Lectures

Please note this lecture is now on the third Wednesday of June, the 18th, but the times of 10.30 and 12.30 are unchanged

A colouful introduction to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network which looks at all aspects of the exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular.  This lecture provides a colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular. Features range from sweeping aqueducts to tiny bollards; from colourful historic narrowboats to 'Roses and Castles' artwork; from grand World Heritage Sites to quirky listed buildings. A well-known architectural historian once described our canals as a 'poor man's art gallery'.

The speaker is a specialist in canal history, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society.

This lecture plots the coming together of Art and Science in the person of Leonardo da Vinci, and his scientific approach to painting in the analysis of light, perspective, anatomy and human expression; and it goes on to look at the scientific approach to the painting of artists such as Vermeer, Joseph Wright of Derby, and Seurat, culminating in the rational aesthetic of the Bauhaus. It will end by outlining the reasons for the eventual divorce between art and science, and ask if this split is irrevocable

Richard is a professional artist who graduated in English and Art History from York University in 1986. From 1988-1994 he lectured at the adult education departments of Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, and then went on to become a full-time figurative artist, executing large-scale public commissions, and exhibiting widely throughout the UK. 

"Europe has a great deal of art, and America has a great deal of money”. It wasn’t rocket-science, but there was only one man whose quintessential English wit and charm made it look easy as he convinced the hard-nosed, tight-fisted titans of Wall Street that, “when you pay high for the priceless, you’re getting it cheap”. Frick, Mellon, Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt etc. all vied for his latest discoveries and until you were on his client list, you could be assured that you and your collection were still decidedly second rate. This is a glimpse into the oft-times hilarious world of Lord Duveen, and the art that made Wall Street’s toughest go weak at the knees.

Mark is a writer, the founder of a website about the American aristocracy, and lectures regularly in both Europe and the United States. He worked for twenty years as a plumber in London. However, his real passion has always been for history, particularly the history behind houses and the characters that conjoined to create them. His special interest lies with the great American houses and their relationships with those in Europe, both socially and architecturally. 

Steve is an engaging public speaker and has produced a series of highly entertaining lectures based on his extensive knowledge of popular music, and his experiences in the radio business.  In 1965 British music dominated the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and the Beatles were blazing a trail across the world. However, in America, the civil rights and anti-war movements were gaining momentum influencing a new breed of writers and musicians; electric folk was born, and album sales started to increase exponentially. This is the story of the second half of the sixties featuring the music of the Beatles, The Rollings Stones and Bob Dylan. 

Steve King has spent 35 years working in the radio industry as a Broadcaster, Programmer and Events Director. He has managed some of the biggest radio brands in the UK and has interviewed and worked with many well-known popular music artists. He has also directed over 50 multi-artist events at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, London Palladium and Manchester Arena. 

Members may remember that he previously lectured to us in December 2023 on "She  Loves You - music of the 1960s".
 

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, if any, might be. 

Pepe qualified as a London blue badge tourist guide in 2011. Since then he has specialised in the graffiti and street art of East London. Prior to qualifying, he was a tour manager for 15 years, travelling extensively, all over the world.  

It easy to take colour for granted in our man-made world. But before organic chemistry the most desirable pigments were often rare, exotic or poisonous.

Merchants supplied cochineal ‘grana’ from the holds of Spanish galleons, pungent golden nuggets from India and lapis rock carried by camel train from the mountains of Badakhshan.

Alchemists prepared deadly King’s Yellow, mysterious Vitriol of Venus and Moorish Gold concocted from basilisk powder and human blood.

Small wonder artists kept their paint recipes closely guarded in Books of Secrets.

This lecture tells the stories of alchemy and adventure behind some our most beautiful and colourful paintings.

Lynne is an independent art historian lectures for the National Trust and the Art Fund as well as art galleries and universities. She enjoys art in its stylistic, historical and social context and finds this less limited than the concentional route of periods and artist's oeuvres.  She has also worked as an etcher and as a painter in oils.

When the Wallace Collection was bequeathed to the British nation in 1897 it was believed that it contained twelve paintings by Rembrandt. In the following decades, however, most of these paintings were re-attributed to other artists, to the extent that by 1992, when the last full catalogue of the Collection’s Dutch paintings was published, it was thought that there was only one genuine work by Rembrandt - the wonderful portrait of the artist’s son Titus. Since then further work on four of the other paintings has suggested that they are also wholly or partly by the master. This talk tells the fascinating story of how connoisseurship changes and the impact this has on how we look at works of art. 

Educated at New College, Oxford, and formerly Senior Curator of the Wallace Collection where he had particular responsibility for exhibitions and nineteenth-century paintings, Stephen has given countless tours of the Collection for visiting groups and many lectures on its art and other related subjects. His latest publication, The Discovery of Paris, is a book on early nineteenth-century watercolour views of Paris by major British artists.

The source of the stuff of dreams, the poppy is a beautiful, fragile flower with immense power. Opium (from the greek ‘opion’ – poppy juice) is a hypnotic bringer of sleep, delightful lethargy and relief from pain. It is also highly addictive.

Greed led to the introduction of this hugely desirable substance first to China, and then to Europe. The beguiling seduction of its effects led to its use to quieten troubled minds and calm agitated children and babies. Its use – often by those with troubled minds – led to the creation of great works of art in music, art and literature. Social and art history meet as this lecture unfolds.

Amanda read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge and became a Curator at Museum of London specialising in the decorative arts 1718 to present day, exhibitions, lectures, booklets, broadcasts.  From 1988 she moved with family to Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. In 1995 she returned to the UK; fundraising for arts companies, writing, lecturing and guiding tours to Japan. Her most recent publications are on Japanese plant and garden influences in the West.

The lecture concentrates on the height of Scandinavian Modern design in the 1950s, when it took America and Europe by storm.  But lurking in the shadows was a Nordic project to change consumer taste and shape the model citizen using scientific experimentation and social engineering.  The talk traces the functionalist and ideological roots of Scandinavian Modern in the 1920s and 1930s and discusses how it became a key tool of the Nordic social democratic project until well into the 1960s. It explains how Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway broke away from Bauhaus and International Style to create softer, more organic furniture and graceful ceramics, glassware and textiles. But, using IKEA catalogues from the period, it also shows how consumers were resistant to state-sanctioned clean lines. 

Featuring designers such as Bruno Mathsson, Josef Frank, Astrid Sampe, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, Tapio Wirkkala and Alvar Aalto, the talk explores just how ‘democratic’ Scandinavian design really was and asks whether our conception of it is based on a marketing myth, concealing hidden treasures and regional variations. Using two ground-breaking 1950s exhibitions (Design in Scandinavia, USA and H55, Helsingborg) the presentation also considers how conceptions of Scandinavian Modern were completely different in the United States and the domestic Nordic region. Finally, it asks why these designs came back into fashion and are so highly sought-after today.

James Vaux is a researcher and lecturer on Nordic arts, culture, design and history. He has presented extensively on diverse topics throughout his career to demanding audiences across the globe, including CEOs and government ministers. His talks now focus on understanding artistic achievements through their historic, cultural and political context.  He was a solicitor before becoming head of Rothschild, and setting up their Nordic operations. Subsequently he has studied designs, music and literature mostly relating to Scaninavia and Iceland.

Scottish architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh is now a well-known name and a major draw for the tourist industry in Glasgow, with several of his buildings still existing, as well as his designs for Tea Rooms.  However, his work was not always so well received and, following some early success, which included his architectural masterpiece, the Glasgow School of Art, his prospects floundered.  His work was increasingly unfashionable as Glasgow turned to Neoclassicism and he found himself struggling to secure commissions.  In this lecture we track him from that early success in his native Glasgow, through the years of doubt and struggle, ultimately to the South of France where he enjoyed the last few years of his life travelling with his wife and collaborator, Margaret, and reinvented himself as a water colour painter.  With a wonderful array of beautifully designed buildings, furniture and interiors to enjoy along the way, we explore how such early promise turne to disappointment and Mackintosh became the archetypal misunderstood artist.

Rosalind is an experienced guide for Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. She lectures at the Tate, to independent arts societies and on cruises, and leads art appreciation holidays.