Upcoming Events

Monday 10th October JOHN SINGER SARGENT: THE POWER OF THE PORTRAIT a lecture by Alexandra Epps From the scandal of the painting of Madame X to the trials, tribulations and triumph of Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, discover the rise, the fall and rise again of John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of his age - the age of elegance. Discover an artist who devoted his entire life to the creation of beauty.

Monday 14th November THE QUEEN OF INSTRUMENTS: THE LUTE WITHIN OLD MASTER PAINTINGS A lecture by  - Adam Busiakiewicz The lute holds a special place in the history of art: painters of the Italian Renaissance depicted golden-haired angels plucking its delicate strings, evoking celestial harmony; in the sixteenth century, during the rise of humanism, the lute was a becoming pastime of educated courtiers, as depicted by the likes of Holbein and Titian; throughout the seventeenth century, the instrument continued to…

Monday 12th December A DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS US EVERYONE A lecture by Bertie Pearce Charles Dickens has often been proclaimed as “The Man Who Invented Christmas” and indeed on hearing that Dickens had died, a cockney barrow-girl said: “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?” Dickens revived the Christmas traditions with his warm portrayal of Christmas in the domestic setting; with plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing and family cheer by the hearth. Although…

Monday 9th January WEDGWOOD A lecture by : Jane Gardiner The contribution of Josiah Wedgwood I to the history of world ceramics. This lecture begins by looking at Wedgwood’s early career as a potter and his work with Thomas Whieldon. It goes on to examine the development and marketing of cream-coloured earthenware, the partnership with Thomas Bentley and the subsequent opening of the Etruria factory; with its production of black basalts and the development of encaustic painting. It will consider…

Monday 13th February OSBORNE, PINTER & CO: POST-WAR BRITISH THEATRE A lecture by  Giles Ramsay In 1956 British theatre audiences heard a harsh new voice in John Osborne's play "Look Back in Anger". Within two years Pinter's extraordinary play "The Birthday Party" had opened and split the critics and the public alike. Then along came Joe Orton, Edward Bond and Tom Stoppard. A revolution was taking place and its artistic aftermath can be felt to the present day.

Monday 13th March BRUEGEL: PEASANTS, PROVERBS AND LANDSCAPES A lecture by  Paula Nuttall The art of Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525/30-1569) is a byword for the depiction of genre subjects and landscapes. This lecture explores his work and its meanings, from his beginnings in the style of Hieronymus Bosch, to the development of a highly original art that offered an alternative to the Italianate art, then in vogue. Working for an elite circle of connoisseurs, at the end of…

Monday 3rd April THE MANY FACES OF WILLIAM MORRIS A lecture by : Joanna Banham William Morris was a man of prodigious energy, talent, and versatility. He was a designer, a craftsman, a writer, a lecturer, a conservationist and a revolutionary socialist. He is best-known today for his wallpapers and textiles but he also designed embroideries, stained glass, mural decoration, books and tapestries. And his firm, Morris & Co., was the foremost decorating company of his day. His over-arching passions…

Monday 8th May AMADEO MODIGLIANI AND BOHEMIAN PARIS 1906-1920 A Lecture by : Julian Halsby Modigliani remains of the most popular artists of the 20th century. I discuss his short life in some detail looking at his early development and his arrival and life in Paris from 1906 to his death in 1920. Modigliani was at the centre of Bohemian Paris and was a close friend of Maurice Utrillo, Picasso, Max Jacob, Moise Kisling, Chaïm Soutine and many other painters…