Fine art has provided advertisers and their agencies with a great deal of material to use in their creative campaigns. I describe 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 of material and inspiration. From the Renaissance, through to the present day, fine art continues to provide opportunities to enhance Brand imagery with admiration, humour, satire and irony.

Tony was educated at Highgate School, starting his career in advertising in 1965 as a mail boy in J.Walter Thompson. He graduated through the training system there to become an account director and subsequently worked in a number of agencies before setting up on his own in 1985. There he handled primarily Guinness advertising in Africa and the Caribbean, where he produced many commercials and print ads for them over a period of 15 years. He remains active as a consultant in the industry, but more recently has concentrated on philanthropic projects - producing a film in the rural villages of Nigeria for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and completing a sanitation project in Haiti after it was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. He has been a member of The Arts Society for many years and has been an accredited lecturer since 2017.

He is married with 5 children, and is a keen guitarist, enthusiastic choral singer and optimistic tennis player.

"I wish that each day I may walk unceasingly on the banks of my pool … that I may refresh myself in the shade of my sycamore tree” (Ancient Egyptian tomb inscription, c1450 BC). 

Lucia is an Egyptologist who has worked in museums and on excavations in Egypt, but these days mostly lectures. She is a former Honorary Research Associate at University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, and Lecturer in Egyptology at several UK universities. She works at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London, and leads tours to Egypt. She has been the Director of Bloomsbury Summer School at UCL, Chair of the Friends of the Petrie Museum, and Trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society. Publications include Egypt: Gods, Myths, Religion. 

The Castle Cary and Ansford clergyman, James Woodforde kept a diary between 1758 and 1802 in which he daily recorded almost every dinner he ate, whether at home, with friends, at an inn or in the houses of the local gentry. Jane Austen, moving in similar social circles a generation later, recorded food and manners in her letters and novels that illuminate Woodforde’s careful recording of his every meal. This lecture brings together these two with images of paintings, prints, cookery books and the objects of daily life to illustrate the often hidden domestic lives of our Georgian ancestors.

Peter Ross has a BA in the History of Art, an MA in London History, and a PhD in the cultural history of the early eighteenth-century criminal, Jack Sheppard. Until 2023, he was the Principal Librarian at the City of London’s Guildhall Library. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Peter has appeared on television and radio as a consultant on crime in eighteenth-century London, the history of English food, and Shakespeare’s First Folio. Peter’s The Curious Cookbook, Viper Soup, Badger Ham, Stewed Sparrows, and a Hundred more Historic Recipes was published in 2012 by the British Library and subsequently published in the US, China and Taiwan. Peter is currently engaged in writing a book - Insatiable Appetites: Eating Out in Georgian London - to be published by Bodleian Library  in 2026.

Stonehenge is the most celebrated and sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the British Isles. This lecture explains why Stonehenge must be regarded as architectural in its layout and construction, embodying  techniques that for centuries convinced antiquarians that it could not have been built by ‘primitive’ ancient Britons but must be a product of ‘sophisticated’ Romans. We then explore 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.

Julian studied archaeology at Reading University and has since worked as a professional archaeologist, in commercial archaeology, for English Heritage, for the BBC and as an independent. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and have an honorary doctorate. He has long been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education, to schools (with a focus on special needs pupils) and societies. My career in broadcasting involved researching and presenting Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings for BBC2, and Mapping the Town for Radio 4. He has written a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Museum work includes curating Stonehenge related exhibitions in the UK and abroad (Germany and Austria) and I have just curated the new permanent ceramics gallery for Salisbury Museum. With no intention of retiring, he is still passionate about Stonehenge, pots and old cars.   

Four humble Liverpool lads who conquered the pop world. Discover how. Their legacy remains here, there and everywhere. A fully illustrated talk with musical examples and excerpts of the exceptional moments of the Fab Four's extraordinary career. This talk highlights the many unsung heroes, without whose involvement the Beatles would not have been the band we know today. Their success and legacy remain unrivalled by any other pop band in the world. Re-live their greatest moments and their greatest music. Some pop groups are not just of their time; some are for all time.

After training at RADA Jamie graduated as a Stage Manager and subsequently worked for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Bristol Old Vic and the BBC. He became an Assistant Director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Kent Opera and English National Opera and soon began directing productions of his own. He has directed many new opera productions in the UK whilst other new opera productions overseas include Reykjavik, Malta and Melbourne. Jamie was Associate Director on the original production of the hit musical Miss Saigon in the West End and on Broadway. He has directed productions in all the major UK conservatoires and was Director of Productions for British Youth Opera for over a decade, a company devoted to promoting the talents of our finest young opera singers in the UK. Jamie is a regular enrichment programme lecturer for various leading cruise ship companies. He is married to the mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby and they have three sons. 

The Glasgow Boys revolutionised painting in Scotland by bringing it into the mainstream of European art. ‘The Boys’ were young Scottish artists who looked to France for their inspiration – ‘the auld alliance’ – and many of them studied in Paris. One group met up in Grez-sur-Loing where they painted together using the ‘square brush technique’ influenced by Jules Bastien Lepage. Other members of the group came together through old friendships – Paterson and MacGregor had known each other at school, while Guthrie and Walton were old friends. They soon established a vigorous style of oil painting using large square brushes and thick paint with bold colours.

Julian studied History of Art at Cambridge. He was formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. His publications include Venice - the Artist's Vision (1990, 1995), The Art of Diana Armfield RA (1995), Dictionary of Scottish Painters (1990, 1998, 2001, 4th edition 2010), A Hand to Obey the Demon's Eye (2000), Scottish Watercolours 1740-1940 (1986, 1991), A Private View - David Wolfers and the New Grafton Gallery (2002).  He has interviewed artists for the Artist Magazine and is a member of The Critics Circle. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and was Keeper from  2010 to 2021.

The west front of Wells Cathedral was proclaimed 'one of the great sights of England' by Alec Clifton-Taylor. Behind that outstanding facade lies a cathedral of intricacy and complexity, begun around 1170 and spanning 250 years of construction. This talk draws on new research to place Wells Cathedral in the context of its rival in Bath, picking apart the layers of history and exploring the rich symbolism to bring fresh eyes to a familiar landmark.

Jonathan Foyle is best known for presenting TV series such as BBC2's Broadcast Award-winning 15-part 'Climbing Great Buildings', as well as contributing to Channel 4's 'Time Team' and currently Channel 5's 'Secrets of the Royal Palaces'. His former roles have encompassed Curator at Hampton Court and Chief Executive of World Monuments Fund Britain, and he is now a lecturer at the University of Bath. Jonathan has authored seven volumes on great cathedrals and castles and has spoken across the world. His Arts Society talks draw on a 30-year career in the historic environment to offer in-depth and fresh analyses of personal fascinations in architecture and the arts, especially their all-important symbolism, through which we can better understand what their makers are trying to communicate.

In 1951, up and down the country, the nation celebrated. It celebrated with events from the lavish displays on the South Bank of the Thames and at Battersea to the events held on village greens and in village halls across the land.  A nation still recovering from the physical, financial and mental struggles of the recent World War decided to hold a party for the country. This talk will consider the reasons why the Festival was held, some of the characters involved, what motivated them and the resulting events and the wonderful design, art and architecture that flourished during the Festival year.

Matthew has worked with the fine and decorative arts all his life. He has worked as an auctioneer and valuer with a number of firms, and is currently a senior valuer and head of department at Lawrences in Crewkerne, one of the country's leading provincial auctioneers. He has also worked in Higher Education as Course Leader and a Senior Lecturer on the no longer extant Fine Arts Valuation Degree at Southampton Solent University. His teaching covered a range of subjects including furniture, silver art and design history. He completed a PhD in the Arts and Crafts Movement and has written on design history for a number of publications.  

Why do we bring a tree into our homes at Christmas? How did Santa become the patron saint of pawnbrokers and what has a snake got to do with it all?  The truth about some of our Christmas traditions may surprise you.

Geri Parlby's career spans diverse fields.  She started as a news and investigative reporter via Mirror Group newspapers before becoming Head of Press for United International Pictures, handling major blockbuster publicity campaigns from Paramount, Universal, MGM & UA studios throughout the 1980s.  She then set up her own London based film and video PR agency which she ran for 8 years before retiring to start a family. 

Driven by her passion for art she studied for an MA in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute before gaining a theology PhD from the University of Roehampton. 

Despite our own modern preconceptions, the quiet introspection of melancholy was often associated with creativity in the past. This was prevalent in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when significant treatises, music and art were dedicated to this condition. Treading the thin line between madness and contentment, this lecture will investigate why and how artists of painting and music responded to this significant part of human consciousness.(Several pieces of live lute music will be performed as part of the lecture.)

Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, Lecturer and Lutenist. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in History at University College London in 2010, he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. He completed his doctorate in the History of Art at the University of Warwick in 2022 and became a cataloguer in the Old Master Paintings Department at Sotheby's where he remains a Consultant.

Adam has been a Lecturer/Educator at the National Gallery and Guide Lecturer at the Wallace Collection, where he has organised several events and courses on Music & Art as well as other subjects. He has also given talks and performances at the Royal Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. 

In 1936 Dame Laura Knight became the first woman to be elected as a full member of the Royal Academy in London, 168 years after its establishment. In her extraordinary career she painted landscapes, portraits and seascapes, as well as scenes from the circus, the ballet and the theatre. She was the only woman to be given War Commissions in both the First and Second World Wars and the only British artist to cover the Nuremberg Trials of 1946. This lecture provides an overview of her fascinating career and some of the remarkable achievements of her long life. 

Rosalind holds a BA and MA from Goldsmith’s College, and an MA (distinction) from Birkbeck College. She is an experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. She also delivers lectures at the Tate, to independent art societies and on cruises.

The son of a famous painter, James Ravilious became a leading British photographer of rural life and landscapes. In this lecture we explore the painter’s composed eye as he magnificently recorded compelling images of the hardships and pleasures of farming communities in a remote corner of Devon. James Ravilious documented and celebrated everyday life in the countryside from 1972 to his death in 1999. The writer Alan Bennett notes that, 'he keeps his distance even in the most intimate scenes that he records and it is this mutual respect of photographer and subject that dignifies both'. 

John is an inspirational speaker who has delivered lecturers and workshops in the USA, Beijing, Malaysia and the UK. Initially trained as a painter, John was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be artist in residence for the state of Texas. Later in his career John produced and directed several short films and animations. He has taught film, art and pedagogy at the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, University Sains Malaysia, Southwestern College, California, Brunel University, and Kingston University London. 

Bonampak (650 CE-850 CE) is a Classic Maya site in Mexico. Its architecture is simple with one minor exception: its murals. The discovery of these painted walls caused a huge controversy among Mayan experts since the murals clearly depicted war, torture and bloody rituals. Prior to then, scholars had firmly believed the Maya were a peace-loving people, only dedicated to contemplating the sky in order to create their calendars. Bonampak murals represent a vivid portrait of Classic Maya life. For many years it was thought that BONAMPAK meant 'painted walls' but in 2006, Dr David Stuart deciphered Bonampak’s glyphs and re-named the place 'Hill of the Vultures'.

Maria Chester studied Fine Arts and Art History. She is a Professor on Ancient Civilisations of the Americas, previously called "Pre-Columbian cultures". Maria is multilingual and enjoys travelling. She has taught in several South American universities as well as private institutions. She is a Senior Lecturer and is also tutoring annual courses on Art History for Berwick Educational Association. She works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering lectures linked to art exhibitions shown at The Granary, Berwick upon Tweed, England, complemented with guided tours in Berwick upon Tweed. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but travelled the world. Since 2003, Maria has been living in Scotland where she developed her passion for Scottish artists: the Glasgow Boys, the Glasgow Girls, the Scottish Colourists, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Anne Redpath and many more. 

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. In this thought-provoking talk she offers a deeper understanding of the minds, lives and challenges of offenders. With extraordinary slides of art projects and prisoners’ art, she demonstrates how within the process of creating art of any discipline, there are vital opportunities for offenders to confront their crimes and develop the key life skills so essential in leading a positive and productive life. A frequent response to this talk has been “I had no idea!” and indeed it casts light onto areas of our society where the arts not only are visual, decorative or commercial, but absolutely vital, hugely relevant and potentially life-changing. This talk is moving, informative and very original. Interspersed with personal accounts of humorous or slightly horrifying situations, these talks have kept audiences across the country engrossed. 

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.  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. 

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 the 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, the Emery Walker Library. She’s curated many exhibitions on the Arts and Crafts and Private Press Movements, including Ernest Gimson: Observation, Imagination & Making.  Passionate about sharing her deep love for and knowledge of the arts, she’s also a freelance researcher, currently researching Arts and Crafts war memorials and the work of Arts and Crafts designers in churches in the South West. She’s also been an oral storyteller for over 20 years, and has published a number of collections of stories. She's the Editor of the Journal of William Morris Studies, and was the newsletter editor for Society of Decorative Art Collections. She is a regular columnist for Cotswold Life, and writes for diverse other publications on art history and folklore.

Making a garden is like painting a picture; Fergus Garrett, inspirational Head Gardener at Great Dixter, East Sussex, will draw on years of experience working with Christopher LLoyd to explore the relationship between these art forms.

Fergus has held the position of Head Gardener for the internationally acclaimed GreatDixter Garden in Northiam, East Sussex, UK since 1993. In 2006, Fergus took over the position of CEO of The Great Dixter Charitable Trust. He was raised in the United Kingdom and in Turkey, Fergus studied horticulture at Wye College, graduating in 1989. In 2008 Fergus was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Associate of Honour; in 2012 he received the International Contributor Award from the Perennial Plant Association; in 2013 Fergus received the Longhouse Landscape Award and, in the same year, the Garden Media Guild Golden Nisse Award. In 2015 Fergus was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to the practice of horticulture. On 8th April 2019 Fergus received the highest accolade the Royal Horticultural Society can give: The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH).
  Fergus believes in passing on his knowledge and expertise through the national and international student and volunteer programmes at Great Dixter and via the many worldwide lectures he gives each year. He is a hands-on gardener and plantsman who has a keen interest in working practices. He is interested in ecology and how an
ornamental garden and biodiversity interact.
  Today, Fergus continues with his role as CEO and Head Gardener at Great Dixter as well as spearheading several projects including the greening up of urban and suburban communities, biodiversity related projects in towns and villages, and training students from all over the world in the Dixter style of flower gardening.

Join stonemason and church conservator Andrew Ziminski as he discusses the history and architecture of Britain's churches. In this talk, Ziminski will examine the history of churches across the British Isles and Ireland, with a special focus on the churches of Somerset and the often overlooked features and furnishings they contain, as well as their fascinating histories, and will help to unlock our understanding of a shared past.

Andrew's book, Church Going, was published in October 2024 and has had many excellent reviews.

Andrew Ziminski is a stonemason and church conservator with decades of experience working on some of the greatest cathedrals and churches in Britain, including Salisbury Cathedral and St Paul's in London. Andrew's company, Minerva Stone Conservation, is based in Frome and specialises in the repair of country churches and medieval listed bridges. His first book was the critically acclaimed The Stonemason: A History of Building Britain. He is a William Morris Craft Fellow (SPAB) & Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

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

Gavin Plumley is a writer and broadcaster who appears on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes. He lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent appearances include Klimt and The Kiss in cinemas worldwide, and talks for the Hay and Cheltenham Literature Festivals, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum and the V&A. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, is out now.   

The most beloved American illustrator of the 20th century always portrayed life as he wished it would be. His portrayal of the ideal family Christmas is directly connected to Dickens and the English yuletide tradition. Your American-born lecturer shares his own experiences of the ideal American Christmas from sleigh rides to wondering how Santa got down the chimney. Lavishly illustrated with magical Rockwell moments and examples as to how he actually created the images.

Charles Harris has had a life-long career in mainstream advertising agencies around the world, most of it as a Creative Director in global agencies (J Walter Thompson, Bates, FCB, Publicis, Leo Burnett). Responsible for the quality of the creative ideas and finished production of advertising campaigns, his work for many of the world’s great brands including British Airways, Sony, Nestle, Kraft, BP, Heinz, Black & Decker, Gillette, General Motors and McDonalds earned him national and global awards in New York, Hollywood, Singapore and Sydney. When it comes to art with a persuasive purpose, he gives his professional insight into what works, what doesn’t, and why.

No English king is as well-known to us as Henry VIII. He is famous for six marriages, breaking with the Pope, dissolving the monasteries and creating the Church of England; and for his ruthless elimination of those who stood in his way.  But he was also an enthusiastic patron of the arts whose palaces, tapestries and paintings enriched the Tudor court and began the Royal Collection. The forces that influenced Henry’s life can be seen in the works he commissioned, by artists such as Pietro Torrigiano, Hans Holbein and Giralomo da Treviso. They tell us much about his kingship and (unintentionally) his insecurities.

Siobhan Clarke BA Hons has worked for Historic Royal Palaces for 20 years delivering tours and lectures on Hampton Court, Kensington, the Tower of London and the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace. Her experience includes education sessions and tours for schools, universities, corporate and private clients.  She has lectured for the British Museum, National Trust, National Archives and the Smithsonian and featured on BBC Radio 'Woman's Hour' and Television's 'Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace'. 

Her published work includes: 'A Tudor Christmas', in collaboration with Alison Weir (2018), 'The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, The Golden Age' with Linda Collins (2019), 'King and Collector: Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship' (2021) and 'Gloriana: Elizabeth I and the Art of Queenship' (2022).

This lecture looks at the vitality and diversity of early English pottery from the first English delftware of the early 17th century to the development of Staffordshire white salt-glazed stoneware of the middle years of the 18th century. You will discover that English pottery of this date can be naïve and clumsy, and sometimes downright ugly, but it can also be extremely funny, is often fascinating in terms of material and technique, gives us a marvellous insight into English social history and is extraordinarily desirable to modern collectors – often fetching far higher prices than the finest porcelain.

Jane Gardiner has an MA in the History of Art from the University of London. She trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. She was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. She has also lectured for the National Trust, the Art Fund, London University, Buckingham University, l'Institut d'Etudes Superieures des Arts in Paris, a private women's college in Saudi Arabia, on cruise ships and at antiques fairs and interior design conferences in America.

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?

Sandy is one of the UK’s most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing. After studying at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, Sandy Burnett spent a decade as one of the core team of presenters on BBC Radio 3. Combining engaging scholarship with hands-on expertise, he devises and leads cultural holidays all over the world, is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music, is a highly sought after double bassist on the London jazz scene, and was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music’s Hogwood Fellow for the 2018-19 season.

This engaging talk looks at the history of the chair and ‘seating solutions’, charting the humble to high design, from antiquity to the 21st century. Never again will you take your seat for granted!

Marc Allum is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Wiltshire. He is shortly to begin his 27th year as a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow and has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes. Marc regularly writes for mainstream magazines and is an author, antiques consultant and lecturer. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc has his own unique style with interests ranging from pre-history to modern design and is a self-confessed collectaholic. He has a passion and reputation for divining the unusual through ‘a desire to connect with history through the interpretation and pursuit of objects and their origins’. Marc has lectured widely for many years to a number of different organisations in both the public and charity sector, including travel companies, The National Trust, The WI and many literary festivals including Cheltenham, Bath, Wells and Petworth. He has also lectured as far afield for the Arts Society in New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Malta and Penang. Marc is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

When Augustus John died in 1961 he was described in The New York Times as ‘the grand old man of British painting and one of the greatest in British history.’ He was only in his mid twenties when, in the early 1900s, he was widely acknowledged as one of the most talented and promising young British artists – a Welsh rival, perhaps, to Gauguin or Picasso. This lecture explores John’s extraordinary life, including his early achievements, his position as one of the most exciting and outrageous young British artists before the Great War, his slow decline after it, and his troubled status as ‘the last Bohemian’.

Dr. David Boyd Haycock is an established freelance art historian and curator. He is best known for his 2009 book, A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War, and the subsequent exhibition he curated at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Educated at the University of Oxford, and a former curator at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, he is a specialist in British art and culture in the period 1860 to 1940. His latest books include a new biography of the young Augustus John, and a new biography of the equestrian painter Lucy Kemp-Welch. An Arts Society lecturer since 2011, he is based in Oxford.

The Persian Empire exploded into life during the middle of the 6th century BC and was the largest empire in the world for the next two centuries. It stretched from the Mediterranean in the west to the Indus valley in the east, from the Eurasian steppes in the north to Egypt and Arabia in the south. In around 515, its third Great King, Darius I, commissioned the building of a new city, Persepolis, with his palace at its centre. We know a great deal about this palace, and one of its central features, the Apadana Staircase, can be seen in replica in the British Museum. What can this palace and its art tell us about the ideology of this extraordinary and influential empire? 

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James Renshaw has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998, and currently teaches at Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he runs the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society. 

Since 1998, he has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including In Search of the Greeks and In Search of the Romans. In addition to his school teaching, he has also lectured for the V&A Academy, most recently on their Classical World and its Afterlife and Classicism from the Ancients to the Renaissance courses. He is a keen traveller, and has been lucky enough to have taken many photos of ancient sites, a number of which have been used in my books.

This lecture is devoted to an exploration of colour. It is built on the premise that our appreciation of colour and how we see it, is at the very core of our common interest in art and the arts. Sometimes colour is referred to as ‘the secret influence’ as we are often unaware of how it significantly affects the choices we make every day. But what is colour? Do we all experience colour similarly? What is a colour scheme and why do some colours go well together and others not? 

John Ericson was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world.

Over the last decade he has been a popular speaker on the Arts Society circuit in the UK and Europe as well as a frequent visitor to the societies in Australia and New Zealand. In his professional life he has developed a particular interest in presentation skills including the role of pictures in learning and the appropriate use of PowerPoint. This coupled with his ability to relate well to people of all ages and backgrounds makes him an impressive and confident public speaker.

All his talks are entertaining, highly informative, very well illustrated and presented with warmth and humour.

It is now around 200 years since the purchase of the so-called 'Elgin Marbles' from Lord Elgin, by the British Parliament. This lecture, beautifully illustrated with specifically taken slides and video, will explore the aesthetics, the back-story, and the heated debates surrounding these fascinating and controversial works of ancient Greek art: what do we mean by 'the Elgin Marbles'? How and why were they originally created? Why are they so highly regarded? What happened to them between their creation and Elgin's time? How did he acquire them? Why are they now in the British Museum? And why are there such passionately held views both for and against their repatriation to Greece?  

As a Classics Tutor for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, Professor of History of Art for the European Studies Program of Rhodes College and The University of the South, Stephen Kershaw has spent much of the last 30 years travelling extensively in the world of the Greeks and Romans both physically and intellectually. He has published A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths (Robinson, 2007) and A Brief Guide to Classical Civilization (Robinson, 2010) and is currently working on A Brief Guide to the Roman Empire.

No English king is as well-known to us as Henry VIII. He is famous for six marriages, breaking with the Pope, dissolving the monasteries and creating the Church of England; and for his ruthless elimination of those who stood in his way.  But he was also an enthusiastic patron of the arts whose palaces, tapestries and paintings enriched the Tudor court and began the Royal Collection. The forces that influenced Henry’s life can be seen in the works he commissioned, by artists such as Pietro Torrigiano, Hans Holbein and Giralomo da Treviso. They tell us much about his kingship and (unintentionally) his insecurities.

Siobhan Clarke BA Hons has worked for Historic Royal Palaces for 20 years delivering tours and lectures on Hampton Court, Kensington, the Tower of London and the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace. Her experience includes education sessions and tours for schools, universities, corporate and private clients.  She has lectured for the British Museum, National Trust, National Archives and the Smithsonian and featured on BBC Radio 'Woman's Hour' and Television's 'Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace'. 

Her published work includes: 'A Tudor Christmas', in collaboration with Alison Weir (2018), 'The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, The Golden Age' with Linda Collins (2019), 'King and Collector: Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship' (2021) and 'Gloriana: Elizabeth I and the Art of Queenship' (2022).

American pioneers in glass technology from the late 19th century onwards provided much of the innovative tradition that was to bring about the birth of the Studio Glass Movement in the USA in the 1960s. Glass manufacturers such as Louis Comfort Tiffany developed new blown shapes and technologies to create new surface effects and an appearance of movement in glass that was to be continued in the work of studio glass makers such as Dale Chihuly.

The Studio Glass Movement dates from 1962, with its emphasis on the aesthetics of form and colour now influencing studio art glass makers everywhere. Dale Chihuly became one of the foremost American studio glass artists and has popularised the medium throughout the World. The movement soon reached Europe, attracting artists such as Sam Herman in London. As time has passed studio glass making has become more individualistic and more sculptural in its forms. The pioneering designs of the original studio glass artists can now often be seen loosely translated into mass-produced products from larger glass making factories. Dale Chihuly is still the name that comes to mind in the context of studio glass making and in this talk his work is considered in some detail in terms of individual works and large scale exhibitions such as that in Kew Gardens, England, in 2005. He deserves credit for establishing the blown-glass form as an accepted vehicle for installation and environmental art, beginning in the late twentieth century and continuing today.

Scott Anderson trained as an archaeologist at Leicester University and was a professional archaeologist for ten years before his interests shifted to the world of art, antiques and auctioneering. In 1994 he joined the team at Southampton Solent University lecturing on the only BA(Hons) degree course of its kind to look at the commercial art world. Now, as a Senior Lecturer, he teaches courses on the history and theory of interior design and visual culture. He has lectured to many adult audiences for a variety of University Extra-mural departments and the WEA. For the last few years he has also worked as a consultant valuer for the BBC television programme Flog It.

E H Shepard loved Christmas, and this lecture describes much of the magic and joy of successive festive seasons, from those of his own childhood to others throughout his long life. We see a range of artistic styles from full colour images to pen-and-ink personal Christmas cards, with cartoons, drawings and watercolours, some featuring the iconic images from the Wind in the Willows (the snow in the Wild Wood...) and Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh and Piglet from The House at Pooh Corner). Many of the images have not been published for over fifty years.

James Campbell has an MA in the History of Art, and a particular interest in the work of the artist, illustrator and cartoonist E H Shepard (1879-1976). He has been lecturing for over twenty years, across the UK and overseas, to community groups, Literary Festivals, art societies and to private clubs and societies. His books Shepard’s War and The Art of Winnie-the-Pooh were published in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Geri 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 from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past 14 years both in the UK and internationally. She is also principal lecturer on The Arts Society South West Area’s History of Art course and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University. She will be talking about the fact that 'fake news' dates back to the ancient Egyptians, and will range over early instances in Mesopotamia to the Nazi propaganda machine, by way of Elizabethan England: come along and enjoy the ride!

American pioneers in glass technology from the late 19th century onwards provided much of the innovative tradition that was to bring about the birth of the Studio Glass Movement in the USA in the 1960s. Glass manufacturers such as Louis Comfort Tiffany developed new blown shapes and technologies to create new surface effects and an appearance of movement in glass that was to be continued in the work of studio glass makers such as Dale Chihuly. The Studio Glass Movement dates from 1962, with its emphasis on the aesthetics of form and colour now influencing studio art glass makers everywhere. Dale Chihuly became one of the foremost American studio glass artists and has popularised the medium throughout the World. The movement soon reached Europe, attracting artists such as Sam Herman in London. As time has passed studio glass making has become more individualistic and more sculptural in its forms. The pioneering designs of the original studio glass artists can now often be seen loosely translated into mass-produced products from larger glass making factories. Dale Chihuly is still the name that comes to mind in the context of studio glass making and in this talk his work is considered in some detail in terms of individual works and large scale exhibitions such as that in Kew Gardens, England, in 2005. He deserves credit for establishing the blown-glass form as an accepted vehicle for installation and environmental art, beginning in the late twentieth century and continuing today.

Denise Heywood

LEGEND AND LUSTRE: JIM THOMPSON AND THAI SILK

Tuesday 17th October at 11.00am

Jim Thompson arrived in Bangkok as a US army officer in 1945, fell in love with it and stayed. Captivated by the beauty of Thai silk, he resuscitated this ancient craft and made it famous, creating costumes for films and embellishing his house, which today is a museum. An aesthete and art collector, he created his exquisite home from six handcarved teakwood houses brought from the countryside and filled it with Asian art. This lecture tells the story of his achievements, showing the intricate process of silk production and its illustrious heritage, including royal robes and temple murals. It touches on films featuring his silks, reveals his house and its art and reflects on a life that ended with his mysterious disappearance.

Denise is an art historian, author, lecturer, photographer and journalist. She worked in Cambodia in the 1990s and has been a scholar of Southeast Asian art ever since. Her books include one on the Buddhist temples of Laos, Ancient Luang Prabang and Laos and Cambodian Dance Celebration of the Gods. She lectures for the Art Fund, the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies and for the V&A; also for organisations such as the British Museum, the National Trust and the Royal Geographical Society. She writes for art, literary and travel publications and has appeared on television and radio.

Perhaps the best sculptor in wood ever to lift a chisel, Grinling Gibbons rose from an obscure apprenticeship in Rotterdam, collaborating with Wren and Vanbrugh, to become the King’s Carver. In this talk Justin describes Gibbons’ life and career, and discusses the techniques he used to create a convincing illusion of reality.

Tuesday 18th July at 11:00

This lecture explores gender in modern British sculpture through the lives and times of Barbara Hepworth and Elisabeth Frink. Hepworth is often overshadowed by Henry Moore and other male artists, which does a disservice to her work, where she took abstract sculpture to new levels of expressiveness and lyricism. These days her sculptures have a timeless quality to them, where form – and sometimes colour – take centre stage. Born a generation later, Frink ranks alongside Hepworth as a great British sculptor of the 20th century. The subjects for her work were usually birds, horses and men.

Tuesday 20th June at 11:00

In the early 17th century 2 admired painters teamed up to profit from each other’s strengths: Peter Paul Rubens painted the figures while Jan Brueghel the Elder the landscapes, flora and fauna. Join Mariska as she discusses this fruitful partnership.

Tuesday 16th May 2023 at 11:00am

April 18th is also the Annual AGM of the Arts Society Mid Somerset so the meeting will begin at 10.30.

BA from the Courtauld Institute and MA from Bath Spa University; her thesis examined the work of Roger Fry and Roland Penrose. Research posts include work on 150 years of the Bristol School of Art (2003), Peace Gardens of the 1980s (2005) and Stanley Spencer: Journey to Burghclere (2006). Taught in the Art History Department at Bristol University since 2005 and in 2009 won the Teaching and Learning prize for the Faculty of Arts. Has also taught in the Visual Culture Department at the Faculty of Creative Arts at Bristol UWE since 1998, the Department for Continuing Education at Oxford University since 2008, and for American Studies Programmes in London since 1999. In 2019, Tricha won a Best of Bristol Lecturer Award for the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bristol. 

Isobel Bishop, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Raphael Soyer and Reginald Marsh were all artists whose work came under the title 'The Fourteenth Street School'. They depicted New York City during the inter war years of the twentieth century.  Much of their work also addresses the economic downturn following the Wall Street crash of 1929 as well as gendered identities within a city scape. In particular, Isobel Bishop whose work was in part inspired by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens captured the trope of the modern working woman.

Jo Banham is a freelance curator, lecturer and writer. From 2006-2016 she was Head of Adult Learning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and before that Head of Learning and Access at the National Portrait Gallery, and Head of Public Programmes at Tate Britain. She has also been Curator of Leighton House and Assistant Keeper at the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has published on many aspects of Victorian and early 20th century decoration and interiors. She is currently curating an exhibition on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the Juan March Fundacion in Madrid and the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona. She is also Director of the Victorian Society Summer School.

The widespread misconception that Modernist interiors eschewed pattern and ushered in a fashion for plain walls is belied by the fact that the taste for wallpaper flourished as never before in the inter-war and post-war periods.  Patterns included brightly-coloured geometric Jazz-Age designs, traditional florals, and pictorial panels as well as ‘Contemporary’-style and Op, Pop, and Psychedelic designs. Decorators like Laura Ashley, Colefax & Fowler and Sandersons created popular new styles and the more recent introduction of digital design and statement walls has seen a revival of wallpaper today. This talk surveys the development of wallpaper production and design across the twentieth century.

Tuesday 21st March at 11:00 am.

Now retired, but was curator of the Islamic collection and Keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, where he also set up an inter-faith exhibition service and taught Islamic art and architecture. Leads tours in the Middle East and has published numerous articles and books on Islamic art, the most recent being, The art and architecture of Twelver Shi'ism: Iraq, Iran and the Indian Subcontinent.

The LectureThe art of putting a golden surface onto a ceramic glaze was first developed in Iraq in the 9th century AD, and from there spread both eastwards to Iran, and westwards to Egypt, North Africa and to Muslim Spain. The technology was constant, but the decoration was rich and varied, and Islamic lusterware is represented by a host of magnificent objects with golden surfaces, paralleling the widespread Islamic taste for silver gilt, and inlaid brass. The unexpected result of this tradition, however, was nothing less than a revolution in European taste, for 15th century Spanish lustreware was the inspiration for Maiolica, the first great decorative ware in European ceramics.

Tuesday 21st February at 11:00 am.

In this talk Louise 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 in both the Yemen and Ethiopia.

Tuesday 17th January at 11:00 am.

NB Our December meeting is the second Tuesday of the month

To kick off our seasonal celebrations, musician and broadcaster Sandy Burnett is on hand to share his selection of much-loved Christmas tunes. Expect an hour of the finest festive music from across the globe. 

Tuesday 13 December at 11:00 am

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.

Tuesday 15th November

Young Arts Presentation at 10:30am
Lecture at 11.00am

This is one of the most unusual and insightful of English medieval artworks., its pages are inhabited by a menagerie of outrageous grotesques and by images that give us a valuable and unparalleled glimpse into life in manorial England. Meet the Luttrells and their world by exploring their great artistic epitaph.

LECTURE CANCELLED AS A RESULT OF THE EXTREME HEAT WARNINGS

This talk contrasts the achievements of the two great French glass masters against a backdrop of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The cameo vases of Gallé were the highlight of European glass. Lalique had started his career as a jeweller at the time of Gallé’s success but moved into the production of glass by 1910 

Planners and conservationists despise pastiches. A pastiche is an imitation and, since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the more sincere the imitation ... So, think of Portmeirion, Poundbury, even Bekonscot.  

”it is a poor pupil who does not surpass his master ... the way to do it is first to copy drawings from ... a good master and then from nature ..."
So said Leonardo da Vinci. Alice's lecture looks at the work of Leonardo, his scientific approach to nature, his insistence on sound draughtsmanship and the exquisite detail in his paintings. He was sought after by princes and Kings and beholden to none of them."

There is no name more evocative of Bohemian life than Montmartre. In reality it was little more than a rundown suburb overlooking the city, bristling with windmills. But Montmartre would become the inspiration and home to some of France’s greatest artists.

Douglas read Fine Art at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980. In that time he has given over 8000 lectures to universities, colleges and art societies.

William Morris led a revolution against the products of the machine age. The first of our ‘passionate potters’, William de Morgan, was a friend of Morris who rediscovered the secrets of Near Eastern lustre glazes. In contrast, the eccentric and argumentative Martin Brothers created a range of elaborate salt glazed pots unparalleled in their imaginative breadth.

Sir Edmund Elton, the ‘potter baronet’, made pots which combine startling glazes with exotic forms. And finally, Bernard Leach, the father of English studio pottery, not only married the arts of Japan and England but created a legacy that is still alive today. This lecture explores the lives of these truly passionate potters and celebrates their extraordinary and beautiful creations.

Though born in England, Tom Roberts emigrated to Australia as a youth and settled in Melbourne. On one of his visits to Europe in the late 19th century he was introduced to Impressionism which he was keen to explore for himself. On his return to Victoria, Roberts was instrumental in promoting Impressionism and was a key member of the Heidelberg School - a group of Australian Impressionists. This lecture considers the career of Tom Roberts in its historical context and the beginnings of Impressionism in Australia.

This lecture will provide an insight into Qianlong not only as a successful Emperor of China but also as a scholar and ‘ultimate’ collector of fine art. A wide range of items of the highest quality, produced by the Imperial Workshops, will illustrate this lecture.

The Lecture will be given via Zoom webinar

There will be no lecture in Caryford Hall on 18 January

The link has been sent to all members. If members have a problem then email  [email protected] .

This lecture explores the traditional religious and folk customs associated with Christmas in Russia before the Revolution, the secular celebrations introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, the drastic changes introduced in Soviet times by Stalin, and what Christmas means to Russians today

(NB 1st Tuesday)

This lecture outlines both the historical background of our ecclesiastical textiles and how treatments undertaken by a Textile Conservator preserve and restore these items to continue their use and provide visual pleasure.

This colourful lecture explores the relationship between an extraordinary American painter and an equally remarkable place: the picturesque state of New Mexico.

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

MR JAMES RUSSELL

Having studied History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, James Russell enjoyed a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an experience that inspired him to begin writing and lecturing on 20th century art. Of his dozen or so books, one was a Sunday Times book of the year, while his writing has been described by critics as 'insightful', 'informative' and 'enjoyably readable'. James has curated major exhibitions at Dulwich Picture Gallery and for museums around the country. He bases his lectures on wide-ranging original research into the subjects that fascinate him.

It is possible to 'read' the passage of time, of movements, cultures and peoples in the architecture and art forms evident in many of our older English country churches. This lecture takes us from the pre-Christian era, through the arrival of the Romans and onwards to the sixteenth century and the epoch changing Tudors.

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

REV'D DR NICHOLAS HENDERSON

A graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge, Nicholas trained for the Anglican ministry at Ripon Hall, Oxford. Inspired by a period working on the staff of Coventry Cathedral he has gained a wide experience of international matters. He was formerly Bishop-elect for the Diocese of Lake Malawi in Central Africa (2005-2009) and undertook his doctorate on Lay Anglican Ecclesiology with the University of Wales, Lampeter. Nicholas has a particular interest in the period of the English Reformation and the associated cultural, architectural and social changes it has produced. He lectures regularly and currently works as a parish priest in West London.

Over the last twenty years the Heatherwick Studio has produced a vast range of solutions to design challenges around the world. This talk looks at the wonderfully creative ways in which Heatherwick and his team have responded.

As the 19th century came to a close, many Victorians were nostalgic for a pre-industrial countryside and rural way of life. Three generations of Victorian painters captured the disappearing rural cottage and its garden.

The merchants of seventeenth century Holland filled their houses with paintings. A favourite subject was scenes of everyday life; depicting behaviour both good...and bad.

Savitsky Despite the flourishing of Russian Avante Garde Art during the first 30 years of the 20th Century, as Stalin rose to power, he banned all but Socialist Realist expressions of art. To own anything else was dangerous enough but to start collecting it was unthinkable. And yet this is what Igor Savitsky did. The State Museum of Karakalpakstan, situated near the south shores of the Aral Sea is now a Mecca for art lovers. It’s remote location in the desert oasis of Khorezm, meant that he was able to get away with such subversive activity.

This lecture focuses on the use of art and design to promote the aims of the Suffragettes – the first pressure group to use recognisably modern PR tactics – but in doing so it also embraces the Suffragist movement more widely.

2020 marked the 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael. In this lecture, we will study his art and architecture, from his early work in Urbino and Florence to its full maturity in Rome.