Even though ‘work’ was the bedrock of Victorian progress and improvement, Queen Victoria’s reign saw the greatest upsurge in leisure pursuits ever witnessed. People earned more money and worked shorter hours than ever before and with the birth of the Railways and a desire to be health conscious, it was a golden age for the art of entertaining oneself. This talk celebrates a pre-television age, when the ability to amuse and entertain was paramount.

Georgians of all classes dined out in pubs, coaching inns, French ordinaries and confectioners. They also ate all kinds of street food and had an almost insatiable appetite for buns. On a journey through London we will discover the early morning drinks consumed on the street before dawn, ‘nunchions’ served at coaching inns, Billingsgate dinners, confectioners’ cakes, syllabubs and ices, the proverbially thin ham dished up to diners at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, as well as the Jewish takeaway foods of the East End and even London’s first ‘Indian’ restaurant.

This lecture examines the extraordinary life and dramatic times of Oscar Wilde, from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity. We will travel with him to the United States and examine his starring role within the artistic and theatrical worlds of 19th century London. We will visit his home in bohemian Chelsea and some of his favourite West End haunts. Finally, we will learn how, ‘tired of being in the heights, he plunged into the depths’, and became famous for being Infamous…

We rarely question where a work of art was before it came to be in a gallery or museum, who in earlier times stood in front of it and gazed, or by what practical means it got there. This lecture asks and answers such questions. For example, when Napoleon invaded Europe, he had the best of Europe’s works of art sent back to Paris for his new Musée Napoleon. But how did they get four life-size bronze horses of San Marco down from their place on the basilica in Venice, over the Alps and all the way to Paris? What practicalities did shipping a painting over 15 feet high, or a statue, such as Michelangelo’s David, involve?

This lecture provides an opportunity to learn more about the American artist, James Abbot McNeill Whistler. He was a leading proponent of the idea of ‘art for art’s sake’, who signed his paintings with a stylized monogram of a butterfly with a long stinger for a tail, as much asymbol of his love of Japanese art as his assertive and sometimes combative nature. After living and working with the Paris avant-garde, he settled in London in 1859, having created a distinctive Post-Impressionist style at a time when many of his British contemporaries had yet to come to terms with Impressionism.

MacDonald ‘Max’ Gill, younger brother of the sculptor and typographer, Eric Gill, was an architect, graphic designer and letterer, best known for his pictorial maps, especially those for the London Underground. He also created painted maps for Arts & Crafts houses, including Lindisfarne Castle, magnificent murals for Cunard liners and eye-catching publicity posters for organisations such as the Empire Marketing Board. An enduring legacy is his alphabet for the Imperial War Graves Commission, used on all British military headstones since World War I.

Caroline Walker has close ties with the Gill family and has carried out extensive research. Her lecture offers humour, colour, wonderful artwork and fascinating historical links.

The effects of colonialism have played an intrinsic part in the musical culture of the Caribbean, which combines African, European, Indian and indigenous influences. Each island has its own complex rhythm patterns and styles. We will discover the origins of calypso on Saint Kitts, jwé on Saint Lucia and much more in this light-hearted lecture full of the sounds of the Caribbean.

The landscape garden was a great English innovation. In place of the formal patterns, clipped hedges and straight lines that were in vogue throughout Europe, William Kent introduced a new notion in the 1730s: a ‘natural’ garden, full of variety, drama and surprise. Examples will be drawn from gardens such as Rousham, Claremont, Painshill and Stowe and from the ever-ingenious designs of Humphrey Repton. But did the origins of the landscape garden lie elsewhere? Also considered will be two imperial gardens of 18th century China, which may have helped to shape the great gardens of Georgian England.

Charlie Forman will take us on a trip into a horse-drawn city, just as a revolution was motoring in. Without its horses, London in 1900 would have ground to a halt and alongside London’s growing dependence on technology was a vast increase in thedemand for horses. This eye-opener to a lost city combines what is still there – mews, horse hospitals, cab shelters and drinking troughs – with what is less apparent – like the horsepower each bus needed and why flogging a dead horse wasn’t just a turn of phrase. In fact, in 1900 the end was nigh, as the internal combustion engine fired up and the Great War loomed.

This lecture provides a painter’s perspective on famous artworks from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Rembrandt and Turner are revealed as artistic risk-takers, whose new combinations of glazes, surfaces, pigments and processes re-defined the language of painting. These two forefathers of experimentation led the way for modern artists such as Pollock and Fontana, who went beyond the brush, the canvas, and the gallery wall itself in search of the meaning of making.

Before the British arrived in India, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Emperors. This lecture examines the stunning buildings and gardens they constructed from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, which have left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape. Mughal architecture fused elements from Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural traditions and gave rise to some of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

John Ruskin, the leading critic and aesthete, wrote in the 1850s that photography could never be Art. This lecture traces the struggle to overturn that view, beginning with the Pictorialist school of Victorian photographers and closing with the recent emergence of photographic art, inspired by digital technology. Along the way we will examine the contested virtues of colour images and the present revival of old-fashioned film cameras.

Pewter is a little remembered and little appreciated material, but it was once at the heart of daily life all over Europe. This lecture will explain what pewter is and how it has been worked through the ages. It will describe the history and decorative techniques of the pewter trade, with images showing every step of the manufacturing process, as well as the differences between the various national styles.

This lecture takes us on a complete journey through European architectural development. The story begins in ancient Greece and subsequently develops through the Roman and Byzantine periods. Medieval Europe then goes through Romanesque and Gothic styles before the Renaissance revives classicism. As industrialism takes hold, medieval styles are revived again. John Sherlock will identify some of the principal influencers.

From diplomatic gifts to tokens of love, between the 16th and 19th centuries miniatures were commissioned as small portraits which could be held in the hand or placed inside lockets, creating an intimate relationship between the owner and sitter. This lecture looks at the history of these tiny treasures of art.

Award winning cartoonist, Harry Venning, will escort us through the peaks and pitfalls of his profession, supported by visual and verbal contributions from such luminaries as Matt Groening, Dr Seuss, Charles M. Schulz and Gary Larson. Entertaining and informative in equal measure, the topics covered include rejection, procrastination, deadlines, artificial intelligence, professional envy, censorship and the cartoon community’s response to the Charlie Hebdo murders of 2015. Harry will also be drawing live on an A1 flipchart, the images filmed and projected onto screen for everyone to see clearly.

Virtuoso orchestras are now commonplace, but how did this facility develop and did they always sound as they do today? This lecture traces the long and fascinating history of the modern, virtuoso orchestra, linking this to the national cultures from which particular orchestras emerged. What was heard in Vienna, for example, might not be what was heard in Berlin, London, Paris or New York. Not only did the type, shape and size of instruments and orchestras vary markedly from country to country, but the expectations of audiences differed hugely from city to city.

This lecture examines how, in the early years of the 18th century, English lead glass was prized for its strength, its satin-smooth surface and its dazzling brilliance. The brilliance of this glass was enhanced when decorated with simple shallow wheel-cut facets, polished to reflect and refract light like a diamond.

On September 26th, 1968, after 231 years of official censorship, Britain ended the power of the Lord Chamberlain to decide what the British public should and shouldn’t see. Malcolm Jones will reflect on the official vetting and censoring of plays, which was established by the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 and led to years of controversy, absurdity and fascinating battles between the theatre makers and the authority of the Theatre Censor.

Hans Holbein was the first great mainland painter to spend much time in England and he brought with him both sophistication and skill, with far-reaching consequences for this island’s artistic development. His ‘Ambassadors’ is recognised by the National Gallery of London as one of its greatest treasures. It dates from a tradition in the arts when no object was without meaning and symbolism. However, practically all of this meaning has been lost to the modern observer. This lecture considers the tempestuous circumstances of its creation and the hidden messages concealed within it. The painting tells us much about the state of Europe at the time and the hopes and fears of its major players.

The Kimono advertised rank and status, wealth and taste. This lecture focuses on the complex symbols and stories which abound in the lavish decoration of textiles and fabrics used for men’s and women’s clothing from the 17th to the 19th century.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED

A REPLACEMENT LECTURE HAS BEEN ARRANGED

SEE NEWS PAGE FOR DETAILS 

Armour was one of the great Renaissance art forms. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries most of the richest noblemen in Europe were dedicated patrons of the armourer’s art, a kind of visual language which they used to project their identity and prestige. The armour-making process demanded both fantastic skill in the sculpting of iron and steel and mastery of decorative techniques, such as acid etching and mercury gilding. This lecture serves as an introduction to the idea of armour as an expressive art form, where the achievements of virtuoso armourers embodied splendour and richness while also carrying more complex messages about status, aristocratic associations, the social order and divine power.

Hieronymus Bosch’s (c.1455-1516) nightmarish monsters and demons, his bizarre allegories, and the amorous exploits in his Garden of Earthly Delights have intrigued viewers for centuries.  Little is known about this remarkable painter, although it has been claimed that he was a member of a heretical sect, a dabbler in alchemy and even a drug-user!  This lecture unravels the meanings of Bosch’s enigmatic paintings in the context of his own time, explaining them in terms of social satire, medieval folklore and pre-Reformation spirituality, while also revealing the beauty and inventiveness of his images.

AGM 10.45  (coffee 10.00)

Fresco is the supreme medium in which one can track the ideas and the accomplishments of the Italian Renaissance, from Giotto’s work in the Arena Chapel to Michelangelo’s painting for Popes in the Sistine Chapel. For secular leaders, wall painting cycles created the opportunity to create a virtual world which enhanced their status. In the church they brought a new immediacy and impact to the presence and meaning of the divine story, but what was their appeal for the artist? Why did they consider it "the sweetest and most subtle form that exists"? Why was this particular form so perfectly suited to the aspirations of the age? This lecture illustrates the complex technique involved and explores some of the great projects of the age to understand the fascination and significance of fresco for rulers, clergy and painters. 

An important music genre, jazz is a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free-wheeling creativity, close-knit ensembles and imaginative improvisation. Drawing on his experience both as musicologist and gigging musician, Sandy can shed light on jazz from the inside. His talk covers the early years of jazz up to the Second World War and touches on the disparate influences which lay behind the emergence of jazz. Musical illustrations range from the blues, ragtime and the very first jazz recordings through to classics by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the dawn of the Swing Era.

One of our finest architects, Hawksmoor is barely known to the general public and this a man largely responsible for the magnificent Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard and the West towers of Westminster Abbey. His London churches such as Christchurch, Spitalfields stand proud and true. Starting as Sir Christopher Wren’s favourite pupil, Hawksmoor developed his own unique architectural voice and, together with Sir John Vanbrugh and others, created the short-lived but glorious English baroque movement in the early eighteenth-century.

This lecture is a whistle-stop tour of the history of food as artistic medium, starting with 16th century sugar sculpture and venturing all the way up to 3D dessert printing and beyond. This lecture is a treat for those with a sweet tooth, as food historian, Tasha Marks, feels the subject of food and art through the ages is most exciting in the realms of the dessert. Topics covered include the origins of dessert, the crossover between sugar and art, architecture and dessert (including Renaissance banqueting houses), sugar and spectacle, food as artistic medium and the future of food. This exploration into the realms of dessert as spectacle includes an accompanying display to illustrate and enhance the historic subject.

In the two centuries since they were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin, the meaning and significance of the ‘Elgin marbles’ has changed dramatically. From architectural decoration to disputed cultural objects, this lecture looks at the response to them over their time in Britain, from the original controversy over their purchase to the current debate surrounding the restitution of the marbles to the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. 

Iconoclasm, defined as the destruction of images and items for religious reasons, has shaped the English Church over a long period. This lecture considers four major periods of destruction and change. In the fifth century, the demise of the Romano-British Church and the arrival of the Anglo–Saxons. This is followed by the immense changes associated with 1066 and the Norman invasion. Subsequent consideration is given to the early stages of Henry VIII’s destruction of shrines and monastic foundations. The wholesale ecclesiastical changes under his son and successor Edward VI are examined. The establishment of a new type of Christianity up to and including the seventeenth century period of the English Civil War with its associated destructive tendencies is followed by the emergence of new styles of building and ecclesiology. Finally, the wholesale Victorian programme of rebuilding and alteration is a surprising iconoclastic candidate.

This lecture examines the origins of Aboriginal art in ancient ceremonial designs to the beginnings of the modern Aboriginal art movement at Papunya in the early 1970s and its subsequent spread across the indigenous communities of the Western Desert. 

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 this lecture Bertie Pearce looks at the life and places of Dickens through his characters. The talk is interspersed with readings of his works. A truly Dickensian experience.

For the first time, in the summer of 2020, the early development of the technique of watercolour during the Renaissance was to have been explored in an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was postponed, but due to Covid restrictions was finally cancelled. Exquisite watercolours are to be found in manuscripts and albums or on a large scale, as in the Raphael cartoons. They show innovative and fascinating observations of the human figure, the exploration of the natural world and landscape, as in the work of Dürer or Van Dyk.

The exhibition would have been a showcase for the versatility of the technique in outstanding examples almost never seen by the public. Instead, the lecture will explore the technique and reveal the beautiful images, which are usually kept hidden in the print rooms of the Victoria and Albert and British  Museums, as well as museums in Berlin, Vienna and Paris.

The history of English garden design can be told in different ways, but rarely can it be told "through the lens" of one garden.  The Oxford Botanic Garden was founded at the beginning of the 17th century and its design bears all the hallmarks of 17th century design.  Through the next 400 years successive Horti Praefecti (head gardeners) changed the features reflecting the art of gardening and very occasionally the science of botany.

This talk looks at how the art of gardening has changed, or perhaps has not, in four centuries in Oxfordshire and how the Oxford Botanic Garden now reflects garden design at the beginning of the 21st century.  The title of the talk refers to the fact that one of the motivations for garden design remains the desire to create paradise on Earth.  The meaning of paradise may now be less rooted in the Biblical account of the rise and fall of Man, but there is still a clear vision of what we would like the world to resemble.

This talk will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting at 10.45am. Coffee will be served from 10am.

Harry Venning, a professional cartoonist for the last thirty years, will be tracing the history of his profession with examples from early practitioners like Cruickshank and Hogarth, to more contemporary artists such as Giles and Schulz, bringing events right up to date with cartoons produced fresh on the page that day! Yes, Harry will be drawing live. Prepare to hear some tricks of his trade, learn where to put eyebrows for maximum effect and discover exactly what the Eskimo brothers said in The Funniest Joke Ever (possibly).

The Alhambra of Granada, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of Seville are the three most impressive monuments to the architectural creativity of the Moors in Spain, but there are many other examples worthy of mention too. 

The classical origins that influenced the Moorish style are less well-known, but fascinating to explore, as too is the unique interior decorative style developed by the Moors, which gives their architecture its beauty and exotic appeal – an appeal so strong that the Christians sometimes copied it, even as they slowly reconquered the territory from its Islamic rulers. This lecture provides a comprehensive introduction to the peninsula’s Moorish architecture. 

The mass migration of the French Protestant Huguenots in the 16th and 17th centuries impacted the arts, the military and finance sectors of the countries to which they fled after suffering Catholic persecution in their homeland. It is estimated that upwards of 50,000 people settled in the British Isles and that perhaps one in six of the country’s current population descends from Huguenot lineage.

This lecture focuses on three areas of the arts impacted by the migration: the baroque style of Versailles that arrived in London through the great Huguenot designer, Daniel Marot, who worked for William and Mary at Hampton Court; the growth of the silk weaving industry in Canterbury, Spitalfields and later Sudbury and Macclesfield; and on the silversmiths and ceramicists who ushered the French Rococo style into Britain. This is put into the context of how their work changed material culture and was absorbed into British national identity. 

Despite the enormous political challenges that Vienna faced between 1780 and 1830, including major wars against Napoleon, the city thrived, culturally.  In fact, it could be argued that Vienna never had a finer moment in terms of its artistic achievements.  It was a period of outstanding writers, poets, architects and painters, but above all, it was a period of great composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, who made Vienna the musical capital of the world.  The lecture explores the history and the arts of Vienna in the late Classical and early Romantic eras.

Antony Gormley’s career spans nearly 40 years, during which time he has made sculpture that explores the relationship of the human body to space, often using his own body as his starting point.  His work has been shown throughout the world, in galleries including the Tate in London and the Hermitage in St Petersburg, but is also often on open display, as public art, such as Another Place at Crosby Beach, near Liverpool. As well as works that he is well known for, like the Angel of the North, this lecture will look at some of his earlier and less well-known works, to give an overall view of the development of his work across his whole career, up to the present time.

The auction house is the public face of the art market. When the hammer falls, the price of an artwork can make headlines around the world, astounding and confounding many with the eventual result.  We will look at the origins and development of London’s great auction houses, studying the notable characters in their histories, exploring the controversies and mapping their growth from small individual enterprises to monolithic international institutions. Many of London’s great auction houses have been around for over 200 years. This presentation aims to give a succinct, colourful introduction to their histories and, with one eye on the past, we will gain an insight into their current practice and how they plan to situate themselves in the art market of the future.

The High Renaissance saw the seamless integration of art and architecture, the pinnacle of a tradition extending back thousands of years. So how was it that by the mid-20th century, mainstream Modernist architects saw painting and sculpture as anathema to their designs? This lecture tells the fascinating story of how painting and architecture went their separate ways and explores the complex reasons behind their dramatic divorce.

A study of the life and work of the cartoonist, Carl Giles, who gave us a remarkable picture of half a century of British life. Voted best-loved cartoonist in 2000, he was described by his editor as ‘a spreader of happiness,….a genius…with the common touch.’

This lecture tells the story of Dame Zaha Hadid’s career, from the visionary projects of the 1980s, through the years when her designs were considered unbuildable, to the many successful projects built all over the world in the decade before her death in 2016.

The Nutcracker ballet has delighted audiences for decades, yet it was initially deemed a failure. This lecture looks at the elements which combine to make the most magical escape for young and old alike.

This lecture will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting at 10.45am. Coffee will be served from 10.00am

The talk combines the lives of the Astors, the Sackville-Wests and the Rothschilds, their family history and the story of the gardens they all created in the English countryside.

When the superb art collection amassed by Walpole was sold to Catherine the Great, there was a national outcry. What could have become the core of a national gallery had gone to increase the splendid collection of the Empress. We will learn how England’s loss became Russia’s gain in a story of art, money, power and greed.

This lecture examines how wool, cotton and silk have each played a crucial role in the fortunes of Central Asia. The felts, carpets, embroideries, robes and veils of the Silk Road stratified wealth, displayed religious and political entrenchments and changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the world.

Due to current Covid situation this meeting will be held on Zoom. Members will be emailed with the link.

Tony Rawlins will look at classical music from a different perspective: its use in TV commercials, how it enhances the mood in feature films and how classical melodies and chord sequences have been borrowed for many popular hit recordings.

Founded in 1925, Faber and Faber is recognised as one of London’s most important literary publishing houses. This lecture traces its history through its illustrations, covers and designs and the artists who created them. As the founder’s grandson, who was managing director for four years, Toby will bring personal insight and anecdote to his talk.

We will look at some of this delightful gallery’s collection, including paintings from the 17thand 18th centuries, the Victorian collection and some contemporary works. Our tour will finish with a visit to the Roman amphitheatre, discovered beneath the building in the 1980s.

London’s great drivers have always been finance and culture, but while the arts are celebrated in the capital, physical culture is often overlooked. In this lecture, Simon traces London’s sporting culture back to the 12th century, taking in manuscripts in the British Library, records of jousting at the College of Arms, and the obscure game of Pall Mall, from which the current thoroughfare takes its name. Much of this story concerns the battle for open space, an issue for the Finsbury Archers of the 17th century no less than campaigners for playing fields in the 20th century East End slums. Other themes include the story of the German Gymnasium, boathouses on the Thames, the mania for lidos in the 1930s, the Olympics, Lord’s, Wimbledon and the University Boat Race. 

It is hoped that this lecture will be on Zoom. Paid up members will receive a confirmation email with log-in details.

Antiques.”I don’t understand them and they’re beyond my budget. They’re not for me.” A persuasive introduction to buying antiques and integrating and using them in today’s homes.

The state of the antiques market and the different meanings of the word value are considered, and we take a look at what current and future generations of collectors are buying, why they are buying it and how they are displaying it.

It is hoped that this lecture will be on Zoom. Paid up members will receive a confirmation email with log-in details.

Sculpture has the power to stop us in our tracks. It can be awe-inspiring, thought-provoking or fun and amusing. Many sculptures are imbued with historical and cultural reference; statues, for example, representing remarkable men and women of the past. Modern sculpture sees the world from different perspectives that may be perplexing or enlightening.

The UK’s national collection of sculpture is arguably the finest in the world and is being catalogued in a unique and ambitious project called ‘Art UK’ (www.artuk.org). The lecture explores a range of works from across the country and recounts some of the fascinating stories behind them.

It is hoped that this lecture will be on Zoom. Paid up members will receive a confirmation email with log-in details.

Starting with a look at the origins of opera as a form of courtly entertainment in Italy in the early years of the C17th, this overview takes in the opulent spectacles at the French court of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King”, and pokes its nose into opera houses across Europe in the Baroque era, including those in London, where Italian opera gained an unlikely foothold and was memorably described by Dr Johnson as an “exotic and irrational entertainment”.

Sandy examines the legacy of those two creative giants of the nineteen century, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, and takes us up towards our own time, where surtitles and HD cinema transmissions have made opera more widely accessible than ever before. Undeniably a major step forward – but has this come at a cost?

This lecture will be on Zoom. Paid up members will receive an email with log-in details.

The Maya created one of the most sophisticated civilizations in the ancient world. Their achievements in the arts and sciences, along with their complex social, political and economic systems, make them one of the most remarkable culture groups in the Precolumbian Americas. These people brought us an intricate calendar system, complex hieroglyphic writing, some of the largest pyramids in the world, a form of ball game that was like no other and, most importantly, chocolate!

This lecture will discuss the major achievements of the Maya, as well as pointing out the common misunderstandings we have of this remarkable civilization.

This lecture will be on Zoom. Paid up members will receive an email with log-in details. It will be preceded by a brief AGM starting at 10.30am. See news item for details.

In 1888 Gertrude Jekyll wrote a short but seminal article in ‘The Garden’, in which she urged the readers to “remember that in a garden we are painting a picture”. As an accomplished watercolour artist, Miss Jekyll was familiar with the principles of using colours, but she felt that in gardens these principles “had been greatly neglected”.

This talk looks at how to apply these principles in designing a border, but it also looks at the ways in which a border is different from a painting. However, it goes further than this and looks at how contemporary work of the likes of Turner, Monet, Rothko, Jackson Pollack, and Hockney evolved in parallel with ideas about what a garden or border should look like.

Wine has been part of our global society for over 7,000 years. The lecture examines its origin and appearance in all societies across the Mediterranean and through Europe. There is rich evidence of the role wine has played in these societies and how it became an important component of faith, well-being and festivity.

From the kwevris of Georgia in 5,000 B.C., the symposia in ancient Greece, the thermopolia of Pompeii and the hospices of Europe to the dining tables of fine society, wine has been ever-present. Drawings, paintings, engravings, buildings, pottery and wine labels themselves all contribute to the story.

Please Note. This is a change to the previously advertised lecture.  This lecture will be made available on Zoom starting at 11.00am. An invitation will be sent to paid-up members who have provided an email address providing the Link and Meeting ID and Password.

A light-hearted and entertaining look at some of the avant garde art movements formed between 1900 and 2000, some of the best known Modern works of this period and the lives of the artists who produced them.

The beginning of the 20th century saw the spread of the artistic revolution which had started in the second half of the 19th and produced the works of the Impressionists. Artists like Matisse and Picasso created some of their most important and influential works and Duchamp produced art which still has an influence on artists today. In the second and third decades of the century the artistic response to political and social upheaval produced some of the masterpieces of modern art, including many works, such as those of Surrealists like Ernst and Magritte, which were designed deliberately to shock and mystify. In the 1930s the Spanish Civil War was a great influence on artists such as Picasso and Dali, while the deep pessimism of the years following the Second World War is reflected in the work of artists like Bacon and Dubuffet. Pop Art brought a return to optimism in the sixties, while some of Warhol’s pictures reveal a darker side of modern life. The last decades of the 20th century and the first of the 21st have seen an intense questioning of the nature and language of art, as well as serious consideration of ecological issues and the state of the planet, among artists like Beuys and Kiefer. In the context of British art we shall look at the Turner Prize, which since 1984 has helped bring this country to the forefront of international modern art.

Please note. This lecture will be made available on Zoom starting at 11.00am. An invitation will be sent to paid-up members who have provided an email address providing the Link and Meeting ID and Password.

Experience the story of gold and its significance and symbolism within the history of art: as the colour of the sun; the colour of divinity; the colour of status and the colour of love. From creations ancient and contemporary, sacred and profane, all that glitters is certainly gold…

Please Note. This is a change to the previously advertised lecture.  This lecture will be made available on Zoom starting at 11.00am. An invitation will be sent to paid-up members who have provided an email address providing the Link and Meeting ID and Password.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a man out of step with his time. This lecture will study the life and works of this enigmatic man and of his influence on later artists.

This lecture will go ahead on Zoom starting at 11.00am. Late-comers will not be admitted.  An email will be sent to paid-up members who have provided an email address, inviting them and providing the Link and Meeting ID and Password. It will be possible to ask questions at the end of the lecture. There will be no lecture in Aldington Village Hall.

What possessed people to trudge hundreds of miles, often in appalling conditions and sometimes perishing on the way? This lecture considers this question and also how there was a shift from spiritual wandering in the Anglo-Saxon period to religious tourism in the days of Chaucer’s pilgrims. It also looks closely at travel in general and the hazards of the journey: how did people organise themselves for long journeys and how safe was it? How should they provide for themselves and where might they find help? From maps and motivation to souvenirs and shrines, this lecture discusses travel in the round as well as specifically for spiritual reasons