The music, architecture and manuscript illumination of medieval England are among the greatest achievements of any period of English cultural history. This lecture opens a window onto this remarkable world to capture something of its religious and secular music, Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and rich span of manuscript illumination.

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD AT BORINGDON PARK GOLF CLUB. PL7 4QG

This lecture is a feast for the eyes! When you are watching a play, a film or the TV, have you ever wondered how the garments dressing the characters were made, historically or in modern reproductions? And how did painters of the period depict the clothing worn by royalty and the fabulously wealthy aristocracy? 

Magic and medicine throughout the ancient world were intertwined and often difficult to distinguish. The magicians were powerful, the doctors knowledgeable and the surgeons were skilled but could they help and heal the unfortunates they treated?

Ramesses II (c1279 – c1213 BC)  built extraordinary temples (notably Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum), and adorned them with colossal statues of himself and his wives during this golden age of Egypt’s  history. 

This study day focuses on the transformation of Istanbul from its conquest by Sultan Mehmed II through to its Golden Age under Süleyman the Magnificent and beyond. 

The Gripping and sometimes hilarious story of how a band of heroic curators and eccentric custodians saved Britain's heritage during WWll

This lecture examines the portraiture of ‘Good Queen Bess’ and traces the development of an English icon from tentative beginnings to the triumph of royal propaganda.  As queen, Elizabeth and her ministers struggled to find a suitable visual image but with passing years her image grew in confidence until the realm of England became too small a canvas and Elizabeth triumphed as Queen, Empress and Goddess.

Devon's foremost historian and well known lecturer discusses Devon’s beautiful gardens, their history and the art depicting them  featurings images of gardens that are popular today as well as those that are no longer in existence.   For anyone who is interested in gardening or art, it will be an enlightening lecture.

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent – who was born in 1856 and died a hundred years ago, in 1925 – was high society’s leading portraitist.  Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth.  Yet beneath the high fashions and dazzling veneer of works such as Madame X, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw lurks a much rawer world.  Sargent scandalised Parisian society and the city’s Salon with his frank depictions of human sexuality, but 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.

Sicily has long been the crossroads between Europe,North Africa and the Middle East. This Special Interest Day looks at the rich and varied cultural influences brought to the island by Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Visigoths and Islamic tribes from North Africa. It goes on to explore how these were woven together by the Normans during their remarkably enlightened rule, which saw Palermo become one of the most important cities in Europe. 

Before her marriage in 1913, Beatrix Potter accompanied her family on extended holidays to the countryside and coast. Visits to the West Country gave Potter the idea for The Tale of Little Pig Robinson and this talk, beautifully illustrated by Beatrix Potter's wonderful drawings and referencing her journal and letters, explores how Potter was able to conjure the West Country through words and pictures to create one of the most evocative and colourful of the Original Peter Rabbit Books.

If you think of St Pancras International or New York Grand Central Terminus you imagine long romantic journeys, special places promising excitement and adventure. We will take a journey around some of the most evocative and splendid stations in the world looking not only at the magnificence of the architecture and brilliant engineering but also 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.

In this talk we will explore the ‘Ashcan’ artists George Bellows and John Sloan who sought to honestly depict everyday life at work and at home. Later in the 1930’s, Weegee (Arthur Fellig) was a renowned crime photographer whose images graphically recorded the darkest side of human nature. The paintings and prints of ‘Ashcan’ artists and the photography of Weegee have hugely influenced visual artists such as Grayson Perry and Stanley Kubrick.

This lecture focuses on a single painting, perhaps the most complete visual presentation of the ideals, and problems, of the Enlightenment – Joseph Wright of Derby’s An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump. Wright’s painting of a family group clustered around to watch an experiment, reveals and challenges attitudes to scientific discovery in the 18th Century. However, it also challenges us to consider how we consider science today.

During the first half of the 20th century the beaches of Britain became glamourous. Men and women swapped fusty Victorian garments for daring swimsuits as 19th century prudery gave way to 20th century exhibitionism.

The beach became a major source of inspiration for artists, not only those like the Newlyn painters whose focus was the human form, but also more experimental painters and sculptors. While Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth responded to the sculptural qualities of objects found on the beach, Paul Nash and Eileen Agar revelled in the strangeness of the seashore.

Colour theory underpins the visual world. Today there is a sense of thinking there is one colour theory, but over history many people have contributed from Aristotle to Goethe, from Newton to Joseph Albers. This is a very colourful lecture which will explore some of the theories and the wonderful colour charts they produced giving a visual feast. The lecture explores colour in ways that will appeal to the artist, textile person and anyone with an interest in colour.

Susan Kay-Williams is Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. In 2015 she was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes. She published her first book, The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury) in 2013. Susan has extensive international lecturing experience. She is currently the President Elect of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

This is an illustrated romp through the performative nature of science and showmanship. When asked to define his job, Tony describes himself as a showman, as it is close to the role of shaman – a portal to other perceptions of reality… or illusion. This talk explores the ways in which popular culture and science have been fused and confused over the years: how the definitions of what is real, unreal, imaginary, fake or hallucinatory, are all woven together. Learn how pseudo-science and empirical knowledge bifurcate, blur and merge over time, to create a blended muddle of perception that we sometimes call truth, sometimes fakery, or sometimes a show. Allegedly, there will also be fun…

Tony Lidington has been a showman, researcher, and teacher for over 40 years: he has run theatre venues, companies, festivals, and  a wide range of events. He specialises in historical popular forms of entertainment. In 2017, he was awarded a doctorate by Exeter University where he is now a part-time lecturer. He regularly broadcasts for both radio and television. However, he is perhaps best known by families throughout the country, as ‘Uncle Tacko!’ - ringmaster of his extraordinary flea circus and the founder of ‘The Pierrotters’, Britain’s last professional seaside Pierrot Troupe.

By far the most common type of Arts and Crafts work in England’s churches is stained glass. Starting with one of the most ground-breaking schemes, Gloucester Cathedral’s Lady Chapel by Christopher Whall, 1899, we’ll explore the works of designers such as Henry Payne and Paul Woodroffe, and look, too, at some of the female artists of the Movement who excelled in glass, such as Theodora Salusbury, Caroline Townshend, the Rope cousins, and Veronica Whall.

Kirsty  Hartsiotis was the curator of decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham from 2008 to 2023. She is currently a curator at Swindon Museums, where she also worked prior to 2008.  At Cheltenham she looked after the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection, which includes the important private press archive.

Sometimes a single object can tell a very complex story about the times in which it was created. The ivory workshops licensed by the Caliphal court in tenth-century Cordoba were renowned for the exquisite beauty of the carved ivory caskets and pyxides that they created, as gifts given between members of the court and to visiting ambassadors. Ian considers the fascinating iconographic programmes carved on these objects. But the al-Mughira pyxis, now in the permanent collection of the Louvre, he can interpret, and re-interpret to expose a complex story of intrigue, sex, and murder, during a succession crisis in Cordoba, something that almost beggars belief!

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 specialises in  nearly 800 years of Moorish occupation and Christian reconquest of medieval Iberia.  He is a founder and director of an art tours company, specialising in guided cultural tours in Spain, plus lecturing in London at institutions such as the V&A, SOAS, Christies Education, and the London Art History Society. He was formerly a Chartered Accountant and senior manager in multi-national IT companies and has extensive public-speaking experience.

Tim looks at some of opera's greatest rivalries, spats, and tiffs, ranging from the throw-away remark to full in-public fighting. They certainly make for a spicy history. Which individual or voice category might be the worst example? Are they an intrinsic part of opera? Whose fault, are they? We will hear and see examples of great singers from the past to the present.

Tim Mirfin is an international opera singer. He has given concerts in some of classical music’s most iconic venues. He also teaches singing, lectures on opera and the voice, and runs a local community choir.  He studied as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio, previously reading law at Cambridge. He is passionate both about opera as an art form, and about the sheer act of singing. He is keen to share his experiences and humour.

Art is seen as sacred, whilst shopping is frivolous. Yet the two have been intertwined throughout history. There has  been the major change in retail brought on by internet sales. A shop now must be a destination offering an experience, not just a product. It is closer to a gallery with products displayed like art objects. Indeed, historical items might be exhibited in glass cases as in a museum demonstrating the longevity of the brand. Think of Niketown or the Apple stores. Artists have been commenting on this such as Claus Oldenburg’s The Store, Fischli & Weiss’ Prada Marfa, and Tracey Emin & Sarah Lucas’ The Shop. Culture is now commerce, so is shopping now an art form?

David Worthington graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology. He then studied fine art in London, Barcelona, and New York.   David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors and was Vice President in 2010-13. He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America, and Japan. His work is in the museum, the Creative Cities Collection Beijing China. He was shortlisted for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2009. David has had solo shows at the Lefevre Gallery, Horatio’s Garden, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera,  and at the Lightbox Gallery Museum, Woking. 

Picture attribution:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/robzand/4639890425/in/photostream.

JMW Turner is probably the greatest painter Britain has ever produced being both profoundly original and astonishingly prolific. This lecture reveals the extent to which Turner wanted his paintings to communicate intellectually as well as emotionally.

Sam Smiles is Emeritus Professor of Art History, University of Plymouth, and Programme Director, Art History and Visual Culture, University of Exeter.

His principal research interest is British art of the last 250 years. His other major research interest is concerned with the ways in which knowledge can be transmitted visually.

He has a particular interest in the contribution of Devon and Cornwall to the national picture

Embark on a journey through the rich tapestry of Medieval music, where art and melody intertwine. Delve into the evolution of wind instruments in the morning, from ancient reedpipes to whimsical crumhorns, adorned with captivating images from Medieval art. Then, let the afternoon serenade you with cow horns, lyres and more.

Jonathan was born into a farming family in Buckinghamshire and was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School. While studying archaeology at Reading University he developed an interest in Medieval Musical instruments. After 15 years working on the farm Jonathan moved to Somerset and began lecturing in earnest, principally on the instruments, but also on late Medieval paintings.

From the 1890s to the 1960s, Winston Churchill’s life was captured in countless photographs. He was a prolific writer and speechmaker. He was a successful and enthusiastic artist, producing some 500 paintings in a span of over fifty years. Churchill was a complex and sensitive man of many parts and many interests. The aim of this lecture is to try to capture the richness and diversity of this great man’s life and character which can still inspire us today.

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

For 300 years Venice was the most powerful city-state in the Mediterranean and much of its wealth was put towards ornamenting itself with works of art. Paintings were frescoed onto the ceilings of churches, on the facades of palaces, along the Ground Canal; canvases were set into gilded altar pieces on the ornate walls of the council chambers. Art, was the outward proof of status, the symbol of the cities prestige and influence. These golden years of Venice's history were to produce the works of Titian, TIntoretto and Veronese.

Then, when the Republic collapsed and the city fell into decay, it became a treasure house for the artistic imagination.

This study day investigates the artists who have lived and worked in Venice, their styles, and contributions.

10:00-11:00

The origins of Venetian art

11:00-11:15

Tea, Coffee, and Pastries

11:15-11:30

The Golden Age

11:30-12:30

Lunch

12:30-13:30

Poets, painters, and private lives

13:30-14:30

One of the most original British artists of his generation, Spencer’s art was dominated by his personal life and his profound religious faith. This lecture will examine the eccentric and visionary world of one of the most creative imaginative British painters of the 20th century.

Landscape photography is a way of life and is an essential method of expression for Charlie Waite. “It is the creative act of the artist-photographer who, in visualising a poetic or revealing image within the scene in front of him, anticipates what the final print must convey to express what he sees and feels”.

We see how, over the last two centuries, this iconic structure has inspired painters, potters, and poets. Blake, Turner, Constable, and Moore are amongst those who have all been drawn to this magnificent ruin, resulting in a diverse catalogue of images and impressions.

The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings on the streets of Bristol in the 1980s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world. We will examine the reasons behind his incredible rise and discuss what his influence has been on the art market today and look at what his legacy, if any, might be.

We explore how Bach brings the Christmas story alive in his Weihnachtsoratorium or Christmas Oratorio, written for Lutheran congregations in 1730s Leipzig. An overview of Bach’s life and achievement precedes a close look at this magnificent work which draws on various forms ranging from recitative, arioso, aria, chorale, and instrumental sinfonia through to full-blown choruses.

Sandy Burnett is one of the UK’s most authoritative broadcasters in the field of classical music. His varied career has seen him as author, bassist, conductor, broadcaster and presenter, sharing his passion for music.

After studying music at St Catharine’s College in Cambridge, Sandy worked as music director for the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and in London’s West End.

Following this Sandy became a regular presenter on BBC Radio 3, where he stayed for more than a decade. His 26-part radio series for Irish radio station RTÉ Lyric FM, Great Moments in Classical Music won silver in the Specialist Music category of the PPI Radio Awards.

When he is not on our airwaves, Sandy is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music, and presenter of a related online course covering a thousand years of classical music from the medieval to modern eras. He also devises and leads cultural lecture holidays across Europe to flagship events such as the Leipzig Bachfest and the Sibelius Festival in Finland.

Watercolourist, muralist, ceramist and wood engraver, Eric Ravilius was one of the most distinctive young British artists working between the two World Wars. He is also an artist of increasing interest and popularity. This lecture explores his shortened life.

DAVID HAYCOCK

David read Modern History at Oxford. He has an MA in History of Art and a PhD in British History. The author of a number of books, subjects including Paul Nash and Augustus John. Previously he was Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and Curator of Maritime and Imperial History at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. He is now a freelance writer and lecturer.

Covering 400 years of international jewellery design examining the changes of styles from the pomp of High Renaissance enamelled gold work to the glamour of Harry Winston diamonds. This presentation covers many of the key elements of manufacture and design, including the progress of diamond cutting, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, 19th century Archaeological and Renaissance Revivalism. And much, much more.

Instead of commemorating their own losses, German artists created art forms that responded to questions of apology and atonement: How does a nation of former persecutors mourn its victims? How do you remember what you would rather forget? 

MS ANGELA FINDLAY

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. 

In the past decade Angela’s Anglo-German roots led her to research Germany’s largely unknown post-WW2 process of remembrance and the extraordinary culture of 'counter memorials' and site-specific artworks that emerged to express national shame and apology. With the current debates on statues and monuments, the ways Germany has tried to deal with its dark past is more relevant and inspiring than ever.   

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. 

An open Discovery Day with Gavin Plumley at Boringdon Park Golf Club.

Peter examines Beethoven’s genius as a
composer, whilst setting his extraordinary
story against the backdrop of 19th century
warfare, revolution, and dramatic social
changes. He considers Beethoven’s
exactness in his personal life and as applied
to his compositions with details so subtle
they are often unseen.
 

Karen looks at the French revolution, with
life-risking-adventurous English women
writers visiting Paris, and some participating
in the upheavals and witnessing events in or
out of bed. Mary Wollstonecraft is there for
the execution of Louis XVI. Grace Dalrymple
Elliott hides the governor of the Tuileries
Palace between the two mattresses in her
own bed. This lecture is colourfully enriched
and illustrated by many artistic observers,
British and French.
 

Julia explores ‘Caravaggism’, the influence
of his style with contemporary artists in his
lifetime across Europe, inspiring Gentileschi,
Rubens, van Honthorst and Rembrant. Each
artist absorbing different aspects of his work.
She highlights Caravaggio’s dramatic and
criminal life whilst examining the reasons
why his influence was so far reaching.
 

Timothy talks about the theories and his
practical experiences of ‘painting’ a garden.
The principles of using colours by Gertrude
Jekyll, Turner, Monet, Jackson Pollock, and
others are also explored in an inspirational
manner. The talk includes ways of applying
these principles in designing a border.
 

Toby’s book Stradivarius: Five violins, one cello
and a genius, was described in The New York
Times as more enthralling, earthy and
illuminating than any fiction could be. This lecture
explores the magic of Stradivari linking Vienna to New York.

Catherine considers the Christmas and wintry
scenes as depicted by artists in Cornwall from
1880-1940.This talk looks at how they depicted
wintery and Christmas scenes in Cornwall as well
as the many hand-painted Christmas cards they
sent each other and their friends and families.

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. Louise is not completely new to us. Last year she knocked our socks off with an enthralling lecture full and deep in knowledge underpinned by hands-on field experience. She does not just talk about her subject in a vicarious manner, she takes us by the hand and shares what she has done at first hand in discovering the finest of ancient treasures. But there’s more. She informs with great vivacity, and humour in a stunningly entertaining manner. There are many nuggets of interest imparted in the by-the-way manner of someone without peer in her profession and who has the confidence to handle all manner of subjects thrown at her. Her audience vote last year was one of the season’s highest. So, we are delighted to offer the opportunity of being entertained yet again by Louise’s new lecture telling us about her experiences as curator in the British Museum followed by her adventures in Albania, Mesopotamia and on to Ethiopia in search of the Queen of Sheba. Not to be missed, but hang on to your socks.

Douglas defuses some of the mixed reactions
from art lovers associated with Picasso and
Cubism. He follows Picasso’s career in Spain,
and on to Paris where his Blue Period was
transformed into the daring experiments
expressed as Cubism. The talk examines his
ideas often breaking every rule of painting, and
yet despite this, his standing remains as a
classical painter in the long tradition of western
art.
 

Ian investigates the world of Grayson Perry best
known for his outlandish appearances dressed as
Claire. He is now a core part of the art
establishment, a Turner Prize winner, Royal
Academician, popular and colourful character.
Often controversial, he tackles difficult subjects in
a poignant yet witty way and holds a mirror up to
society.
 

Alexandra assesses the use of man’s most loyal
friend in art as in life, projecting ambitions and
anxieties. Thus, the significances of Landseer,
Queen Victoria’s favourite animal painter, the
dachshunds of Bonnard and Picasso, the xolos of
Kahlo, the whippets of Freud and many more are
appreciated.
 

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

Leslie Primo holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. he was Visiting Lecturer in Art History at the University of Reading in 2005 and 2007, gave lectures and guided tours, plus special talks at both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery for 18 years. Currently Leslie lectures at the City Literary Institute, Imperial College, London, and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

Established in 1984 and causing controversy almost every year since then, the Turner Prize is regarded by many as a great showcase for British avantgarde art, and by others as conceptualist rubbish. Nevertheless, the exhibitions each autumn continue to draw larger and larger crowds. This lecture looks at great winners (and losers) from the past and clarifies the ideas behind the annual competition.

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

The Tygers of Wrath are wiser than the Horses of Instruction [William Blake]      William Blake: Poet, Painter and Philosopher; Rebel, Radical, and Revolutionary. Called a man without a mask by his friends, Blake was always less ahead of his time than outside it, creating his own mythology to tell the truths he perceived as the heart of all existence. Yet he was also a passionate participant in the world of his own day and his paintings and poetry, shaped and conditioned by life in England under George III and the long shadows of revolutionary Europe and America, are as particular and specific eighteenth century London as they are timeless and universal. Blake in his lifetime was called mad as often as visionary; his work remains ambiguous and contradictory: enjoyed by schoolchildren while continuing to baffle scholars. This lecture examines the phenomenon of William Blake and his paradoxical way of seeing the world, which challenged orthodoxy of all kinds and continues to do so.

Justine Hopkins studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute. Has lectured regularly for Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, as well as to Oxbridge and Bristol Universities, Christie's Fine Art, the Art Fund, and groups such as the Bradford on Avon Arts Association, Friends of Covent Garden and U3A. Publications include, amongst others, The Art of John Martin (2001), Michael Ayrton: A Biography (1994) and articles for Apollo Magazine and Modern Painters. Justine has also broadcast on Flowers in Art for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

This lecture explores how a musician from a relatively obscure German state came to transform the musical life of Britain, from his arrival in 1710 to his death in 1759, and beyond. He created some of the finest music for ceremonial occasions and during his lifetime was the one composer to whom people turned when they wanted to celebrate a national event. He invented the English oratorio which is central to much of the professional and amateur music-making up and down the country. The lecture explores this most British of composers and is illustrated with a variety of musical examples, some well-known, others less familiar. 

Roger Askew 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. Roger is President Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society and Chairman of Windsor and Maidenhead Decorative and Fine Arts Society.

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. 

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 Nicola 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), and has published on Walter Richard Sickert. She is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

Charles John Huffam Dickens brought into the world a staggering array of wonderful characters with orphans, starving children, misers, murderers and abusive school teachers among them. People such as Mr Micawber, Fagin and Abel Magwitch remain in one’s literary psyche long after the books are put down. Largely self-educated, Dickens possessed the genius to become the greatest writer of his age with 15 major novels and countless short stories and articles. In his lecture Bertie Pearce looks at the life and places of Dickens through his characters. The talk is interspersed with readings of this works. A truly Dickensian experience. 

Bertie Pearce 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. Bertie has also written articles for newspapers and magazines on entertainment and theatre.

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 that are still much loved today. On the way we examine the origins of some of the stories used in pantomime as well as such traditions as the (female) principal boy and the (male) pantomime dame. The talk is interspersed with personal anecdotes from the speaker’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. He began giving lectures in 1997, and now gives on average around 140 a year. 

This lecture looks at ordinary working people: skilled and unskilled workers in both urban and agricultural environments, craftsmen, artisans, shopkeepers, domestic servants, entertainers, prostitutes, beggars, paupers, slaves. Throughout the history of western art, they have always been there: for centuries as mute observers, background detail or comic relief. But as the world changes, art changes, and this talk will discuss the move of low-life subject matter from the despised and vulgar fringes of popular taste into the respectable mainstream; and out again into political radicalism and avant- garde edginess. 

Linda holds two first-class degrees in Art History. A broad knowledge of art historical subjects, but specialises in British Art and twentieth century art. Experienced lecturer and guide, especially at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Has lectured to a wide variety of audiences in different venues, including school and university students, and independent arts societies in the UK and overseas.

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

Rosamund has a Doctorate from Oxford and has held senior university posts, most recently at the European University Institute in Florence. Specialises in comparative study of art, music and literature, and currently writing a book on the Russian Avant-Garde and European Modernism. Author of several books, including biographies of Tolstoy and Chekhov, whose works she has also translated for Oxford World's Classics. Extensive experience lecturing in Russian cultural history at venues such as the V&A, the National Theatre and Covent Garden, and broadcasts regularly on the BBC. Often invited to lecture on tours, and is founding Director of the Anton Chekhov Foundation, set up to preserve the writer's house in Yalta.

In Spring 2000 an archaeological drama began to unfold on the banks of the Euphrates river in Turkey, close to the border with Syria. A small team of French and Turkish archaeologists found a Roman city on the banks of the river, with mosaics and wall-paintings finer than those of Pompeii. However, just beside them was the almost completed Birecik Dam, and the Turks had begun to flood the great reservoir behind it, taking the city under water. This lecture tells the story of the extraordinary archaeological rescue excavation that then took place (racing the waters for four and a half months as they rose at a rate of two feet a day) and the fabulous treasures recovered, including mosaic floors depicting colourful scenes from myth and legend. recovered, including mosaic floors depicting colourful scenes from myth and legend.

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.

This lecture looks at the development of British art in the 18th century, when home-grown artists found their own style, drawing on - but also free from - the overbearing influence of art from mainland Europe. The story is told through the art and lives of William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, George Stubbs and Joseph Wright of Derby. The establishment of the Royal Academy in 1768, led by Reynolds, also saw a prominence given to art in Britain that had hitherto not existed. Hogarth distanced himself from the Royal Academy as he regarded it as elitist. Gainsborough, Stubbs and Wright all had difficult relationships with it in general, and with Reynolds in particular. A backdrop to the story of 18th century art in Britain – which will be explored in the lecture - was the emergence of ideas and social systems throughout Europe built on rationality – that is, the Age of Reason. While Reynolds ‘ruled the roost’ in those days, the lecture will ask ‘whose paintings from that time have most resonance and allure today?’ This lecture will be jargon-free with audience engagement, backed by high quality slides.

Raymond 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. An experienced public speaker who has given presentations and lectures on a range of themes to diverse audiences over many years.

We have an extra lecture for members on Thursday May 27th at 11.00 entitled “ Fake News” given by Dr. Geri Parlby. Dr. Parlby is a member of our Society and also a very experienced Arts Society lecturer. She agreed to deliver us an extra lecture to lift our spirits in lockdown and the Committee are very grateful to her. We will be donating the remuneration for the lecture to The Tavistock Heritage Society at her request.  

 By identifying the clues and shibboleths, Geri's lecture will entertain and inform. Geri will explore the glories of  Ancient Mesopotamia, the artefacts of the Norman Conquest, the treasures of Elizabethan England and examine the intended messages in the dark days of Nazi Germany.

The link to join the lecture on line will be forwarded to members the day before.

Ralph's interest is mid eighteenth century English Rococo silver. He brings with him the pieces he is going to talk about for the listeners to handle and examine, together with a comprehensive collection of power point images, with close ups of features of interest. The Huguenot influence on this most decorative period is discussed, where new silversmithing techniques fused with new designs; together with methods of manufacture, interpreting the engraved heraldry of the items, and the social context.

He makes the talk entertaining as well as informative by taking the audience on a journey to uncover the original owners by tracing the heraldry, shows portraits of them, and reveals some of the life story associated with them; fabulously wealthy aristocrats and middling sorts, they variously had a stint in the Tower of London, had tragic family circumstances, had their descendents gamble away their estates, found their wife in a bed she should certainly not have been in, or were dragged to their death in an overturned carriage. Knowing the exploits of these original owners of these pieces adds considerably to their interest and brings another dimension to the handling.

Ralph Hoyle: Ralph Hoyle was a schoolboy member of the Wine Label Circle, a society devoted to the study of silver decanters labels, and went on to be its President. He is a long standing member of the Silver Society. He has given talks to the Art Fund, Sheffield Assay Office, American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies, Historic Houses and small charity raising events. He brings pieces from his own collection for the audience to handle and examine while he is discussing design, social context and makes revelations about the original owners he has identified from the heraldry.

Since the middle of the sixteenth century, the Cavendish familyhas moved in and out of the pages of history, sometimes making its mark with politics, sometimes with learning, sometimes with wickedness, and always with style. This lecture introduces you to two of the family's most important houses, Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall, and tells the story of their building and remodelling. We'll also meet some of the most intriguing members of the family, including Bess of Hardwick, the four-times-married founder of the dynasty; the 1st Duke of Devonshire, labelled "the most dissolute man in London"; and the Bachelor Duke, amiable custodian of the dukedom in the early nineteenth century.

An evening of architecture, collecting and not a little scandal.

Dr Gillian White specialises in the history and visual arts of late medieval and sixteenth-century England. After beginning her career at the Warwickshire Museum, she then worked for the National Trust as Curator/Collections Manager at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, about which she wrote her PhD at Warwick University. Since that she taught part-time at Leicester University in the Centre for the Study of the Country House and continues to teach History of Art in the Department of Continuing Education at Oxford University and elsewhere.

Using illustrations from carvings, wall paintings, pottery, mosaics, sculpture, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, and 18th and 19th century art, Sarah traces the history of one of the world's most ancient and beloved musical instruments from thousands of years BC, to its arrival in northern Europe, including the huge developments and improvements during the Renaissance and 19th centuries that created the highly mechanised and beautiful instrument we see played in orchestras and as solo instruments today. Performing on her own reproduction and antique instruments, Sarah will demonstrate the development and evolving sound and repertoire of the harp throughout its history.

Sarah Deere-Jones: Sarah is a graduate and prize-winner from the Royal Academy of Music and in 2015 was elected an Associate. She performs, writes and lectures about the harp regularly in America, Australia, Europe and UK. All lectures are presented digitally and include live music and songs on harps and other instruments depending on subject matter. 

Founded in 1919 in Weimar, the Bauhaus was a progressive art school. Under the directorship of architect Walter Gropius, its students studied a broad range of artistic disciplines. The Bauhaus lasted for a 14-year period, with bases in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, and during that time it not only came to typify an age but also dictate matters of style for decades to come, through its art, architecture and design. This talk looks at some of the movers and shakers behind this hugely influential movement, including Marianne Brandt, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, as well as exploring their legacy in our world and homes today. 

Gavin Plumley: A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for history of art societies and The Art Fund. 

Possibly the greatest figure painter of the second half of the 20th century, Lucian Freud, also led an extraordinary life, from his family’s escape from the Hitler regime in the 1930’s to his colourful and combative life in London. This talk will look at his unforgettable paintings (many of which have a penetrative scrutiny that is almost the visual equivalent of his grandfather Sigmund’s analysis of patients) as well as his relations with his models and fellow artists.

John Iddon: Lecturer and Guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Ran an MA course in Heritage Interpretation at St Mary's University College. Has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the National Trust and the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice. Lectures on art for cruises. In 2012, he wrote the new guidebook to the newly opened Strawberry Hill.

A contemporary of Shakespeare informs us that ‘a ship is sooner rigged by far than a Gentlewoman made ready’. In The Winter’s Tale Autolycus peddles ‘pins and poking sticks of steel’, seductive smocks, perfumed gloves, bugle beads and other irresistible items. What were these objects and what was their role in the ‘art’ of dress?  Moral messages and secretive signals in emblematic jewellery and embroidery contributed to Elizabeth I’s image as the ‘Virgin Queen’. Elizabethan and Jacobean portraits will be decoded, focusing on the life (and untimely death) of Prince Henry, and the sartorial splendour of his sister’s wedding in 1613.  

Jacqui Ansell: Jacqui read History of Art and Theory at the University of Essex before going on to gain an MA in History of Dress from the Courtauld Institute. Formerly an Education Officer at the National Gallery, London, and a tutor and writer for the Open University, she has a wide range of teaching experience. She continues to lecture regularly on the public programmes of the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery and to publish on court dress, Grand Tour portraiture and Welsh Costume as well as dress as a cultural marker and indicator of class, gender, national and professional identity. Jacqui is a senior lecturer at Christie's Education, London.

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

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

Inspired by the Australian landscape and the major art galleries in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide I have created a lecture that explores its extraordinary climatic contrasts prompted by Dorothea McKellar’s celebratory poem My Country. The patterned hands of ancient Aboriginal cave paintings, the dreams of pioneers, the unique botanical treasures, the glorious light captured by the Heidelberg School, Australia’s own Impressionists, and finally the rediscovery of its indigenous art. In 2008 I presented a BBC Radio Four series called A Sunparched Country for which I researched and travelled around eastern Australia.

Caroline Holmes: Has lectured in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe, Japan and on cruises to the Baltic, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indian Ocean. In 2017 she returned to The Arts Society in New Zealand. Lectures for the University of Cambridge ICE (Course Director for International Summer Programme), the Royal Horticultural Society, museums, and specialist travel companies. Consultant designer specializing in evoking historic, artistic and symbolic references. Author of 11 books including Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s water lilies; Impressionists in their Gardens; Follies of Europe: Architectural Extravaganzas; Monet at Giverny and Icons of Garden Design. Theatre productions: How does your garden grow Mr. Shakespeare and Impressionists in their Gardens: living light and colour. Presenter and contributor on television and BBC Radio 4. 2017 recipient of the Herb Society of America ‘Elizabeth Crisp Rea Award’.

In the early seventh century a great ship was dragged ashore from the River Deben in Suffolk. It became the burial place of a powerful Anglo-Saxon warlord, buried with a mound of treasures from all over the known world. Fine weaponry, gold coins and exquisitely crafted jewellery revealed levels of sophistication which were a revelation. The aim of the lecture is to examine the finds in turn, partly to appreciate them in their own right and partly to explore what insights they offer and what questions they pose about their world.  

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

Armour was one of the great Renaissance art forms, not just equipment for war. It is also costume, of a profoundly impressive and intimidating kind. The plastic qualities of the iron and steel used to create it mean that it can be sculpted into whatever extraordinary form the master armourer artist could imagine. As the cultural and literary influences on chivalry diversified, so too did the ways in which knights and noblemen wished to portray themselves.
 

Toby Capwell is Curator of Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection in London, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and an internationally acknowledged expert on Medieval and Renaissance weapons. He appears regularly on TV and in 2015 escorted the remains of King Richard III from the Battlefield at Bosworth to their resting place in Leicester Cathedral, on horseback and in full armour!

A celebrated and prolific 20th century American painter and illustrator
whose work has probably been seen by a larger audience than any other
artist in History! His works enjoy broad popular appeal in America, where
Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of scenes of everyday
life he created for the Saturday Evening Post. Today his works sell for
millions of dollars.

John Ericson was a lecturer at the University of Bath. He has worked extensively
overseas as an educational consultant.

George William Joy’s painting of the death of General Gordon on the steps of the governor’s palace in Khartoum was not even mentioned in The Times’ report on the Royal Academy exhibition of 1894. Although ignored by critics and dismissed as inaccurate by scholars, Joy’s painting became one of the iconic images of the British Empire. Using a host of unpublished illustrations, this lecture will explore how Joy’s vision captivated so many and came to define how the British Empire was remembered as a force promoting civilization over savagery.

Max Jones, formerly a Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ’s College, Cambridge, Max now teaches at the University of Manchester and is a recent winner of the University’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ award. He specializes in the cultural history of war and heroism, and is currently writing a new history of British heroes.

The lecture will cover 400 years of international jewellery design, examining the changing styles from the pomp of High Renaissance enamelled gold work to the glamour of Harry Winston diamonds. This presentation covers many of the key elements of manufacture, history and diamond mining together with past and future designs. Other important areas covered include Cartier and the introduction of platinum jewellery as a statement of style and the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor. 

John Benjamin is a writer, broadcaster, speaker, jewellery expert and valuer on diamonds, gems and jewellery, John is a regular contributor to the BBC’s ever popular television series Antiques Roadshow.

The work of women photographers has often been unfairly neglected. This lecture seeks to correct that by examining the contribution of three outstanding British practitioners: Julia Margaret Cameron, a Victorian pioneer; Jane Bown, a brilliant portraitist; and Fay Godwin who excelled in landscape photography. We also explore the work of two highly influential Americans: Dorothea Lange, who produced brilliant documentary images; and Annie Leibovitz, who continues to both surprise and delight her audience.

Brian Stater’s chief interests lie in photography, architecture and history. 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.

Throughout her life Queen Victoria painted and sketched. There are delightful watercolours and sketches of the people around her, together with revealing self-portraits. With slides from the Royal Collection at Windsor of Victoria’s watercolours and sketches, together with paintings, portraits and cartoons of the early 19th century.

Karin Fernald is an actor, writer and speaker. She has appeared at festivals in England and on tour in Japan, Australia, Europe and at the University of Cape Town Summer School.

Orpheus could quite literally charm the birds out of the trees with his music – yet he failed to bring his beloved Eurydice safely out of the Underworld. Not surprisingly the tale of how the legendary singer lost his lover through a single glance has inspired much great music (including the first masterpiece of opera, Monteverdi’s Orfeo) and visual artists have responded to this tragic story of love and loss. Explore the wealth of art and music on the theme of Orpheus, with a rich array of paintings and musical examples from Monteverdi, Gluck and Offenbach, even taking in the Can-Can!

Dr Lois Oliver studied English Literature at Cambridge University and History of Art at The Courtauld Institute, completing a MA in Renaissance art. She has appeared on TV programmes for the BBC and Chanel 5. Also a keen violinist she plays regularly with groups including the St. Endellion Festival Orchestra.

90 Years of Excellence in Cover Design

Since its foundation in 1925, Faber and Faber is the last of the great publishing houses to remain independent. This lecture traces its history through its illustrations, covers and designs. It features artists from Rex Whistler and Barnett Freedman to Peter Blake and Damien Hirst. Slides will range from book covers and photos of key individuals to illustrations of the concepts behind the designs. The talk is also peppered with personal insight and anecdote, whether it is Lord of The Flies being rescued off the slush pile, or the decision made while he was Managing Director to turn down Life of Pi.

Toby Faber is the grandson of its founder and grew up steeped in its books. His career began with Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has been through investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director where he remains on the board.

One of the most derided towns in England, renowned for its dullness; Basingstoke is distinguished only by its numerous roundabouts and absurd Modernist architecture. Hilariously told, it is a story that neatly illustrates the ugliest episode in England’s architectural history. As Betjeman wrote prophetically, “What goes for Basingstoke goes for most English towns”.

Rupert Willoughby explains how the post-war planners, who inflicted such features as ‘the Great Wall of Basingstoke’ on the town, were politically motivated and bent on destroying all traces of its past. He reveals the nobler Basingstoke that is buried beneath the concrete and the few historic gems that have survived.

Rupert Willoughby is a prize-winning historian who specialises in the domestic and social life of the past. He has a First Class Honours Degree in History, is an experienced lecturer and occasional broadcaster on a broad range of topics, with an interest in architecture, interior decoration and costume.

Three Empresses of China and the Fate of the Imperial Art Collection

In Ancient China, the phoenix, a bird of myth and legend, symbolised the Empress, consort to the Dragon Emperor. This lecture focuses on three individual Empresses who lived in the Forbidden City from the 18th century to the end of empire in 1911. Their history reaches back to a golden age of art patronage and expansion of the vast Imperial collection, through the opium wars and twilight days of Empire, to the Warlord era of the 20th century when the art collection was plundered by Palace eunuchs.

Anne Haworth is a lecturer at the V&A and guide for private tours of the State Rooms and The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. In autumn 2002 she catalogued a collection of Chinese porcelain at Kensington Palace and went on to be a Committee Member of the Porcelain Society. From 1981-1995 she trained and became a Senior Ceramics Specialist at Christies and Bonhams Head Offices, and from 1995-2002 she was resident in Shanghai.

Not Just a Load of Old Stones

How and why our art (even in our modern homes) owes so much to the Romans. When the Romans invaded in AD 43 they came to stay and they brought with them not just their soldiers and their language, but their culture, way of life and art. We tap into what archaeology can tell us about the lives of ancient Britons as they adapted to Roman rule. As town life became the way ahead, art and skills flourished and became embedded in our society. We look at our own modern lives too and explore the continuing impact of Rome’s invasion of Britain. We are still a product of Ancient Rome and, after this talk, your own homes will never look the same again! 

Gillian Hovell has a BA (Hons) Latin and Ancient History, Exeter University, and then branched out into archaeology. She has worked for the BBC, lectured for the British Museum and York University and is an award-winning writer and author who specialises in relating the ancient world to our modern lives in person, in the field, on line and in the media (most recently on Radio 4).

The Magical Art of Hollywood

Inside stories of the art and artifice of the early decades of Hollywood as well as the work of stills photographers, costumiers, publicists, actors and actresses, and the movie moguls who made it all happen.

Dr Geri Parlby is a former Fleet Street journalist and film publicist. Geri has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Master in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, and a Theology Doctorate from Roehampton University.

Jacob Epstein

When Sir Jacob Epstein died in 1959 he was one of the most famous and respected sculptors working in Britain and had produced some of the best-loved and admired monumental works in the country. However, most of his career had been dogged by ferocious criticism, public ridicule and anti-Semitism, often aimed as much at his highly unusual domestic arrangements as at his art. This lecture examines Epstein's life and work closely in order to explain what he was trying to achieve and why his pioneering career caused such bitter controversy in his time.

Linda Smith is a well qualified art historian with a broad range of knowledge and a special interest in British art and the art of the twentieth century. She works as a guide and lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London. 

A tale of Victorian Duplicity

On October 16th 1834 the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire.  This lecture looks at the story of its rebuilding, the work of Augustus Pugin and Charles Barry. Both architects were well established at the time and it was their co-operation that led to the creation of the current iconic Houses of Parliament. It is a story full of dissembling, of penny-pinching and mistrust.  At a time when the Palace of Westminster is about to be restored and developed, we can learn much from story of the first rebuilding. 

Christopher Rogers read Geography at Oxford. Formerly Head of Geography at Downe House School Newbury he became interested in country house architecture whilst at Oxford and has lectured for the National Trust.

Street Art and the City

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

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

Laura Johnson was made a Dame in 1929 for her services to art and in 1936 became one of the first women to be elected as a full Royal Academician. She was also a member of the Royal Watercolour Society, the Royal Society of Painter-Etcher. This talk will trace the artist’s style of painting from her early years as a student at Nottingham School of Art followed by the work she did at Staithes in Yorkshire. There is then a particular emphasis on her time in Cornwall between 1907-1919, as the light, landscape and artists she encountered there had a powerful effect on her art. Her important years as an official war artist in the Second World War complete this overview.

Catherine Wallace studied Fine art at Leeds and Canterbury followed by a Master’s degree in Art history and Museum studies at St Andrews University. She moved to Cornwall in 1993 where she managed Falmouth Art Gallery for 8 years, ran her own arts agency promoting Cornish contemporary art for 4 years and then managed a commercial gallery selling historic and contemporary art in Cornwall for nearly 10 years.

 How the advertising industry has exploited fine art 

Fine art has provided advertisers and their agencies with a great deal of material to use in their creative campaigns. This talk describes some of the processes by which these advertisements have been created and why the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo have been a particularly rich source. From the Renaissance through to the present day, fine art continues to provide opportunities to enhance Brand imagery with admiration, humour, satire and irony. In what should be an entertaining and informative lecture, Tony Rawlins uses a wide range of visuals and video to show examples of the original works, the creative process and (not always entirely successful) advertisements that are the end result.

Tony Rawlins started his career in advertising in 1965 as a mail boy in J. Walter Thompson. He worked as account director in a number of agencies before setting up on his own in 1985, primarily to handle Guinness accounts in Africa and the Caribbean, where he produced many commercials and ads for them over a period of 15 years.

Akhenaten (c1352 – 1336BC) is probably the most controversial of all the Egyptian pharaohs. He made extraordinary changes to the religion and art, all the more striking when we consider how conventional the ancient Egyptians tended to be in these respects. He replaced the traditional polytheistic religion with the worship of one solar deity, and the art is unlike that of any other pharaoh’s reign. His wife was Nefertiti, arguably the most famous queen of pharaonic Egypt. Her bust displaced in Berlin is iconic. Together they continue to fascinate.  

Lucia Gahlin is an occasional lecturer for the University of Bristol’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, and teaches for the University of Exeter’s Graduate School of Education. Formerly a Trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society, she is Chair of the Friends of the Petrie Museum and helps to organise lectures and study days bringing specialists in Egyptian archaeology to UCL students. She is also Deputy Director of Bloomsbury Summer School affiliated. She leads study tours to Egypt and lectures around the world, most recently in Australia and New Zealand.

In October 1888 Paul Gauguin arrived in Arles to stay at the Yellow House with Vincent van Gogh. At first the friendship worked well and the two artists went out to paint in the countryside around Arles. However divisions soon appeared. Gauguin tried to persuade Van Gogh to paint from memory which Van Gogh found difficult and unsatisfactory. Gauguin found Van Gogh’s wild enthusiasms and constant talking about art and the future difficult to accept and disliked his impetuous way of painting. Van Gogh became increasingly jealous of Gauguin’s success with the local women and the fact that he was selling pictures through Theo Van Gogh, while Vincent could sell nothing. Everything came to a head on December 23rd 1888 when Gauguin fled the Yellow House fearing for his life, while Van Gogh cut off part of his ear and delivered it in a box to the local brothel. Much has been written about this episode, but who was to blame and what really happened?  

Julian Halsby was born in North London and went to Highgate School, winning an Exhibition to Emmanuel College Cambridge History of Art. During a gap year between Highgate and Cambridge he studied at the British Institute in Florence which developed his interest in art history. After Cambridge he began lecturing in a number of London art colleges, eventually becoming a full-time lecturer at Croydon College of Art where he rose to become Senior Lecturer and Head of the Post-Graduate Conservation Department. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and appointed Keeper in 2010.

The 17c English garden was a highly formal creation based on the very latest fashions coming out of France and spiced with some Dutch plantsmanship under the influence William of Orange. 18th century architecture and gardening was a complete reaction to the Baroque formalism and symmetry period. Van Brugh, a thorough baroque, if maverick genius, foresaw the rise of the Romanticism, while Repton, at the end of the century, tamed the excesses of the Picturesque period.

As the century progressed, the trend towards naturalism intensified; the Arcadian landscape of William Kent, inspired by the Grand Tour and created by, and for, the classically educated dilettante were transformed in to an Elysian vision by Capability Brown. The absolute monarchs who promenaded the formal parterres in 1700 were replaced in Kent’s gardens by the gods and goddesses of classical Rome. By mid century the nymphs and dryads were chased away by swains and shepherdess and, by the end of the century, even they were gone, replaced by picturesque ruggedness and Gothic horror. 

James Bolton is a garden designer and historian who set up his garden design business in 1992 following time spent with the Direction des Parcs et Jardins in Paris and two years as head gardener at the Old Rectory, Farnborough.  Since then he has been involved with a specialist perennial plant nursery and designed gardens throughout England, in the US and Portugal and was Faculty Director of Design History at the Inchbald School of Design.

The question of authenticity is so important in the Art world. For a gallery owner, knowing whether what is offered for sale is genuine and being able to convince a buyer of its authenticity must be vital. The financial pages of the newspapers in reacting to the dramatic falls in the stock market just recently are advising us to consider other investments such as art or wine. You might have a picture handed down through the family and be tempted to estimate its value and want to know what documentary evidence you need to persuade others that it is genuine.  

Viv Hendra studied at both Cambridge and Exeter Universities. He is an authority on John Opie and is consulted by private individuals and galleries in New York and London. He published ‘The Cornish Wonder – a Portrait of John Opie’ in 2007.

A knowledge of human anatomy is the foundation stone of the practice of modern medical science.  

Leonardo da Vinci was not a physician so why did he study anatomy? Not only did he believe that art was based on a scientific understanding of everything depicted but he subscribed to the hypothesis that man was a microcosm of the universe and, if the form and function of man could be explained, then the universe would be better understood. 

This talk explores the way in which Leonardo acquired his knowledge of anatomy from experience via extrapolation to human dissection and ties in with the chronology of his travels and well-known artistic achievements.  It is illustrated with examples of his anatomical drawings and reflects the extraordinary accuracy of his findings.  

Guy Rooker does not come from a background in the arts but from the world of science in general and surgery in particular. He is a retired surgeon with a lifelong passion, fascination, and admiration for the work of Leonardo da Vinci and considers that the contribution Leonardo has made to both the world of art and the investigation of scientific concepts to be quite unique and extraordinary in the way that so many of his pioneering investigations have contributed to the understanding of our world today.

Since the end of the 15th century when Wynkyn de Worde set up England’s first printing press, and after 1702 when the first newspaper, the Daily Courant, moved in, the term “Fleet Street” has been synonymous with newspaper journalism. In this lecture we will be looking at the ups and downs of this notorious ‘Street of Shame’ via the art that illustrated its stories. 

Geri Parlby is a former Fleet Street journalist and film PR. She has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate. She has been lecturing for the past eleven years and now heads up the Visual Arts distance learning programme for Exeter University and is principal lecturer on NADFAS South West Area’s History of Art Foundation Certificate at the University of Plymouth. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Roehampton.

This lecture, aimed to coincide with the 2017 Tate Britain Retrospective celebrating Hockney’s 80th  birthday, will look at the artist’s journey from Bradford to Swinging 1960’s London and then to hedonistic California and back to Bridlington and his ambitious and extraordinary paintings of the Yorkshire Wolds in the 2012 Royal Academy Exhibition. The talk will also look at his art since 2012 and consider generally how, like his hero Picasso, his career has been marked by a restless seeking of challenge and experimentation. 

John Iddon is a Lecturer and Guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern and ran an MA course in Heritage Interpretation at St Mary's University College. He has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the National Trust and to the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice.

Morning lecture at Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth, commencing at 10.30am. 

Agatha Christie Queen of Crime and Duchess of Death 

Only outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare, what accounts for her worldwide success?    What inspired her to create Poirot, as popular today as in 1916?   Murder on the Orient Express has its premiere next month.  Why were so many Hollywood stars so keen to star in it?   Far from global fame, visit her beloved Devon through her eyes.  Discover her deadly dispensary of poisons and uncover aspects of her life with as many twists and turns as her thrillers.  

The Medicis were in many ways an unattractive family. Ruthless in pursuit of profit for their Florentine bank, which had branches in every city of the known world, they were greedy for success, merciless to those who opposed their ambition and vicious in their own internal squabbles. And yet without them we wouldn’t have Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”, the Fra Angelico frescoes in San Marco, Donatellos “David” or the majestic Michelangelo sculptures in the Medici chapel.The Platonic Academy wouldn’t have been founded and the doors for the Baptistry would never have been cast. This lecture looks into the turbulent history of this extraordinary family. The triumphs and tragedies, the intrigues and plots; the assassination attempts, the years of exile and their perpetual desire to glorify the family name in works of art, which was to result in some of the greatest achievements of the Italian Renaissance. 

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

In these years of World War II Anniversaries the subject of this talk is hugely relevant. Relatively little is known in this country about Germany’s complex post-war process of remembrance and the counter memorial movement that started there in the 1980s and continues to this day.

Instead of commemorating their own losses Germany’s artists looked to creating art forms that would respond to questions of apology and atonement: How does a nation of former persecutors mourn its victims? The idea behind counter memorials is to keep the memories and lessons of the past alive in the individual psyches of the people. The results are extraordinary, brave, and inspiring.

With her Anglo-German roots, artistic background and years of research, Angela Findlay is in an ideal position to give insights into Germany’s fascinating and on-going efforts to find artistic forms for the remembrance of the victims of one of history’s darkest periods.

Frank Matcham was an English theatrical architect and designer. He was known for his designs of many British theatres including those of the Moss Empires group and, in London, the Hackney Empire (1901), the London Coliseum (1904), the London Palladium (1910) and the Victoria Palace (1911).

Born in Newton Abbot, Devon, Matcham was apprenticed to the architect, George Sondon Bridgeman, before moving to London where he joined the architectural practice of Jethro Robinson, who was at that time consulting theatre architect to the Lord Chamberlain's office. He completed his first solo design of the Elephant and Castle theatre which opened in June 1879. 

Simon Rees began his career as a lecturer at Kyoto University and for 23 years gave pre-performance talks for the Welsh National Opera.  He is a novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist.  He currently lectures on opera, song, orchestral and chamber music, fiction, poetry and art and has lectured on opera tours, taking groups of opera lovers to festivals all over Europe.

Painted in 1434, this small painting of an Italian merchant and his wife is a dazzling display of the newly exploited medium of oil painting. The lecture places the portrait in the context of 15th century Bruges and examines it in relation to other works by van Eyck and also by other Early Netherlandish and Italian artists.  It looks at symbolism and the different and intriguing interpretations of the picture.  It also charts the extraordinary journeys this painted oak panel has taken over the centuries.

The music, architecture and manuscript illumination of medieval England are among the greatest achievements of any period of English cultural history.

The aim of the lecture is to open a window onto this remarkable world to capture something of the essence of its religious and secular music, its Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and its equally rich span of manuscript illumination, both sacred and profane. Essentially inspirational and aspirational, these are forms of artistic endeavour which can touch the sublime.

The fame of the Queen of Sheba has lasted across the many intervening centuries since she made her epic journey from her distant land to the court of King Solomon.  A passage in the Bible’s Book of Kings has immortalised this Queen and the journey she made, her camel laden with gold and incense as gifts for the King of Jerusalem. The talk looks at how the Queen of Sheba has captured the imagination of great artists, inspired epic films and has led archaeologists to go in search of her land – a search that has led to discoveries of great temples, tombs and treasures.

This lecture will be held at the Royal Western Yacht Club, starting at 10.30.

Violet Pinwill and her sisters, Mary and Ethel, trained as woodcarvers in Ermington and took the momentous step of setting up their own business in about 1890. Success followed as the business moved to Plymouth. After Mary and Ethel departed, Violet ran the company single-handedly for about 50 years. At the time of her death in 1957, over 80 churches in Devon and Cornwall contained carvings by the Pinwills.

This lecture is divided into two parts, looking principally at the changes to the famous City of London skyline viewed from across the River Thames.  The first part gives a thumbnail sketch of how the City grew upwards from Roman times to the late 19th century.   The second part concentrates on 20th and 21st centuries. 

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

The Christmas tree is arguably the most iconic aspect of our midwinter celebrations, yet how much do we actually know about its origins and history.  Peter Medhurst delves into the past – as far back as the Book of Genesis – in order to tell the story of this remarkable ‘German toy’, as Dickens described it. Music performed includes: Adam lay ybounden, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree – Elizabeth Postern, O Tannenbaum, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Holy Night –  Adolphe Adam

A morning talk to be held at the Royal Western Yacht Club starting at 10.30.

An illustrated lecture on musical themes in Western Art.

Ever since the mid-nineteenth century, modern art has been (and remains) a popular subject for satire.  Constantly changing and often seemingly bizarre, modern art made an irresistible target for a host of cartoonists, humorous writers and wise-guys. Some artists, such as Gustave Courbet, welcomed their attention in the belief that there was no such thing as bad publicity; others, like Jackson Pollock, were hurt by what they took to be an attack on their integrity. The cartoonists themselves could be funny, cruel and at times extremely perceptive. From the French humourist, Cham, through the work of the gifted staff on the New Yorker, to the Daily Telegraph’s brilliant cartoonist Matt, they provide an absorbing, illuminating and, above all, a funny, revealing and sidelong view of 150 years of modern art.

The lecture explores the sacred art of the 12th century temple complex of Angkor, with special reference to mystical Angkor Wat, the biggest religious monument in the world, a recreation of the Hindu cosmos on earth, covered in exquisite carvings.  Concludes with living arts, showing silkweavers and classical Khmer dancers resplendent in goldspun costumes who perform delicate dances of celebration in front of the temples at sunset.

This lecture 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?

Portraiture has always occupied a special place in British art: from formal commission to casual sketch, intimate miniature to public monument, pictures of people have engaged and challenged the finest artistic minds and talents. This lecture explores some of the results of that relentless pursuit of personality, tracing the not-so-gentle art of British high and low society portraiture from Hogarth, Reynolds and Gainsborough across the centuries to Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.

The history of the sundial outstrips that of the clock by at least 2000 years.  The lecture examines how time has been told down the ages from the perspective of both the sundial and its competitors. It compares what philosophers and poets thought about time and looks at various aspects of the sundial.

An illustrated lecture on the topic of Oscar Wilde and the Aesthetic Movement, and the Cult of Beauty in Art and Design, The Aesthetic Movement believed that art in its various forms should not seek to convey a moral, sentimental or educational message but should give sensual pleasure. Their aim was "to exist beautifully": Art for Art's sake. It ran from about 1860 to 1900.

Morning lecture to be held at the Royal Western Yacht Club starting at 10.30am

Trevor, a medical man, looks at the paintings of El Greco to see if there are any medical signs or symbolism on the canvas. He looks particularly at the eyes and hands to see if there are any hints of a rare genetic disorder in the subject or in the painter himself.

This talk by James Taylor, former curator of Paintings, Drawings and Prints at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, illustrates Darwin's radical theories developed from a remarkable global voyage in HMS 'Beagle' (1831-1836) via the Galapagos Islands, and features the work of official artists Augustus Earl and Conrad Martens to illustrate the Darwin story.

This is the intriguing story of two iconic New York hotels and the creators, designers, and celebrities who met, feasted and lived there. Few realise that the glamorous art deco Waldorf-Astoria hotel on Park Avenue, New York, ‘home in New York to the stars’, had an equally iconic predecessor, the old Waldorf-Astoria on Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, where liveried footmen wore eighteenth century style breeches. Gilded Age meets Jazz Age in splendour.

Artists have long been inspired by summer light, but subtle winter colours can be equally compelling. Subjects are intriguingly various - Bruegel’s animated village scenes, a skating parson, winter fruits, an avalanche by Turner, landscapes under snow from the Impressionists and Cezanne; nearer our own time, works by Georgia O’Keeffe and Terry Frost. A rich variety of artistic responses reflect the time of year.

Probably the most well-known and popular artist of the 20th century,  Dali was a self-publicist who filled gossip columns with accounts of his eccentricities for over sixty years.  His paintings of the invisible world of the unconscious mind were considered shocking, even among a group of extremists such as the Surrealists, but after joining them Dali quickly became their most exotic and well-known member.

Morning lecture to be held at the Royal Western Yacht Club starting at 10.30am.

The first of our morning talks, for which there is no additional charge. The RWYC is in Queen Anne’s Battery, and parking up to two hours is free.  The talk will start at 10.30am, and all will be finished by 11.45am. 

Jenny March, who lives locally is the author of The Penguin Book of Classical Myths and teaches ancient Greek. She will tell us how the Greek Myths have inspired artists down the millennia. 

This lecture transports us back to the 18th century, an age of elegance and taste, wit and satire, extravagant fashions and a complex code of manners. It features Daniel Defoe's magnificent Palladian Palace of "Cannons", a musical evening with Jane Austen and we will be reminded by Lord Chesterfield of the importance of dancing the Minuet with a good grace and air.  These vivid accounts, and others are complemented by music of the period.

This is an in-depth look at the profound mystery of perception. There is an eternal fascination with the unfathomable, the weird ambiguous state of seeing things which are not there – yet are there.  Since Roman times illusions have been used in art.  The stretching and distorting of perspective has been highly developed by artists to create a range of effects on the viewer.

Buckfast Abbey is a unique example of a medieval monastery beautifully rebuilt to its original design and use. Founded in 1018, it is now approaching its millennium year. Nearly four centuries after its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539, the Abbey was rebuilt by a small group of dedicated monks in a project lasting just over 30 years. Using archive photographs from the 1880’s to the late 1930’s, this lecture will tell the story of Abbot Vonier’s great vision and how against the odds this was realised in stone.

Searching for the woven art and symbolism of the Nomads

The lecture illustrates the woven art of the nomads as they move over the territories they have travelled for generations. The audience will have the opportunity of looking at and examining vanity-bags, salt-bags, bedding-bags, wheat sacks, bread and dining flat-weaves. The lecture also explores the symbolism contained in these fabulous weavings and some of the stories and adventures experienced whilst looking for them.

This lecture explores gardens through the senses of the Impressionists from three continents – Europe, North America and Australia - enjoying the essentially similar pleasures of the garden, but engaging with the light from their skies in order to create very different sensations. The enclosure of the garden acts like a picture frame showcasing a living canvas that exudes the individuality, vision and taste of its tenants, their family, friends, lifestyles and, in the simple words of the greatest Impressionist and gardener Monet, providing motifs to paint.

Years of working as an artist within the Criminal Justice System in England and Germany have given Angela unique insights into the destructive and costly cycle of crime, prisons and re-offending. Through extraordinary slides of prisoner’s art, interspersed with personal stories from art projects, she demonstrates how within the process of creating art there are vital opportunities for offenders to develop key life skills.

A look at the diamond’s extraordinary journey through time – from the volcano to being fashioned into a beautiful gem which has caught man’s imagination for centuries. What do you look for in a diamond and how is a piece of jewellery valued.

Toulouse-Lautrec’s life is both a triumph against adversity and a sad reflection of late 19th century society in Paris. The lecture looks at Toulouse-Lautrec’s technique of working in oils on board and the process of lithography he used to produce the cabaret posters. The cabaret artists included La Goulue, Jane Avril, Yvette Guilbert, the clown Cha-U-Kao and Aristide Bruant, as well as some well-known venues such as Le Rat Mort, the Moulin Rouge, the Divan Japonais and the Moulin de la Galette. A lively view of La Belle Epoque seen through the eyes of an artist from an aristocratic family.

Edward Lear’s “Book of Nonsense” has never been out of print, but what isn’t realised often is that he made his living producing topographical watercolours of great delicacy. “A man of original and versatile genius”: ornithologist, diarist, musician, traveller- this warm and delightful human-being expressed his simple philosophy through timeless humour. An illustrated lecture focussing on his biography with quotations from his writings throughout.

'The Problems they cause and the Remedies I use’

This lecture is an insight into the work of a Textile Conservator, outlining various cleaning and repair treatments on a variety of textile items with before, during and after treatment images to illustrate the specialist conservation and repair techniques. Items discussed include canvas and bead work, lace, costume, fans, banners, ecclesiastical items, and full size tapestries. Jacqueline does not seek to turn people into experts but rather counsels against untrained action that could exacerbate a problem or ruin an item. Advice is always given on how safely to store, mount and display textile items so that they can be enjoyed and preserved for future generations.

This lecture will look at the enduring Western obsession with, and invention of the so called ‘exotic’ or ‘noble savage’ starting with the first discovery of the Island of Tahiti in 1767 and charting the impact, through painted images of the island and their people, of the English and European influence in this part of the world through the eyes of not only Captain Cook and those who came before him, but also through the eyes of the artists that accompanied these pioneering voyages and into the 19th and early 20th century with the images of Gauguin.

British and German artists of the 1914 - 18 War

During World War I British Government sponsorship of artists from the established figures of Singer Sargent to the younger avant garde artists, Paul Nash, Christopher Nevinson, Stanley Spencer and Percy Wyndham Lewis was unprecedented. Their work would transform the subject of the art of war and modern British artistic developments all together. The 1914 - 18 War would have a similar transforming effect upon the art of their German opponents, such as Otto Dix, Georg Grosz and Max Beckmann. This lecture will explore the moving and unforgettable images of these artists and others of the ’war to end all wars’.

"The growth of holiday and leisure travel stimulated a profusion of creativity, producing many outstanding posters, from traditional landscapes and seaside images to new designs inspired by art deco, modernism and futurism. Besides their charm and sheer 'joie de vivre', today they are appreciated as models of art and design, which also offer insights into contemporary attitudes, culture and society".

Iran (Persia) has a sophisticated cultural heritage frequently ignored in headlines. The lecture illustrates the development of the spectacular architecture in the mosques and palaces of Iran emphasising their brilliant tile work and painting. There are mentions of some classic gardens and the art of book illustration with beautiful examples from the classic period of miniature painting. Using the geographic and political background the lecture explains how the Shi’a form of Islam originated and became the ruling creed in the late twentieth century Iran of Ayatollah Khomeini, and puts the contemporary situation in the context of Iran’s fascinating and significant cultural history.

This talk will not only look at the two most well-known women artists in the history of Cornish Art, Dame Laura Knight and Dod Procter, but the many others who came before and after, forgotten often because they have been over-shadowed by their more famous husbands or relatives. Some came as far as New Zealand to capture the charm of Cornwall's landcapes and people.

This talk looks at the broader relationship between art and the fishing industry in Cornwall. It is illustrated with the paintings of the Newlyn School - artists such as Walter Langley, Percy Craft and Stanhope Forbes alongside Falmouth painters such as C.N Henry and H.S. Tuke and their love of sailing.

Using illustrations from illuminated manuscripts, readings from literature and Contemporary accounts, and the haunting songs, carols and lively dance tunes of Medieval England, the lecture will bring alive the spirit of a Medieval Christmas. In addition to her reproduction medieval harps, Sarah adds plucked psaltery, hurdy- gurdy , hammered dulcimer and gemshorn to a musical mix.

Elizabeth Rumbelow has honours degrees in both English and Music. Her main career was in teaching and her speciality is the inter-relationship of the arts. She has visited SDDFAS several times and lectured on "Images of Cleopatra" and "Diaghilev's Ballet Russes

Natasha McEnroe is the Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum in London. She has worked for the National Trust and the Victoria and Albert and lectures widely at venues, including the Royal Society, the British Museum and the National Maritime Museum

Geri Parlby has a first class honours degree in History and Theology and an MA with distinction in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute. She has been lecturing for the past ten years for a variety of universities and arts and heritage societies across the UK, Europe and Australia. She currently heads up the visual arts distance learning courses at Exeter University is principal lecturer on the NADFAS South West Area History of Art Foundation Course and an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University.

Sam Smiles is Programme Director for Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter and Emeritus Professor of Art History at the University of Plymouth. He has written widely on Turner, including The Turner Book (Tate 2006) and J.M.W. Turner: The Making of a Modern Artist (Manchester University Press, 2007). He is currently completing a major study on Turner's later paintings and an exhibition on the same theme for Tate Britain.

Mark Cottle’s career has been spent in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Margaret and St John’s University College, Plymouth and at Bath University on Anglo-Saxon and Medieval England. He currently runs two small companies providing training and study breaks.

Julian Halsby studied History of Art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He then joined the staff of Croydon College of Art lecturing in the History of Art and Design and rose to become Senior Lecturer and Head of the Conservation Department. Julian has written seven books on art history including 'Scottish Watercolours 1740 -1940', the biographies of Diana Armfield RA and David Wolfers, owner of the New Grafton Gallery, and a Dictionary of Scottish Artists. He has also written hundreds of articles including the current series of 'In Conversation' for 'The Artist' magazine and many articles on art criticism. Julian currently lectures for NADFAS and other adult education organisations and is chairman of Artslink, a local community arts education charity. During the 1980s Julian ran Highgate Gallery with his wife, Miranda, and they now jointly run Newland Gallery, situated behind their medieval house in Sherborne. They run exhibitions of their own work as well as of other artists. He studied painting in Florence and began exhibiting in London, first at the Thackeray Gallery and later at the New Grafton. One of his great passions is Venice, about which he has written a book 'Venice – The Artists' Vision'. He returns to Venice most years to paint, delighting in the flickering light, the unusual architecture and the wonderful sunsets. Julian and his wife spend the summers in their house in the Languedoc, not far from Montpellier. Julian loves the intense light of the Languedoc, a light which has captivated many artists including Courbet. Dorset and the West Country are another of Julian's passions. He loves the hilly landscapes, and the dramatic coastline which he walks whenever possible. Julian also paints small nudes in interiors, influenced by the intimate panels of Bonnard and Bernard Dunstan. Julian was elected to the RBA in 1994, to the International Association of Art Critics in 1996, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1997 and to the Critics Circle in 2006.