Mankind has exploited the medicinal properties of plants for thousands of years, yet the role of plants in modern medicine is still considered to be peripheral by many people. This talk attempts to put the record straight and to show us that plant products are used every day by all of us to relieve pain and suffering, to heal wounds and cure diseases. This is a talk with a very wide appeal and relevance.

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10 to join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy tickets for June lecture

Her unjustified disreputable past has provided centuries of artists with the inspiration they needed to create some of the most sensuous religious paintings in history. Truly one of the most beautiful character assassinations in the history of art.

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10 to join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy tickets for May lecture

Would you ever expect to be tricked by a fake picture? For centuries, many people have been fooled by forgeries and the art market today still holds many pitfalls for picture buyers. This talk looks at a few different categories of fakes and forgeries, and focuses briefly upon three men who tried (and succeeded) in fooling the art market.

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10 to join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy tickets for April lecture

The Glasgow Boys revolutionized 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. 

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10 to join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy tickets for March lecture

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Diego Rivera (1886-1957) have iconic status in Mexico. This lecture surveys the work of both artists; it chronicles their turbulent marriage and Mexico's history after the 1910 Revolution.

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10 to join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy tickets for February lecture

Fine art has provided the advertisers and their agencies a great deal of material to use in their creative campaigns. You will discover some of the processes by which these advertisements have been created.

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10. Please join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom: Buy guest tickets for January lecture

In 1925 16 million visitors witnessed the Paris Expo - The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. What would we have seen in this landmark exhibition if we had been one of those visitors?

Guests can purchase a ticket here for just £10. Please join us in the Courtenay Centre or watch live on Zoom:  Buy guest tickets for December lecture

This lecture explores the way in which artists have included transparent glass objects in their paintings, taking huge delight in capturing the shadows and reflections seen within the glass as well as displaying their skill in portraying what lies behind and beyond. 

A journey through the '60s in music and images following the Beatles from the Hamburg Reeperbahn in 1960 to Abbey Road in 1969.

We hope you enjoyed our Special Interest Day with Leslie Primo as much as we did..

We always appreciate feedback on our lectures...  what did you like about the day? And what could we do differently to improve your enjoyment next time? Please leave us your feedback by clicking on the button, feedback on the last lecture. The password is 123.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the first lecture of the season on 9th October!

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth. Sargent certainly scandalised Parisian society and the city’s Salon with his frank depictions of human sexuality. This talk charts the artist’s life and his prolific output, showing that, Sargent was always on the cusp of seismic change.

At the lecturer's request, this lecture will not be available on Zoom.

Ian will take you on a journey around some of the most evocative stations in the world. He will look not only at the magnificent architecture and engineering but the numerous artworks within the stations and many depictions of stations in art – like Claude Monet’s Gare St Lazare. Despite any misconceptions, this lecture will be lavish, colourful and fun.

A Londoner with a passion for art and architecture, Ian is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations. Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in West London. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

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*** Change from published programme ***

Unfortunately our scheduled lecturer has had to cancel, but we are delighted to welcome Charlie Hall with a fascinating lecture on one of Arts greatest rivalries.

Three giants of the Italian Renaissance who were involved in fierce competition with each other, Leonardo, the master, Michelangelo the brooding upstart genius, and Raphael, the artist who carefully crafted his stellar career in the shadows, to emerge as a bright light that was tragically extinguished by an early death just as he began to be recognised as an artist in his own right. "Everything that Raphael had, he took from me", is what Michelangelo remarked, as Pope Julius II pitted them against each other in the Vatican.

Charlie Hall is a passionate arts educator, lecturer, and guide, based in London and Italy. Director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course (est. 1965), Tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays since 2013, and of independent tours in Italy. He is designer and host of a series of art talks and events for the Soho House group of private member’s clubs, and has designed and led courses for Christie’s Education and The Serpentine Gallery ‘Collector’s Circle’.

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Charles I was one of the greatest art collectors in Europe. During his reign he not only amassed an unparalleled collection of works by Renaissance masters, he also commissioned works by some of the most important artists of the time such as Van Dyck, Rubens and Orazio Gentileschi. He was, however, not a successful monarch and after civil war and his beheading, his collection represented all that the Puritans hated about his reign.

In this talk we will look at how Charles acquired his impressive collection and the fate that awaited it under the Protectorate.

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Nicholas Hilliard captured a glowing, delicate and intimate image of the Elizabethans in his jewel-like portrait miniatures. This lecture outlines Hilliard’s career and explores the changing styles demanded by his patrons.

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

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From the early sixties, when he left the Royal College of Art more famous than his teachers, Hockney's paintings have shown a charm and humour that sets them apart from others of his generation. From the early abstract expressionist images, through his famous Californian scenes of swimming pools to the photo-montages, this lecture follows the career of an artist whose wit and imagination has never faltered.

Douglas has been a popular lecturer at our Special Interest Days. He 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. He was the director of  The New Academy of Art Studies for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at The Study Center, Christie's course 'The History of Art Studies' and other London courses. Among his more improbable venues for lectures are the bar on the QE2, MI5 headquarters, the Captain's Room at Lloyds, and an aircraft hanger in a German NATO base. Overseas he has lectured in Belgium, France, Germany and Spain, and has taken numerous tours around Europe.

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This lecture aims to show the serious side behind the headlines, his artistic origins, his influences, and why he makes what he does. Looking at various repeating themes, the lecture gives an overview of his career showing how his work is innovative, daring, and challenging. It is not aimed to convert those who are sceptics but will help to put him in context.

David Worthington has been drawn to abstract sculpture since seeing a Barbara Hepworth in a school history book aged 10. He graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, then studied fine art in London, Barcelona and New York. A maker he also curates and writes about art. He was shortlisted for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2009.

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Until the 1970’s an Art History student may well believe there were no women artists in the entre history of Western Art, as none appeared in key texts. This lecture will discover Old Mistresses and look at contemporary women artists.

Now working as a freelance lecturer in the History of Art, Lynne originally trained as a fine artist and has taught painting, drawing and printmaking in higher and adult education. She lectured as an art historian for the universities of Sussex and Bristol where she introduced 'Understanding Art' to the Lifelong Learning programme and residential summer schools. Gives talks, lectures and guided tours to a wide range of organisations and institutions including ARCA colleges, the National Trust, National Gallery, art museums and art societies. She has worked as a professional artist specialising in oil painting and etching. Solo and group shows have included the RWA, British Museum and the Barbican.

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

Tim Mirfin is an opera singer. He has performed in all major European countries, Russia, US, Australia and the Middle East. He has given concerts in some of classical music’s most iconic venues, such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Bolshoi, the Wigmore, Festival and Albert Halls. He also teaches singing, gives masterclasses, lectures on opera and the voice and runs a local community choir. 

He studied postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio, previously reading law at Cambridge. He is passionate both about opera as an art form and also about the sheer act of singing. He is keen to share peaks behind the curtain on both apparently mysterious activities.

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The aim of the lecture is twofold; firstly, to demonstrate the artistic achievement of a magnificent work of art and secondly, to place it in the context of its time: Who created it? How and where was it created? Who commissioned it and why?

J.M.W. Turner's work in the West Country was extensive, especially in Devon and Cornwall in the 1810s. Close examination of where he went and what he did allows us to get under the skin of his practice, whether making sketches in oils and in watercolour, producing finished works or working with engravers. This talk will explore the whole gamut of Turner's responses to the landscapes of the south west and how they fit within his overall development as an artist.    

Julian studied archaeology at Reading University and has since worked as a professional archaeologist and is the author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge. This lecture explores the lives of these truly passionate potters and celebrates their extraordinary and beautiful creations. 

Paintings are a wonderful source for the jewellery historian. This talk explores what was worn and how it interacted with dress as well as what jewellery was worn by particular people and how this changed over time. Paintings can show us lost jewels which have been destroyed or stolen. 

The National Trust’s collection of some 600,000 books in 170 locations is cared for by property staff, volunteers and freelance conservators. The collection provides a physical history of the book trade and of the interaction between books and their owners and readers that is difficult to match elsewhere. So the conservation of books as objects is as important as preserving their texts.

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

From the Commedia d’ell arte roots, to its first British representation in Georgian England, to the Victorian spectaculars, music hall & variety additions and ultimately into the modern age. Learn about the origins of slapstick and how Britain became the crucible of the pantomime form, independently from the rest of the world.

The story of St Ives Art tended in the 20th century to be penned by modernist art historians, who were fixated with the influence of Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth and dismissed earlier representational art in the colony as being of no consequence.  Indeed, the only nineteenth century artists highlighted tended to be J.M.W.Turner and James Whistler.  David Tovey's in-depth research since 2000 into the full history of St Ives art has revealed a totally different story.  Many well-known artists painted in the town before the formation of the colony in 1885, with the visits of Turner and Whistler actually being of little significance, whilst, in the period prior to 1914, St Ives developed a considerable reputation internationally as a centre for the practice and teaching of landscape and marine painting.  Furthermore, even before the arrival of Nicholson and Hepworth in 1939 and the subsequent achievements of the St Ives modernists, the St Ives Society of Artists (formed in 1927) was a hugely successful body of artists, featuring at least twelve Royal Academicians and holding numerous touring exhibitions around the country.  David will talk about some of the most important artists involved with the town in the years 1800-1939 and highlight some pivotal moments in the colony's history.

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

At the turn of the last century, Vienna was the capital of a vast empire and one of the most exciting artistic laboratories in the world. It produced painters such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, architects like Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffmann, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the composer Gustav Mahler and the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Looking at these and other figures in the context of the society in which they worked, this talk asks how and why the City of Dreams became a cultural hotbed around 1900.

Speaker; Gavin Plumley A writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3,BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries.

This is the story of the epic rivalry between the two giants of British art, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. As unlike in background and temperament as their paintings were in style. These two creative geniuses transformed the art of landscape. This lecture sets them head-to-head and examines their differences, their similarities, their battles and their shared triumphs. But who will ultimately be crowned star painter? As well as giving an overview of Turner and Constable, the subject provides an enjoyable overview of the British art world during the nineteenth century.

Speaker; Nicola Moorby An independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W.Turner, including contributions to the forthcoming online catalogue of the Turner Bequest. She is also co-editor and author of How To Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate’s catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

Composer, MP, civil servant, diarist, historian, Fellow of the Royal Society, “man about town”, friend of the “high and mighty”, a prisoner in the Tower of London, eyewitness of both Plague and Fire- Samuel Pepys had an enormous zest for life. We will explore the man himself, his friends such as Christopher Wren and John Evelyn, wife Elizabeth and also his times. Evelyn calls Pepys “universally beloved”. Could anyone have a finer memorial?

Speaker; Andrew Davies Extra-Mural Tutor for London, Essex and The Open University; Author of 9 books, including The East End Nobody Knows; frequent contributor to radio and television; has lectured all over the world; organizes walks to compliment his lectures.

A fully illustrated talk with in excess of 60 images exploring the relationship between the making of an image and the way in which it is perceived by the viewer. Further discussion around the eye and the brain being an extraordinary double act made up of visual references and intellectual interpretation.

Speaker; Charlie Waite One of the world’s leading landscape photographers, he has lectured for 25 years throughout the UK, Europe and the US. Has held numerous one-man exhibitions in London, exhibited twice in Tokyo, and was awarded the prestigious honorary Fellowship of the British Institute of Professional Photographers, as well as a Direct Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society. 

Theatrical scene design is one of the world’s most beautiful, varied and lively art forms. In his talk, Bertie looks at the relationship between actor and audience and how this transformed the space and architecture of theatre throughout the ages.

Speaker; Bertie Pearce Has a BA (Hons) in Drama from Manchester University, and a Diploma Internationale from the Ecole Internationale du Theatre, Jacques Lecoq. A member of the Inner Magic Circle, with Gold Star

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

Speaker; Leslie Primo Currently lectures at the City Literary Institute, Imperial College, London , and has presented a series of talks at the National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute

Described as England’s most beautiful Decorated Gothic cathedral by English Heritage, Exeter Cathedral is a striking example of this style of Gothic architecture. Imposing Norman towers flank a massive fourteenth century nave with the longest unbroken rib-vaulted ceiling of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. In terms of aesthetics, acoustics and engineering it marks a high point in medieval cathedral building. Decorated Gothic sees an abundance of naturalistic carving, and is rich in gilt, paint, marble, alabaster, brass and Purbeck stone. Larger windows with elaborate tracery let light flood into the building. The aim of the lecture is twofold: firstly, to illustrate the defining features of Decorated Gothic at Exeter; secondly, to look more closely at the cathedral as a product of its own time, revealing insights into the spirit of the age of the great cathedrals. 

Speaker: Mark Cottle. Mark was born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University. His career has been spent in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark's & St John's University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England. He has been a frequent and popular presenter at Teignbridge Arts Society lectures. He currently runs two small companies providing training and study breaks.  

Big Ben is one of the most iconic buildings in the world- it identifies the UK and democracy in the Western world. But there is a lot more to this tower than the beautiful external gothic architecture; and Tim will prove this to you.

Speaker; Tim Redmond Tim spent his earlier career as a detective in the Metropolitan Police, working on murder, kidnap and anti-corruption investigations as well as in covert criminal intelligence. He finally retired as a Detective Superintendant and as the first police advisor to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Murder, poison, corruption and incest: all perfect ingredients for sensational popular culture. But in an age known for its brutality and church corruption were the Borgias really so bad? This lecture reveals the real family that dominated the Papacy and Italian politics during the last decade of the 15th century.

From Essex Punk Potter to Superstar National Treasure. A Turner Prize winner, Royal Academician, popular broadcaster and colourful character, he is possibly one of the world's best known contemporary artists.  His works of ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints are highly sought after.  Often controversial, he tackles difficult subjects in a poignant yet witty way and holds a mirror up to society. 

Speaker:  Ian Swankie is a Londoner with a passion for art and architecture. He is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue.  He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations.  Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in West London and he gives talks on a variety of subjects. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

The rise in importance of writing furniture from the 16th to 18th Centuries reflected the economic as well as social need for greater literacy and numeracy as mercantile trade developed across the globe.  This lecture traces the development of the bureau-bookcase and the other writing furniture from the humble "writing slope" or "Bible-box" through to magnificent symbols of status and power - just think of Louis XV's desk in Versailles, or its replica in London's Wallace Collection.  Computers may have "hidden files" but lack the intrigue and mechanical craftsmanship of secret drawers and compartments, which this lecture will reveal.  

Speaker: MR JANUSZ KARCZEWSKI-SLOWIKOWSKI, freelance lecturer and researcher in English furniture history and also an antique dealer.

This lecture will consider El Greco's arrival in Toledo in 1577 from Crete, his country of birth via a short spell in Italy.  Considering his Byzantine influences, we will move on to show how he fell out with Philip II and the Church, often flouting the rules of Catholicism in quite dramatic ways despite the menacing presence of the Inquisition. We will consider his writings and his personal life and discuss why he is one of the most revered artists today yet after his death, he was unknown for 300 years before early twentieth century artists such as Picasso revived him.

Speaker: Dr Jacqueline Cockburn.  Jacqueline is Managing Director of an art tours company, running residential courses in Andalucía, Southern Spain in the art and culture of the region. Jacqueline is a course director and lecturer at the V&A and also lectures at The Royal Academy, Christies Education, The Art Fund, The London Art History Society and has recently toured New Zealand for The Arts Society. Her specialist field is Spanish Art, but she also lectures on European Art 1790-1950. She has recently published A Taste of Art, London (Unicorn Press 2019).

Before the Revolution The Easter Eggs Carl Fabergé made for the wives of Russia's last two emperors have become the most famous surviving symbols of the Romanov Empire: both supreme examples ranging from traditional Russian to Art Nouveau, and materials from carved hardstone to exquisite enamelled gold, they also demonstrate ingenuity and creativity for which there are few parallels in any other field.  In this illustrated lecture, Toby Faber tells their story, putting it in the context of the history being made around them.

Speaker:  Toby Faber is an author and publisher, who has written books on the mysteries of Fabergé eggs, the artistry of Stradivari and the history of Faber & Faber, the influential publishing house founded by his grandfather.

Speaker:  Timothy Walker, British Botanist, was the Horti Praefectus of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum.

In 1988 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 a watercolourist, Gertrude was familiar with the principles of using colour but felt that they were neglected in garden design.  We look at how contemporary work of Turner, Monet, Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Hockney evolved in parallel with ideas as to what a garden border should look like.

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.

Speaker:  Dr Stephen Kershaw.  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, he 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.

Their Art and Scandalous Lives:  The art of the three main 'Bloomsbury' artists (Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry), cannot be separated from their extraordinary lives.  They, along with their literary and other intellectual companions (Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes, amonst others) were part of a movement, the popular name for which became widely used only after the death of around half its members.

Speaker:  Frank Woodgate  BA, ACIM, MBCS lectures at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the National Trust and other organisations.

2021 marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of Caravaggio.  Caravaggio was one of the most dynamic and influential artists of all time, famed for his dramatic lighting, powerful realism and revolutionary approach to storytelling.  This lecture examines Caravaggio's work and its impact on the art of his contemporaries and followers, both in Italy and further afield.

Speaker:  Sian Walters is an art historian and lecturer for The National Gallery and The Wallace Collection as well as many other societies in the UK and Europe.  She runs her own company which organises regular lectures, study days and art holidays abroad.  Her specialist areas are 15th and 16th century Italian Art, Spanish Art and Architecture and the relationship between Dancwe and Art.  She has lived in France and Italy where she worked for various organisations including the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice.

The Wilton Diptych is one of the most beautiful yet enigmatic paintings ever made and the hammer-beam angel roof of Westminster Hall has been described by the architectural historian John Harvey as "The most outstanding individual work in the whole history of English art".

Music lovers generally regard J S Bach as the greatest early 18th century composer.  The lecture goes beneath the surface of the composer's music to decode aspects of his musical symbolism, tell the story of his life, and confirm his great importance in the history of music.

Peter Medhurst appears in the UK and abroad as a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts.  He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and the Mozarteum in Saltzburg.

Internationally regarded as the greatest painter of his day, Jan Van Eyck (d.1441) was an innovative and technically brilliant observer of reality in an era when naturalism was becoming the goal of every artist.  His paintings still astonish on account of their dazzling evocations of textiles, metalwork and distant landscapes, and their sophisticated illusionism, as well as for their sheer ingenuity and virtuosity.  This lecture discusses Van Eyck's achievements, his career at the Burgundian court and his clientele in Bruges, and surveys his works, including the celebrated Ghent Alterpiece, and the so-called Arnolfini Marriage in the National Gallery.

Paula Nuttall is Director of the V&A Medieval & Renaissance Year course. She is the author of 'From Flanders to Florence: the impact of Netherlandish Painting 1400-1500 (Yale 2004)'

Dame Zaha Hadid died on March 31st 2016, at the age of 65.  Architectural historians of the future will surely recognise her as one of the most important architects of the early 21st century. She was born in Iraq and her reputation was global, but she made Britain her home.  This lecture tells the story of her career from the visionary projects of the 1980s, through the years of frustration when her designs were considered unbuildable, to the prolific crop of successful projects built all over the world in the last decade of her life. 

Colin Davis is a Professor of Architectural Theory.  He is an author and was the former editor of The Architects' Journal and contributed to magazines worldwide.

The Pre-Raphaelites are considered to be the first 'modern' British artists.  They looked back to the past, and yet their work was incredibly forward thinking.  The avant-garde group of Royal Academy students rebelled against everything they had been taught, rejecting Raphael and instead turning to early Renaissance and Flemish art for inspiration.  They developed new and innovative ways of working.

Stella Lyons gained her BA in the History of Art with a 1st class in her dissertation from the University of Bristol, and her MA in History of Art at the University of Warwick.  She spent a year studying Renaissance art in Italy at the British Institute of Florence

It was once thought that art did not exist in any form until around 30,000 BC when the Cro-Magnons took over from the Neanderthals in the Palaeolithic period. However a carved and painted figurine found in Morocco in 1999 is now said to be at least 400,000 years old. Throughout this lecture we will look at some of the very earliest examples of art from across the pre-historic world. From carvings to cave paintings, the innate skills of our ‘uncivilised’ ancestors will amaze you.

Dr Geri Parlby has taught at the Universities of Exeter, Plymouth and Roehampton where she is an honorary research fellow.  She also runs regular courses for the Arts Society South West Area and the Devon Archaeological Society, as well as travelling all over the UK and internationally as an accredited Arts Society Lecturer.

Following the changes that came about through the auspices of the 'Peredvizhniki' movement, the focus of Russian painting changed from academic rigour to the many moods and characteristics of the Russian landscape itself.  No longer would this merely provide a background to lofty themes,but would itself take centre stage, capable of telling its own story as powerful and as moving as any historical or mythological drama.

Most recently, Brian Healey has been art guiding through important towns and museums in France, Belgium, Holland and Spain

Using illustrations from illuminated manuscripts, readings from literature and contemporary accounts, and the haunting songs, carols and lively dance tunes of medieval England, Sarah brings alive the spirit of a Medieval Christmas - a time of joy and celebration for some, but hardship and suffering for others.

Sarah performs, writes and lectures about the harp regularly in American, Australia, Europe and UK

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM

This year sees the 200th anniversary of the building of the Haytor Granite Tramway.  The man responsible for it, George Templer, was an enterprising, colourful figure.  His father, James Templer, built Stover Canal and his grandfather, also James, built Stover House and Stover Lake.  This mini lecture will focus on these men who over 200 years ago made quite an impact on this corner of South Devon.

Ancient Greece was sophisticated and primitive at the same time. Philosophy and myth ran side by side.  Men who thought rationally about their world also believed it to be populated by a pantheon of spirits and deities.  This lecture will explore how myths of gods and heroes dominated Greek art and what we learn from these images about ancient Greek Society, its values, and its fears?

Neil was educated at Kings College Cambridge and The Institute of Archaeology UCL. He works as lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster.  He is a Research Fellow, University of Bristol

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM

John Cooke Bourne captured for posterity, in a compelling series of lithographs, the birth of the railways.  This mini-lecture is not a history of the railways and doesn't look at types of locomotive, rolling stock or the technology of signalling.  Its subject is simply one very talented artist's attempt to capture "the lived experience of a railway being carved out through the landscape".   (Matt Thompson)

The work of women photographers has often been unfairly neglected.  This lecture seeks to correct that by examining the contribution of three outstanding British practitioners; Julia Margaret Cameron, a Victorian pioneer; Jane Brown, a brilliant portraitist, and Fay Goodwin, who excelled in landscape photography  We also explain the work of two highly influencial American photographers

Brian is a Senior Teaching Fellow at University College London, where has lectured since 1997.

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM

In the early seventh century a great ship was dragged ashore from the River Deben in Suffolk.  It became the burial place of a powerful Anglo-Saxon warlord, buried with a mound of treasures from all over the known world.  Fine weaponry, gold coins and exquisitely crafted jewellery revealed levels of sophistication which were a revelation.  

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM

This is a mini-lecture of 30-35 minutes to give members a feel for Zoom lectures before the autumn.  As it is effectively a pilot, there is no charge to the branch.  Mark hopes you will find the lecture interesting, enjoyable and thought-provoking.

THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM

Guy Rooker is a retired surgeon with a lifelong passion, fascination and admiration for the work of Leonardo Da Vinci.

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

Max Jones - formerly Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ's College, Cambridge.  Now teaches at University of Manchester winning the University's 'Teacher of the Year' award.

Captain Scott and his four companions died in the Antarctic in 1912.  Although they had lost the race to the South Pole to Norweigian Roald Amundsen, their deaths unleased an astonishing wave of tributes not only in Britain but around the world.  This lecture will examine the different ways in which artists represented death in the polar wasteland and poirtrayed failure as heroic sacrifice.

John Benjamin is a writer and broadcaster incuding BBC Antiques Roadshow.

The lecture will cover four hundred years of international jewellery design, examining the changing styles from the pomp of High Renaissance enamelled gold work to the glamour of Harry Winston diamonds.  This presentation covers many of the key elements of manufacture, history and diamond mining together with past and future designs.  It will also take a look at the jewels of the Duchess of Windsor.

Brian McDonald is a dealer and consultant in antique oriental rugs and carpets.  Author of "Tribal Rugs - Treasures of the Black Tent" updated in 2016.

The lecture takes the audience on a journey beginning in outer Mongolia in the 5th Century BC and follows 11th century migrations from Turkmenistan, the cradle of weaving, in to the Caucasus, Persia and Afghanistan.  They will be introduced to the nomadic tribes with their exceptional skills which produced woven rugs, carpets and dowry bags. Today, these weavings are highly desirable and collectable works of woven art.

Julian Halsby is an author and member of the International Association of Art Critics.  Keeper to the Royal Society of Artists.

In October 1888 Paul Gaugin arrived in Aries to stay with Vincent Van Gogh.  At first their friendship went well but Van Gogh became increasingly jealous of Gaugin's success with women and selling more paintings.  On December 23rd Gaugin fled the house fearing for his life, while Van Gogh cut off his ear and delivered it in a box to a brothel.  Who was to blame and what really happened?