Of The Cartoonist' Harry will be tracing the history of his profession with examples from early practitioners like Cruickshank and Hogarth, to more contemporary artists such as Giles and Schulz, bringing events right up to date with cartoons produced fresh on the page that day! Harry will be drawing live.

Online Lecture - Thursday 17th June at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

Chris Garibaldi has recently been an Independent Researcher at the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art. Also, a Senior Curator of Art at Norwich Castle Museum. In the 1990’s he catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal residences.

Many art historians and critics have compared the work of Stubbs to that of Leonardo da Vinci, one even christening him the ‘Leonardo of Liverpool’. Consider the intense scientific method and investigation that lay behind the production by Stubbs of his world-famous Anatomy of the Horse published in 1766.

This lecture looks at the life and work of this country’s greatest animal painter.

Online Lecture - Thursday 20th May at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

Roger Butler is a landscape architect and an experienced writer, photographer and lecturer. He has a particular interest in the unique history, architecture and traditions of our canal network and worked on some of the UK’s major canal restoration projects. He has also acted as a consultant to bodies such as Waterways Ireland, Natural England and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

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

This lecture examines the unique buildings and structures associated with the UK’s canal network, with a vast array of distinctive designs, landmark features and unusual artefacts: only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed structures than our canals. 

Look out for lock flights and lighthouses; cottages and clock towers; warehouses and lots of whimsical architecture - our canals delight the eye and refresh the spirit

Online Lecture - Thursday 15th April at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

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

He is the founder and director of an art tours company, specialising in guided cultural tours in Spain and he lectures in London at institutions such as the V&A, SOAS, Christies Education, and the London Art History Society. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of Art History Link-Up, a charity that offers an education in Art History to young people regardless of their background. 

The beauty of the Alhambra of Granada, built by the Nasrid dynasty in the 13th and 14th Centuries, speaks for itself – or does it? Many visitors, while stunned by the exquisite architecture, are unaware that the walls, covered in Kufic script, are talking directly to them.

This lecture begins with an overview of the structure of the monument and the way in which it was used, as well as the broad decorative programme of the interior of the two remaining palaces within the complex. It then takes a closer look at those inscriptions, some of them an endless repetition of the Nasrid dynastic motto, but many also consisting of lyrical Arabic poetry and even lines where the wall itself is boasting of its own beauty and significance

Online Lecture - Thursday 18th March at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

Mark Patton is an Historical Novelist, Biographer and Archaeologist.

Mark was born in Jersey in 1965 and like most islanders, the sea played an important part in his childhood and he later took up sailing and scuba-diving. Jersey is also an archaeological paradise and he started exploring the island’s “dolmens” from about the age of nine.

Mark studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Clare College Cambridge followed by a PhD at University College London. After brief periods as a Research Fellow in Leiden and Paris, he became the Curator of Archaeology for the Jersey Museums Service in 1990. He has since taught at Trinity College Carmarthen (now Trinity University College) and at the Universities of Greenwich and Westminster.

He has lived in London for eleven years now, and he loves the cultural life there with museums and galleries, films, the theatre, concerts and the opera.

Fully modern humans, genetically identical to ourselves, first entered Europe between thirty and fifty thousand years ago. Looking at archaeological and ethnographic evidence, we will explore Europe’s earliest art.

Online Lecture - Thursday 18th February at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

A Recording will be made available to Members for 48 hours

This lecture was postponed from March 2020.

Sophie Oosterwijk was born in Gouda (Netherlands). She has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester).

Sophie has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, and worked as a researcher at Utrecht University. She has published widely and is a free-lance researcher and lecturer for various organisations including Sotheby's Institute of Art, the National Trust and the V&A. She also regularly offers weekend courses for the University of Cambridge.

Sophie is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an active member of the Church Monuments Society, including many years as Editor of the journal Church Monuments.

‘History painting’ was a special genre for a distinct clientele in the Dutch Republic. It depicted stories from  the Bible and Antiquity but it could also provide an excuse for depicting the female nude. Trained in history painting by Pieter Lastman, Rembrandt gradually developed his own interpretations. His visions can still move or disturb us.

Online Lecture - Thursday 21st January at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

Alexandra Epps is an official Guide and Lecturer at Tate Modern & Tate Britain. Qualified Guide to the City of London, offering lectures and walks about many aspects of the arts.

Link to Lecturer's web site: http://www.artcity.co.uk/

Peggy Guggenheim is renowned as the 'poor little rich girl' who changed the face of twentieth century art.  She discovered and collected not only art but the artists themselves, her life was as radical as her collection.

Broadcast live at 1pm on the Arts Society’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/theartssociety) and will only be available to watch at the advertised time.

Please share details with friends and family who might enjoy the lecture

Exhibition History: The history of Great Exhibitions, Expos and World's Fairs,

1851 to Present, the British Contribution

From the very first Great Exhibition in London held in the magnificent Crystal Palace, to the awe-inspiring events in Paris, New York and across the world there have been many exhibitions that we would consider Great Exhibitions or World’s Fairs. We won't consider all of these events in this talk, but we will consider the most important exhibitions such as London 1851, Paris 1900 and 1925, Brussels 1958 and New York 1964.  

Tracing the development of Great Exhibitions from their birth in London in 1851 at the heart of a thriving Empire, to Europe, in particular Paris where many wonderful events were held, across the Atlantic to America and New York in the post-war period and further East to China, Japan and beyond in recent times. These events all tell of a city and people at a certain moment in history holding a huge and elaborate fair for the world to attend.

Matthew has worked with the fine and decorative arts all his life. He has worked as an auctioneer and valuer with a number of firms. He is currently a senior valuer and head of department at Lawrences in Crewkerne, one of the countries leading provincial auctioneers. Matthew has also worked in Higher Education as Course Leader and a Senior Lecturer on the no longer extant Fine Arts Valuation Degree at Southampton Solent University. He taught on a range of subjects including furniture, silver art and design history. He completed a PhD in the Arts and Crafts Movement and has written on design history for a number of publications. He has current research interests in ‘Great Exhibitions’, ‘Post War Design and Architecture’ and ‘The Crafts in Post War Britain’. 

Matthew loves to give talks to all sorts of different groups on the fine and decorative arts, his interests in the various Great Exhibitions since 1851 and Post War architecture and design are amongst his current favourite talks which have been well received by a number of groups over recent months.

Virtual Tour - Available from Saturday 12th December until Friday 19th December

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

Although everyone knows that Shakespeare came from Stratford-upon-Avon, all of his famous working life was spent in London. Follow in his footsteps and see the places where he lived, wrote and acted. 

See the original site of the Globe Theatre and its sister the Blackfriars Theatre, two houses where he lived and the very spot where we believe Othello, King Lear and Macbeth were written. 

Lance Pierson is an actor and professional poetry performer. He is heavily involved with both the Betjeman and Hopkins Societies and continues to make recordings of their poetry. He continues to lead guided poetry walks around London.

Lance has been acting for well over 50 years (since he was 6!). He grew up in Highgate in North London and went to Oxford University to read English and Theology. From 1978 he worked freelance as an actor, writer, speaker and trainer. Then in 1998 he went full time as a performer using his talents to entertain. From 1998 until 2016 he toured the UK with his one-man shows.

Broadcast live at 1pm on the Arts Society’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/theartssociety) and will only be available to watch at the advertised time.

Please share details with friends and family who might enjoy the lecture

The Story of Indian Modern Art

At the birth of Indian Independence in 1947, a group of talented and determined artists set out to create a new art for a new country. They drew on ancient artistic traditions but also had a radical view of how Indian art could speak to its audience. This movement, known as the Bombay Progressives Artists' Group, created an art very much for and of its time – acting as witness to a country in turmoil and relating the fascinating story of transition and growth of the new India. This talk offers an exploration of how art in the subcontinent threw off the yoke of colonial influence to create modern masterpieces and a thriving global business. 

Georgina is an art historian specializing in South Asian art who has lived and worked in the UK, USA and Singapore. She discovered and developed her passion for art history whilst working as a researcher at the National Museum of Singapore. Since then she has expanded her practice to include collecting and consulting and has developed a network of gallery and artist connections in Europe, the USA and India, which she visits regularly. 

An official tour guide at Tate Modern in London, Georgina is also a guest speaker on luxury cruise ships for whom she has developed a series of art talks related to Asian and Pacific destinations. She also enjoys talking on a range of modern and contemporary art subjects based on her research and talks given at Tate Modern.

Georgina holds a BA in Art History from Southampton University, an MA in Arts Management from City, University of London and an MA in Art History from the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of London. She has been a visiting lecturer at UK universities, presents talks at leading art institutions and museums including Christie’s Education New York, Sotheby’s Institute London and the Museum of Modern Art, Moscow and gives academic papers at international academic institutions, most recently in New York, Paris, London and Lisbon. Georgina is a member of the Association for Art History and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Asiatic Society in the UK.

Online Lecture - Thursday 19th November at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

Nicola Moorby is an independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Formerly a curator and researcher at Tate Britain she has published widely on J.M.W. Turner, including How to Paint like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010) and she remains part of the team preparing the online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is currently working on an exhibition of the work of John Constable. She has appeared as an expert on television and radio, including most recently Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr and her film, An Artist of Note: Turner and the new £20, is featured on the Arts Society Connected website.

This is the story of the epic rivalry between the two giants of British art, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. As unlike in background and temperament as their paintings were in style, these two creative geniuses transformed the art of landscape during the nineteenth century. This lecture sets them head-to-head and examines their ‘signature’ paints and how their differing approaches fared in the competitive arena of the Royal Academy. We also examine how they overcame the ‘technical challenge’ of sketching from nature before witnessing the final showdown of their respective ‘showstoppers’. But who will ultimately be crowned star painter?

Broadcast live at 1pm on the Arts Society’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/theartssociety) and will only be available to watch at the advertised time.

Please share details with friends and family who might enjoy the lecture

From the Saxons to Mary Berry: A visual History of the English Cookbook

Across a thousand years of manuscripts and over five hundred years of publishing, English recipe books have reflected the eating habits of Kings and courtiers, the merchant classes, inn-keepers and restaurant owners, as well as home cooks and even the paupers who visited the soup kitchens of Victorian London. Cookbooks are full of extraordinary food but also extraordinary illustrations from medieval illuminated manuscripts, via the engravings of the eighteenth century and the colour lithographs of Mrs. Beeton, to the high-end life-style images of the modern TV cook. This lecture tells the story of the development of the cookbook and along the way will tempt you, or indeed disgust you, with a few choice recipes.  

Peter has a History of Art degree, an MA in London history, a PhD in the cultural history of an English Criminal and a qualification in the teaching of adults. Currently Principal Librarian at Guildhall Library, he has for 20 years lectured on a broad range of topics including the history of English books, portraiture and London history. Peter has appeared on TV and radio as a consultant on the 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard and on the history of English food. His most recent publication, The Curious Cookbook, was published by the British Library.

Online Lecture - Thursday 15th October at 10.45am for 11am start

An emailed link to join will be sent to Members

Helen is a Fellow of the Centre for Maritime Historical Studies at the University of Exeter and a trustee of the SS Great Britain. She has published extensively on 19th century sail, women in the maritime world and in 2015, in a departure from her usual maritime theme, published a well received biography of a WW2 fighter ace. Her lecturing experience is wide and she is a speaker onboard all three Cunard ships. She has appeared on radio and television, and is a regular maritime expert for programmes such as 'Who Do You Think You Are?'.

Trafalgar was the last great battle of the sailing navy but like any successful event it depended on many factors. The talk looks at the factors leading up to the battle, some of the images and many untold stories from the Napoleonic Wars. It features Nelson’s spy, women shipbuilders, the families left on shore and the iconic battle.  

Broadcast live at 1pm on the Arts Society’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/theartssociety) and will only be available to watch at the advertised time.

Please share details with friends and family who might enjoy the lecture

The Fall into Knowledge: the story of Prometheus and how his plight has captivated and influenced writers and artists over the years

Prometheus was a Titan who, according to Greek legend, created the human race and then famously incurred the wrath of Zeus by stealing fire from the gods to preserve it. The punishment that Zeus devised was both cruel and ingenious. This lecture goes back to original sources to re-tell the story, explore the remarkable parallels with Adam and Eve and trace its influence from Reubens to Henry Moore and from Frankenstein, through Great Expectations to the Alien movies. Mary will explore our enduring interest in the ideas that thread their way through the numerous adaptations and reflect on what they reveal about our changing attitudes to religious belief.   

Mary is an experienced broadcaster and teacher with particular expertise in literature and drama. She worked for many years for BBC Radio 4 producing some of its most popular programmes including Start the Week and Woman's Hour before joining the senior management team as a Commissioning Editor. Mary has subsequently worked as a teacher and Director of Sixth Form at a leading girls' grammar school. She now runs her own company 'Opening Up Literature' which offers literature courses for adults including studies of Shakespeare and Creative Writing. Her most popular course is 'Telling Tales' which explores how writers and artists have reinvented classical stories.

Online Lecture - Thursday 17th September at 11am and available until midnight Saturday 19th September

Nigel Bates has been a performer for more than forty years in the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and eight years as the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet.  He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series. He is a regular contributor to the printed and online content of the Royal Opera House.

The Nutcracker ballet has delighted audiences at Christmas for many decades yet it was deemed a failure at its initial performances. Based upon the current Royal Ballet production by Sir Peter Wright, this lecture takes a close look at how this well-loved ballet now takes its rightful place on stage and how the music of Tchaikovsky along with story-telling, design, dance and a little bit of stage ingenuity all come together to make the most magical escape for young and old alike. Includes several performance video clips.

Online at 5.15pm for 5.30pm start

Invitations to join will be sent to members by email

We have kindly been invited by The Arts Society Nadder Valley to join their Walking Tour of East End Street Art led by Pepe Martinez.

A generation ago, graffiti and street art were seen as the scourge of society, associated with gang culture, the decaying inner cities and crime. Today works by Banksy, the worlds most famous graffiti artist, regularly sell for millions of pounds. This virtual tour highlights works by some of the leading artists who have passed through London and will get up close and personal with the dynamic East End Street Art scene.  

The tour will be led by Pepe Martinez, an award winning London Blue Badge Tourist Guide.  He was born in the East End and has lived there all his life. He is a accredited Institute of Tourist Guiding Trainer and is currently tutoring on the London Blue Badge training course.

"Viv Haxby showcases the Queens Jewellery"

Online at 10am on Tuesday 11th August 2020.

Invitations will be sent by email

Viv is a member of the Guild of Tour Guides and was awarded Guide of the Year on qualification as a Blue Badge Guide in London. Her aim is to be informative, but fun.  

NOTE THIS LECTURE COMMENCES AT 4.45pm for 5.00pm

See Email to Members for access

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

Rupert Willoughby specialises in the domestic and social life of the past. He is the author of the best-selling Life in Medieval England for Pitkin and of a series of popular histories of places, including Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village. His most recent book – perhaps his greatest challenge to date – is Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Douglas Skeggs is involved with Cambridge Fine Arts. Writer, Artist, TV Presenter. Lecturer to many London art courses. Director of the New Academy of Arts. Author of 6 Novels.

History and illustrations of the City and of Poland.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Tony Faber has written books on Stradivarius and Fabergé's Eggs, and has lectured widely including The V&A. He was managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board.

Two hundred and fifty years after Antonio Stradivari’s death, his violins and cellos remain the most highly prized instruments in the world. Loved by great musicians and capable of fetching fabulous sums when sold, their tone and beauty are legendary.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

AGM FOLLOWING LECTURE POSTPONED

Ian Keable gained a First Class degree from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, qualified as a Chartered Accountant and then became a professional magician. A Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star. 

David Devant was the first President of The Magic Circle, the first magician to be booked on a Royal Variety Show.  He is considered by many to be the greatest magician this country has ever produced.  Ian performs some Devant-inspired tricks from his own repertoire.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 2021 BECAUSE OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Sophie Oosterwijk was born in Gouda (Netherlands). Has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester). Has taught at universities, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A. She is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University. Numerous publications. 

‘History painting’ was a special genre for a distinct clientele in the Dutch Republic. It depicted stories from  the Bible and Antiquity but it could also provide an excuse for depicting the female nude. Trained in history painting by Pieter Lastman, Rembrandt gradually developed his own interpretations. His visions can still move or disturb us  

Nigel Bates is the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet and has been a performer for nearly forty years. He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for  the BBC.

This lecture takes a look at life backstage at London's Royal Opera House and the tribulations and triumphs of working with The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet companies.The lecture includes several performance video clips.

Afternoon Lecture: Commencing 2pm

Lars Tharp is a Ceramics as well as a Hogarth specialist. Born in Copenhagen, he read Archaeology at Cambridge, was at Sothebys for sixteen years. He has presented numerous programmes on TV and radio, he writes on many subjects.

Lars treats himself to a short-list of personal favourites. Twelve Ceramic Pieces chosen for a mixture of reasons. He challenges you to like them all. 

Morning Lecture: Commencing 11am

Lars Tharp is a Ceramics as well as a Hogarth specialist. Born in Copenhagen, he read Archaeology at Cambridge, was at Sothebys for sixteen years. He has presented numerous programmes on TV and radio, he writes on many subjects.

The Antiques Roadshow has been copied all over the world.  The suppressed delight or barely hidden despair of stoic owners. From beautiful heirlooms to hideous treasure, the programme sees it all. 

Joanna Hardy began as a goldsmith before working as a rough diamond grader for De Beers. Then became one of the first women to be a polished diamond dealer in Antwerp and then joined Philips the Auctioneers in London. She moved on to Sotheby’s and is a regular jewellery specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow.    

This lecture will take you to the ancient mines of Burma, along the Chinese silk trading routes to European courts and palaces, where rubies have decorated royalty and the elite. 

Afternoon Lecture: Commencing 2pm

Brought up in Italy, France and Switzerland, Patsy Erskine-Hill lectures widely to history Societies, University and special interest Associations also on cruises. 

Thousands of girls and women were forcibly sent to  Venetian convents, an unexpected consequence was many Venetian Courtesans who became (in)famous throughout Europe.

Morning Lecture: Commencing 11 am

Brought up in Italy, France and Switzerland, Patsy Erskine-Hill lectures widely to history Societies, University and special interest Associations also on cruises. 

A complex and lovely epic poem, brought to everyone through marvellous illustrations spanning the 13th to the 20th centuries

Tony Rawlins started in 1965 as a mail boy in J.Walter Thompson, he produced many commercials and advertisements over a long period and he remains active in the industry.

How advertisments have been created and why Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo have been a rich source for the advertising industry.

Hugh Ellwood studied philosophy in Rome, followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Manchester. Previously an architect partner with Building Design Partnership. A watercolourist who has lectured extensively.

Watercolour is almost uniquely a British phenomenon. 

Well known to Sheffield, Peter Medhurst appears in the UK and abroad as a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

New Lecture currently without synopsis

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. 

New Lecture currently without synopsis

Daphne Lawson has an MA from University of Canterbury and a BA in Art History from London University. She teaches Art History courses ranging from French Impressionism, European Romanticism and Pre-Raphaelite painting. Her first career was as an actress.   

Second Empire Paris was the most fashionable capital in Europe

Mark Cottle was born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark's & St John's University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England.Lecturer at Bath and Plymouth Universities

Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914 described through original photographs

Ray Warburton has studied art history at the Open University and the University of Buckingham. A Guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, who leads public tours of all the permanent displays and also undertakes exhibition tours. 

Morning: David Hockney and his struggles with modernism. At heart David Hockney is a figurative painter, painting people and places that he knows

Afternoon: Henri Matisse met Pablo Picasso for the first time in 1906

Lecturer, Author & Broadcaster on BBC TV and Radio

Tells the story of 20th century fashion design, clothes, textiles and accessories

London Blue Badge Guide and Trainer, leads walking tours of London

Morning: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert shared enthusiasm for art and music.

Afternoon: The Great Fire of London came only months after the Great Plague and devastated most of the City of London. 

Course Leader in Theatre at the V&A, Lecturer on the Queen Mary 2. 

Over 2500 years in the making the great British pantomime is a very potent brew indeed!

Arts Society Sheffield member, Cruise Lecturer, Professor Emeritus at Sheffield University, History of Art and Architecture

Four properties of brilliant design

Specialist Lecturer and Author

A beginner's guide to the biggest art movement since pop art. 

Followed by the AGM at 12.15 pm

This lecture offers a fresh angle on some of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.

Stonehenge is the most sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the British Isles. 

This lecture tells the story of just some of these losses to our National Heritage.  

From Catherine the Great to Carl Fabergé.

Morning: Masters that changed the course of British art

Afternoon: Albrecht Durer and the Italian Renaissance

Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and History

Guide and lecturer on combined history and art tours in France

Retired surgeon who explores the contribution of Leonardo to scientific and anatomical knowledge through Art

Sotheby's specialist and Antiques Roadshow miscellaneous expert.

An illustrated lecture with live piano music and song.

The speaker is an art historian with over twenty years experience in the antiques trade

FOLLOWED BY THE AGM