lectures 26-27
none members are welcome £10 per lecture
September 8th 2026: Ed Glinert
Constable's Idyllic Landscapes.
In the 250 year of John Constables birth we look at his impact on landscape painting. No one has captured the bucolic idyllic English countryside more lovingly.
In the 250 year of John Constables birth we look at his impact on landscape painting. No one has captured the bucolic idyllic English countryside more lovingly.
October 13th 2026: Maria Chester. British Women Artists
Between the two World Wars, British women artists made significant contributions to the art world, often reflecting the social changes and challenges of the era.
November 10th: Raymond Holden
A Short History of the Piano
Both a mark of social status and an indicator of cultural interest, the piano, and its predecessors, was a fixture in most homes for nearly five centuries. It served to entertain and to edify in equal measure
Both a mark of social status and an indicator of cultural interest, the piano, and its predecessors, was a fixture in most homes for nearly five centuries. It served to entertain and to edify in equal measure
December 15th 2026: Malcolm Jones
The History of Pantomime
In the 18th century it was often seen as an opportunity for political satire but it is through the 19th century the fairy-tale story plots that we know as the Christmas pantomime today.
In the 18th century it was often seen as an opportunity for political satire but it is through the 19th century the fairy-tale story plots that we know as the Christmas pantomime today.
January 12th 2027: Scott Schiavone
Balenciaga, Dior and Fath
Haute Couture is an art form that achieved some of its finest moments during the years following World War II. Hear the life and creative output of three designers during the period widely considered as the zenith of French haute couture.
Haute Couture is an art form that achieved some of its finest moments during the years following World War II. Hear the life and creative output of three designers during the period widely considered as the zenith of French haute couture.
February 9th 2027:James Wright
Rock of Ages:
medieval stone masons
The place and influence of stonemasons in the history of architecture and how that relates to exciting new discoveries made by the Thames Discovery Programme of stonework from the Medieval Palace of Westminster.
medieval stone masons
The place and influence of stonemasons in the history of architecture and how that relates to exciting new discoveries made by the Thames Discovery Programme of stonework from the Medieval Palace of Westminster.
March 9th 2027: Jane Gardiner
The Sun King.
A tour of the sumptuous state apartments, the vast gardens, the collections of the King and the whole etiquette of life at one of the greatest courts in Europe.
A tour of the sumptuous state apartments, the vast gardens, the collections of the King and the whole etiquette of life at one of the greatest courts in Europe.
April 13th 2027: Norman Tennant
Fakes and Forgeries
Science can complement connoisseurship in exposing fakes and forgeries. The grass is painted over the face and science has revealed it. I will show how science achieves what art experts could not!
Science can complement connoisseurship in exposing fakes and forgeries. The grass is painted over the face and science has revealed it. I will show how science achieves what art experts could not!
May 11th 2027: Russell Nash
Brave New World
From buttoned up deference to ‘fings aint wot they used to be’ this lecture will take you from the end of WWII to the dawn of the Swinging Sixties. Unburdened by the expectations of the past, a new Elizabethan age was one of unlimited possibilities.
From buttoned up deference to ‘fings aint wot they used to be’ this lecture will take you from the end of WWII to the dawn of the Swinging Sixties. Unburdened by the expectations of the past, a new Elizabethan age was one of unlimited possibilities.
June 8th 2027: Natalia Murray
Kandinsky and Abstraction.
One of the pioneers of abstract modern art, Wassily Kandinsky exploited the evocative interrelation between colour and form to create an aesthetic experience that engaged the sight, sound, and emotions of the public.
One of the pioneers of abstract modern art, Wassily Kandinsky exploited the evocative interrelation between colour and form to create an aesthetic experience that engaged the sight, sound, and emotions of the public.
