AGM, followed by lecture. Meeting starts at 10.15 am

Caravaggio – one of the best known names today. A man of proverbial rebelliousness, painting in a style which he knew would drop a bomb on the art world he grew up in. He painted with startling immediacy, rejecting his peers’ obsession with highly artificial designs and stale quotations from earlier works of art. But he was also fortunate to be painting at a time when the Church wanted to harness the power of his art to enforce its message. This lecture considers the unlikely alliance of artist and patrons, considering why the establishment was prepared to accept him, outrageous lifestyle and all, and at the same time, examining why his art is so powerful for us today. 

From those gorgeous 1930s travel posters, through nationalisation of the railways in 1948, with their bright regional colours, to the creation of the famous BR Double-Arrow symbol in the 1960s...it's surprising how British railways have led the way in terms of design. In this lecture we reminisce over those beautiful graphics, bygone days of railway architecture and travel. We'll pay homage to the wonderful Tube map by Harry Beck and look to the future of train and station design. So get your tickets ready for inspection: we're on the right track! 

A lively and interactive lecture looking at how Shakespeare’s company produced the plays in the 16th/17th century. Highlighting the differences between early modern and modern theatre practice, including repertoire constraints on rehearsal, cue scripts, embedded stage direction, visible audience, universal lighting, and touching on textual clues, this workshop will change the way you look at Shakespeare’s texts for ever.

Charles Dickens has often been proclaimed as “The Man Who Invented Christmas” and indeed on hearing that Dickens had died, a cockney barrow-girl said: “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?”  Dickens revived the Christmas traditions with his warm portrayal of Christmas in the domestic setting; with plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing  and family cheer by the hearth. Although he celebrated Christmas in numerous works it is his enduring master piece, ‘A Christmas Carol’ published on 19th December 1843 which immortalises the spirit of Christmas Cheer. Dickens was a man of extraordinary energy and talent: literary genius, reformer, public speaker, actor and amateur magician. In his lecture Bertie Pearce reveals a Dickensian Christmas with readings, biographical details and conjuring tricks.

Lucinda writes:    When researching my biographies of Lizzie Siddal and Kate Perugini, I kept coming across a mysterious princess, attending studio parties, helping fellow artists in times of need, and being linked with several scandals. I was amazed to discover Princess Louise was a daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a well-respected sculptor. Her life and legacy has been locked away in the Royal Archives ever since her death in 1939, but her work was stunning, and her life fascinating. Researching her biography was like being a detective, so I titled the book  describing my findings  The Mystery of Princess Louise.

Ravilious has been described as the greatest English watercolourist of the 20th century and his images of the landscape and of everyday objects attract passionate devotees. A prolific painter, printmaker and designer, he became an Official War Artist in 1939, and was killed in 1942 but his legacy is a body of work reflecting deep delight in the world in which he lived. This talk looks at his work and that of some of his contemporaries working on the Home Front in the Second World War.  

In the Late Antique period (fourth to the sixth century AD) ivory was the principal organic material used in the Mediterranean world to create works of art. Carved by the hand of anonymous craftsmen these ivories are some of the most beautiful art objects in the world. Following an introduction to the history of ivory carving, the lecture will then examine some of the most celebrated ivory carvings of this period to marvel at the craftsmanship of the master carvers, explore the unique iconography and unravel the original functions of some key ivory carvings. The lecture will also consider the impact of the recent Ivory Act as well as looking at other types of ivory such as whalebone, walrus, narwhal and mammoth. The lecture will conclude with tips on how to identify bone from ivory and offer advice on the new rules about ivory collecting.  

Fine ceramics were traded along the Silk Roads from early times, and many extraordinary examples are found in collections from Europe, Central Asia and the Far East.  Decorating fine white porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue became a speciality of Chinese ceramics, creating huge demand in West and East trading nations.
The story of the Willow Pattern has intrigued collectors for centuries, the origins of which are vague and difficult to locate.  The development of Transfer printing onto ceramics created a huge boom in demand for the type of Blue and White wares now called “Willow Pattern”, even if the narrative has departed from the original and there are no “willows” in the pattern at all!

Potteries in Europe and America started making their own versions of “Blue Willow” for a mass market, using local themes and variations that attracted even more demand for the popular and affordable dining sets.

Kathleen Scott was the most significant and prolific British woman sculptor before Barbara Hepworth, yet despite her fame during her lifetime—both as a sculptor and as the widow of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott—she remains relatively unknown today. This lecture explores why her legacy has faded and reclaims her story.

This lecture situates Kathleen’s work within early 20th-century ideals of heroism, explores the artistic influences that shaped her, and probes the complex relationship between her personal narrative and the men she immortalised. Was her success rooted in genuine talent, or did sympathy for the famous widow secure her commissions? Through this investigation, I will bring Kathleen Scott’s story—and her art—back into the spotlight.

Marking the 300th anniversary of his birth (1727) this lecture will look at the life and works of Thomas Gainsborough. Justly considered one of this country’s greatest ever portrait painters, along with his rival Joshua Reynolds, he created what has been called the Golden Age of British Art.  Despite achieving great artistic and financial success he actually hated his ‘day job’: “I am sick of portraits,” he said, “and wish very much to take my viol da gamba and walk off to some sweet village where I can paint landskips and enjoy the fag end of life in quietness and ease”.  Find out how he achieved acclaim and financial success…and what he would have preferred to be doing.  He was, indeed, a dissident at the top of the art world.

Self assured, affected and irreverent, the owner of a razor sharp wit, Whistler scandalised London society during the 1870's. American by birth, he trained as an artist in Paris where his bohemian lifestyle made him one of the personalities of the city. Annoyed by the criticisms of his work at the Salon des Refuses he moved to London only to find the English even more opposed to his ideas. When John Ruskin savaged one of his Nocturnes in an article, accusing him of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”, Whistler took him to court where he scored a moral victory, received a farthing in damages and ruined himself financially. The lecture explores the paradox of this man whose flamboyant and eccentric ways made him both admired and detested in equal measure and yet whose quiet, meditative paintings, in which more is suggested than actually seen, ultimately assured him a place alongside Oscar Wilde as one of the high priests of the Aesthetic Movement.