THE GARDEN IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART

Woolavington Village Hall 1.15 for a 1.30 start

"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). 

A leafy garden with a pool, fruit trees and flowers epitomised the ancient Egyptian idea of paradise. In this lecture we will explore images of gardens in Ancient Egyptian art to discover all we can about the gardens associated with ancient Egyptian palaces, élite houses, temples, and tombs. We will consider garden design and the range of trees, flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs grown, but also the significance of gardens to the ancient Egyptians, with a focus on the symbolism and religious associations of gardens, trees and plants in a complex and fascinating ancient belief system. Illustrations for this lecture will include brightly painted tomb scenes, intricate funerary models of gardens, and palace decoration on plaster.  Some of this imagery is almost 4500 years old, but still fresh and vivid. We will explore it together with fascinating archaeological evidence for ancient gardens in Egypt, and a range of textual references from gardeners’ employment contracts to love songs.

An Egyptologist who has worked in museums and on excavations in Egypt, these days Lucia Gahlin mostly lectures.

She was formerly an honorary research associate at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, and a lecturer in Egyptology at several UK universities. Currently, she works at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London, lectures widely and leads tours to Egypt. A former director of Bloomsbury Summer School at UCL, Chair of the Friends of the Petrie Museum, and Trustee of the Egypt Exploration Society, her publications include Egypt: Gods, Myths and Religion.

CHRISTMAS GHOSTS: THE TRADITION OF WINTER TALES?

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

We've told supernatural tales at midwinter for a very long time. In this talk Kirsty Hartsiotis takes us back to the earliest winter tales of the Middle Ages and the age of Shakespeare and Marlowe. We then explore the lost years of the 17th and 18th centuries, where it’s often thought that Christmas wasn’t celebrated much – but ghost tales at Christmas-tide were very part of the season.  In the 19th century many traditional Christmas ghost tales were collected, and even now it’s considered one of the spookiest times of the years.

Kirsty Hartsiotis was the curator of 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. She is a researcher, lecturer and storyteller.

Image by  Betidraws from Pixabay

MONUMENTAL EPHEMERA

Woolavington Village Hall 1.15 for a 1.30 start

When the fair has gone what is left? Our November lecture is a brief story of those pieces of architecture, buildings and monuments, which were built for specific events and never taken down. 

We’ll look at wonders such as the Eiffel Tower, the different elements which make up the Statue of Liberty, and the Magic Fountain of Barcelona, to mention just a few ...

Certain structures were intended to be temporary but have become permanent and, indeed, iconic. 

         The concept of monumentality conjures up the idea of permanence, or at least an aspiration for durability. In comparison, ephemera are things which exist for only a short time: they are fleeting, fugitive, momentary, transient, and transitory. 

         While all these words mean enduring or staying for only a short time, ephemeral implies a striking brevity of life.

         So how does the ephemeral become permanent? This lecture will consider what happens when structures designed for specific events, and intended to be temporary, become permanent; and the concepts collide. It also looks at what happens when monuments intended to be permanent are, for whatever reason, destroyed.

Speaker Dr. Emma Watts is an art historian specialising in the economics of art, British art and material culture. Her career began in the fine art auction world, moving on to a successful academic career in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong. 

Passionate about access to the fine arts and its education, she has developed national, tertiary and adult education curricula and has been active in policy, planning, education and advisory boards in Australia and the UK. She lectures with the Open University, writes, and advises on fine art valuation, probate and sale. 

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

Watercolourist, muralist, ceramicist and wood-engraver, Eric Ravilious was one of the most distinctive young British artists working between the two World Wars; the increasing interest and popularity in his work are revealed by recent exhibitions and sales of his work. 

Our October lecture explores Ravilious’s career, from his designs for J Wedgwood & Sons, creating Coronation mugs and Christmas tableware; his work as a wood engraver, producing illustrations for many books; and as a muralist whose remaining undamaged panels are still awaiting restoration. 

During the late 1930s he turned increasingly to watercolour painting and colour lithography, producing watercolours of the English landscape which examine the countryside with a unique clarity and perception, placing it within the social and cultural context of the England of the time.

The beauty and simplicity of his prolific output invite us to give him his rightful place in the long tradition of watercolour painting in England. 

Appointed as an official war artist in 1940, Ravilious was posted to various locations throughout Britain and produced perceptive images of the preparations for warfare, up until his untimely death when lost on a rescue mission in Iceland in 1942.

Our speaker, 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.

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

The Art Deco movement evolved at a time when fashion and jewellery were the calling cards of the day.  

At the start of the ‘roaring 20s’, people were exhausted and disheartened by the ravages of the First World War: there was an appetite for change. The clean lines and pristine elegance of Art Deco, paying homage to Cubism and Futurism, answered that call.  

While its pursuit of geometric shapes and angular forms in all things, from jewellery to architecture, was partly a reaction to the organic and sinuous Art Nouveau development of the late 19th and early 20th century, Art Deco also reflected the relative novelty of machine-age technology, as opposed to traditional hand-craftsmanship, to produce fine results. 

Our talk on this fascinating period explores its revolutionary design movement through the jewellery, fashion, architecture and automobiles of that era.

With over 35 years in the diamond industry, our speaker Laurie Wickwire is a graduate of GIA London, IGI Antwerp, and DeBeers Institute of Diamonds, and is both a certified diamond grader and certified pearl grader who also holds a BSc in International Business & Finance and a BA in French.   

If you think she looks familiar, it’s because she is the diamond expert for the international television shopping channel QVC, and has appeared on BBC and ITV programmes. Her other talents include hosting diamond master classes, filming jubilee specials, and creating the historical jewellery range for both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle gift shops.

THE ELGIN MARBLES

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

It is now just over 200 years since the purchase of the so-called 'Elgin Marbles' from Lord Elgin by the British Parliament, which passed them into the trusteeship of the British Museum, where they are still on display. 

So 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?  

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 Steve Kershaw been interested in the classical world since his introduction to Homer’s Iliad at his primary school, leading to his future studies and Ph.D. in Classics from Bristol University. 

Having taught Classics in a number of establishments, he now operates principally for Oxford University Department for Continuing Education and is involved in the world of Classical Civilisation, both intellectually and physically, as a guest speaker for various cruise lines. He has travelled extensively throughout the Mediterranean, and lectures regularly at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at New York University London. 

He has contributed to television and radio programmes, and has written several books on classical mythology, classical civilisation, the Roman empire and Plato’s imaginary Atlantis. 

He is also the author of the highly acclaimed Mythologica, a children's book on Greek mythology which was Amazon.com’s Best Children’s Non-Fiction Book of 2019.

THE YOUNG BRONTES AND ART

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

The Brontë children were profoundly imaginative, creative and gifted. Their childhood was taken up with intensely absorbing private worlds which they invented, and which became for them more real than the actual world in which they lived. 

Not only did these imaginary worlds dominate their complex and detailed ‘plays’, but the children created histories, political structures, enormous casts of characters, dramatic and tragic events which they chronicled in prose, poetry and pictures. 

All were talented artists as well as budding writers – indeed Branwell Brontë was to study with the portrait painter William Robinson and the sculptor Joseph Leyland. 

Engravings by John Martin decorated the walls of the parsonage where they lived – apocalyptic scenes of Biblical events; buildings with massed colonnades and battlements; thronged multitudes fleeing, fighting, fearful. 

This talk explores the influence of these and other works on their creativity and looks at some of their own art.

Our speaker Elizabeth Merry has over thirty years' experience talking on a range of subjects including classical art and architecture, aspects of the visual arts and the links between literature and art. 

She has lectured for the WEA, the Universities of Bristol and Southampton Departments of Continuing Education, Royal Society of Arts, Dillington House, Jane Austen Society, Thomas Hardy Society, Brussels Brontë Society, Finzi Society, the Art Fund, Dorset County Museum and literary, historical and philosophical societies nationwide. 

She has also spoken on study tours to Rome, Aachen, Cologne, Brittany and the Dordogne, as well as all over the UK, in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, The Hague, Malaga, Australia and New Zealand.

WOMEN WITH NAMES YOU MIGHT KNOW;AND THEIR MUSIC WHICH YOU MIGHT NOT

Woolavington Village Hall, Higher Road, Woolavington. 1.15 for a 1.30 start

Fanny Mendelssohn, older sister of the German composer Felix, and her countrywoman Clara, wife of Robert Schumann, were both celebrated musicians in their day; but then, just as now, their music tended to be eclipsed by the works of their men.

In Fanny’s case, the social conventions of the early nineteenth century meant that most of her compositions remained unpublished during her lifetime; and despite her virtuosity, she rarely played the piano outside her family circle. 

One of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, Clara Schumann became a supportive wife to her husband, despite his mental problems.

A generation later, the talented Austrian composer Alma Mahler gave up writing music at the insistence of her composer husband Gustav; years later, he listened more closely to her songs, relented, and urged her to begin again. 

Robert Samuels introduces us to these three women composers whose music deserves to come out of the shadows of the more famous men of their families. 

The talk, which is fully illustrated with musical examples, looks at the fascinating relationships between Fanny and her brother; Clara and her husband; and Alma and the man for whom she sacrificed her ambitions.

Robert Samuels is a Senior Lecturer in Music at The Open University, an authority on the music of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Schoenberg, Weill, Shostakovich, Britten, Cage, Boulez and Birtwistle amongst others. 

He worked on the award-winning BBC4 TV series Symphony in 2012, has spoken on BBC Radio 3, has organised and spoken at study events for the Oxford Lieder Festival, and gives talks for The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

THE LIFE OF AN OPERA SINGER: the inside track   

Meeting at the 37 Club, Woolavington Road, Puriton, TA7 8AD

Join our speaker, the renowned bass Tim Mirfin, as he offers us a peek behind the curtain and away from the glare of the bright lights on stage to look at the real life of an opera singer.

Is it so very glamorous? How does one start out… and then how does one continue to find work after that?

What are the challenges, pitfalls and consequences of such a life? How does family life work?

What about dealing with divas … ?

This talk is peppered with video, anecdotes and the live singing of three operatic arias to illustrate along the way.

Tim originally studied law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, before the lure of singing became too strong, leading him to study post-graduate at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio.

As a bass soloist, Tim has sung in all major European countries, Australia, US, Russia and the Middle East, performing major opera roles for opera companies such as Hamburg Opera, Theater an der Wien, Frankfurt Opera, Opera de Lyon, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Holland Park Opera and The Bolshoi, Moscow and has given concerts and recitals in various international venues, including Amsterdam’s Conzertgebouw, Vienna Musikverein, Melbourne Town Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Usher Hall Edinburgh and cathedrals throughout the UK.

Passionate about opera as an art form, and about the sheer act of singing, he is now based at his home near Exeter, where he teaches singing, gives masterclasses and lectures on opera and the voice.

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Justine studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, and has lectured regularly for Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, as well as to Oxbridge and Bristol Universities, Christie's Fine Art, the Art Fund, and groups such as the Bradford on Avon Arts Association, Friends of Covent Garden and U3A. Publications include, amongst others, The Art of John Martin (2001), Michael Ayrton: A Biography (1994) and articles for Apollo Magazine and Modern Painters. Has also broadcast on Flowers in Art for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

In Justine's own words:

"The Museum will be like a book, with its pages always open, not shut". [Henry Cole, Founder and 1st Director]

If ever there was a people’s palace it is here. "A Palace of Art, devoted to the free culture of the million". [George Wallis, Curator]

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is the largest museum of art and design anywhere in the world and one of the most popular visitor destinations, locally, nationally and globally. From its beginnings in the 19th century it has challenged preconceptions and set standards for what museums should be and achieve. Constantly controversial, it has never been ashamed either to provoke scholarly debate or court popular favour. Along its wandering corridors and within its maddeningly irrational galleries you are equally likely to find yourself admiring an Empress’ diamonds, a mechanical tiger or a rockstar’s broken guitar.

This lecture offers the opportunity to explore some of the stories, people and objects that make up the phenomenon familiarly known and loved by generations as the V&A, and to gain some insights into the vision that brought it to birth and continues to drive it forward to this day.

image from Pixabay by 139904

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Sarah is a graduate and prize-winner from the Royal Academy of Music and in 2015 was elected an Associate. She performs, writes and lectures about the harp regularly in America, Australia, Europe and UK.

In Sarah's own words:

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. With extracts from literature and manorial household accounts, she pieces together life in a medieval manor house at Yuletide. In addition to her reproduction medieval harps, she adds plucked psaltery, hurdy-gurdy, hammered dulcimer and gemshorn to the musical mix, performing carols, music and readings for an atmospheric and musical seasonal celebration.

image from Pixabay by Hans

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Now retired, James 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. He 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.

In James' own words:

Images of Romanesque or Gothic cathedral architecture may linger in our memories, but many of us would be pressed to describe a typical mosque. We shall look at three of the most important forms, typified by the Friday Mosque in Cordova (now the Cathedral), the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul, and the Royal Mosque in Isfahan. The lecture explores their different styles, and the minarets and domes that enhance their skylines, and illustrates the rich designs, whether in mosaic, tile, or other media, that adorn these buildings. It also asks whether sectarian differences between Sunni and Shii belief affect mosque design.

Image from Pixabay by Bela Balla

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Roger Butler is a landscape architect and an experienced writer, photographer and lecturer. He has a particular interest in the unique history, architecture and traditions of our canal network and worked on some of the UK’s major canal restoration projects. He has also acted as a consultant to bodies such as Waterways Ireland, Natural England and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site.

He regularly contributes to waterway and heritage magazines and writes and provides images for a range of countryside and outdoor titles. Roger is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society and a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. He lives near Stratford upon Avon and lectures to groups such as the National Trust, RSPB, U3A, history societies, etc. across the Midlands and further afield.

In Roger's own words:

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'.

Image from Pixabay by philwild

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON,TA7 8AD

2.00pm FOR A PROMPT 2.15pm START

Connie Gray has a background in fashion and broadcasting.  She is a specialist in the history of 20th century fashion illustration and its powerful legacy with both the most influential fashion publications internationally and the great couture houses of Paris, London and New York. She is regularly invited to lecture both in the UK and the US and sits on advisory boards at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London and Special Collections at FIT, New York.

This is Connie's own description of the (replacement) lecture:

As the world emerged from WWII and French couturier Christian Dior introduced his revolutionary ‘New Look’ in 1947, fashion illustration was to play a pivotal role in the success of fashion houses who had struggled to survive the war years in Europe and new designers who were about to step onto the international stage. Often with seemingly effortless fluidity, the fashion artists would translate the latest looks from London and Paris for the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar ensuring fame and fortune to names such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Balmain alongside Schiaparelli, Dior, Chanel and many more.

Traditionally considered to be commercial art, fashion illustration is a genre of art that captures the imagination, leaving a lasting impression whilst also being a valuable historical reference to the cultural and social times of the post war era. Through this fascinating talk, discover the most influential names in post war fashion illustration, their differing approaches to documenting fashion and why these remarkable fashion artists continue in the 21st century to be the trendsetters of their time.

Christian Dior Evening Gown Illustrated by René Gruau (1909 - 2004) for L'Officiel de la Mode 1948 © René Gruau

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Simon studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature. He taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries, and from 1989 to 2012 was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production. Simon is now a freelance writer and lecturer, lecturing widely on opera, art history and literature, and travelling extensively with travel companies. He has published several novels, including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass, poems and opera librettos.

In Simon's own words:

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) was a close friend of the Russian painter Viktor Hartmann (1834-1873) who, like Mussorgsky, was seen by the critic Vladimir Stasov as part of the burgeoning Russian Nationalist movement in culture. When Hartmann died young, an exhibition of his work was organised by Stasov and shown at the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. Mussorgsky visited the exhibition, and was inspired by the paintings to write his best-known work for piano. Pictures at an Exhibition was later arranged for orchestra, and remains one of the world’s most popular pieces of classical music. The ten movements, each inspired by a picture, are interspersed by a repeated ‘Promenade’ as the viewer strolls through the gallery. Some of the original pictures have survived: ‘The Ballet of Chicks in their Shells’, ‘A Rich Jew’, ‘A Poor Jew’, ‘Sketches of Limoges market’, ‘The Hut on Hen’s Legs’, ‘Gnomus’, ‘Catacombs’ and ‘The Bogatyr Gate’. In this lecture I will discuss these images and other works by Hartmann and Mussorgsky, to put this musical masterpiece into its artistic and historical context. The lecture will be illustrated by musical examples of both the piano and the orchestral versions of Pictures at an Exhibition.

Image from Pixabay by takazart  

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Felicity has an MA degree in Fine Art Valuation and BA in History and Economics, and is an experienced cruise lecturer and lecturer to National Trust, Rotary, and many other groups such as U3A and Probus. She is a member of the Nelson Society and 1805 Club and has been Programme Secretary of Blackmore Vale for four years and formerly was a committee member of Wimborne AS

In Felicity's own words:

This lecture looks at how artists portrayed the British countryside in the 19th century. Idyllic views of the Suffolk countryside by Constable, Samuel Palmer’s pastoral scenes of England and Wales and Millais’s Scottish landscapes are shown. Paintings of pretty cottages by Helen Allingham are shown alongside basic interiors of rural workers’ dwellings by Thomas Faed. In addition, the contrast of pictures of happy rural workers, such as Birket Foster’s pretty milkmaid, compared with poor, hardworking labourers by George Clausen. Illustrated with paintings by: Richard Redgrave, JMW Turner, William Dyce, Luke Fildes, David Wilkie, William McTaggart and Ford Maddox Brown.

Image from Pixabay by 12019

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

John is an inspirational speaker who has delivered lecturers and workshops in the US (Texas, California, Massachusetts), 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 resident 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, London and Kingston University. Lectures and workshops.

In John's own words:

After moving to Hollywood, Hitch created several masterpieces of cinema including Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). Vertigo has been recently voted by critics as the best ever film overtaking Citizen Kane. Together we will explore Hitchcock's dark film. Taking a shower still fills many people with dread and forboding thanks to the Hitchcock modern horror classic of 1960. A full analysis of Hitchcock's masterful technique and influences will be the central focus of this lecture. Alfred Hitchcock remains by far the most studied and revered film director of all time.

image from Pixabay by ykaiavu

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

William Hogarth is one of the great names in English eighteenth century art. Over the course of his career he produced numerous engravings and paintings and not infrequently his work was satirical. In this lecture we survey Hogarth’s career and focus on some of those works in which he satirised those he saw around him. 

In Angela's own words:

PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University. Author of numerous articles and several books including A Timeline of Art History (2013). She is an experienced lecturer who has taught at several universities. She has catalogued paintings in galleries for the National Inventory Research Project. She has led a number of cultural tours on the continent and has lectured for several cruise lines. Angela regularly runs courses of study days for The Arts Society on subjects including ‘Women artists down the centuries’ and English church art and architecture, and has contributed to television programmes, most recently an episode of Digging up Britain’s Past.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Milton Somm from Flikr

AT THE 37 CLUB, WOOLAVINGTON ROAD, PURITON, 

TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

This will be a fully illustrated talk 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. 

In Charlie's own words:

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. In 2007, he launched LPOTY - UK Landscape Photographer of the Year. Amongst many publications, the most recent includes Landscape; the Story of 50 Photographs (2005), and Arc & Line (2011). He was invited by the Royal Academy to exhibit in 2015's summer exhibition.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Jorg Peter from Pixabay

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Humans have been very good at recording how and what we eat through the ages and this talk looks at these themes starting with the frescoes of Pompeii and Herculaneum up to the modern day. The talk looks at the objects involved with the eating and presenting of food and wine beginning with a banquet in Pompeii where the guests seem to be wearing very little to the present day, where, in many houses, the tables are dressed with little other than a knife, fork and ketchup bottle. Even these, however, can be given a classy upgrade.

Clive studied on the Sotheby's Works of Art course and has now been working in the fine art world for 47 years. Until recently he was a Director of Woolley and Wallis, the UK's leading regional firm of auctioneers, in Salisbury, and was a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow for 25 years between 1991 and 2016. Has also lectured on cruise ships as well as for many other groups, and recently published a major article in the Journal of the Decorative Arts Society on Betty Joel. He is now an independent art advisor.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image from OpenCliprt-Vectous from Pixabay

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

The Medici were in many ways an unattractive family. Ruthless in pursuit of profit for their Florentine bank, which had branches in every city of the known world, they were greedy for success, merciless to those who opposed their ambition and vicious in their own internal squabbles. And yet without them we wouldn’t have Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”, the Fra Angelico frescoes in San Marco, Donatello’s “David” or the majestic Michelangelo sculptures in the Medici chapel. The Platonic Academy wouldn’t have been founded and the doors for the Baptistry would never have been cast.

This lecture looks into the turbulent history of this extraordinary family. The triumphs and tragedies, the intrigues and plots; the assassination attempts, the years of exile and their perpetual desire to glorify the family name in works of art, which was to result in some of the greatest achievements of the Italian Renaissance

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. He was the director of  The New Academy of Art Studies for three years and is presently a regular lecturer at The Study Centre, 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.

He has written and presented various TV documentaries, notably the Omnibus programme on Whistler and the exhibition video on William Morris. Three one-man exhibitions of his paintings have been held in England and Switzerland. He has published five novels, which have been translated into 8 foreign languages, and his book on Monet, River of Light, has sold 30,000 copies in England, America and France.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Dmitri Vetsikas from Pixabay

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

The Maya lived in Central America between 1000 BC and 1528 AD at which time they were conquered by the Spaniards. The peak of their civilization was between 300 and 900 AD. During that time, they built enormous monuments, produced jade and ceramic items of great beauty and developed a calendar that was far more advanced than anything in Europe at the time. They had an advanced understanding of mathematics and astronomy and developed a hieroglyphic script which scholars are beginning to decipher, allowing us to understand their achievements much more fully. 

Duncan was educated at Oxford (BA, MA) and London (MA, PhD) universities. His PhD thesis was on “The Preclassic Ceramics of Northern Belize”. Subsequent articles, were mainly on Mayan ceramics. The Protoclassic in the Maya Lowlands was published in 2000 by British Archaeological Reports. His current involvement is with other North American archaeologists pulling together different ceramic sequences in Belize.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Guy Dugas from pixabay

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

John Ruskin, the renowned art critic, was a great champion of the Pre-Raphaelites and passionate advocate of the vastly different work of Turner but held particular disdain for an artist whom he dubbed the "worst" painter of the century.  Perhaps Ruskin's condemnation had to do with the fact that this painter was one of the most popular and certainly the wealthiest artist in Britain at the time? By looking at a selection of the maligned painter's works and those of his contemporaries, we can begin to unpack Ruskin’s contemptuous assessment in the context of Victorian Britain. Who was  this painter? Come to the lecture and find out for yourself.

As an art historian, curator, and lecturer with over 25 years’ teaching experience, Jeni is not only interested in historical art movements but also what is referred to as the ‘new art history’ which focuses on non-Western art, new media, aesthetic ideals, and their cultural interpretation(s). Recently, Jeni has authored regular articles on a wide variety of arts-related topics for the Arts Society.

A graduate from Falmouth University (MA in Art History, and an MA in Curatorial Practice) she gained her doctorate (18th Century Material Culture) from the University of Plymouth. Jeni served as Chair of Examiners in Art History for AQA and Chair of The Arts Society, Truro. Currently, Jeni is co-presenter for The Arts Society South West Area's art history course.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Jeni Fraser

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Agatha Christie is  considered one of the world's great crime writers. Her books sell over four million copies worldwide every year and there is a continual demand for new adaptations to be made of her work. She led a sheltered and privileged life in her native Torquay which was not dissimilar to the characters she invented. She was brought up in the comfort of upper middle class society and she too had mystery in her life. To find out more about this remarkable author who created Poirot and Miss Marple join us for this biographical talk. It will surprise and enlighten you about how she developed her talent for writing having never attended a proper school.

Jane is currently Special Events Organiser, Theatre Royal Bath. She interviews visiting actors, writers, directors, and lectures regularly to theatre-going societies, National Trust, history and fine arts groups. She is a West Country Tourist Board Registered Blue Badge Guide and Lecturer. Additionally Jane is an author and researcher of theatre programme notes on Hamlet, Sheridan's The Rivals and Jane Austen's Emma, and a theatrical landlady! 

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by aalmeidah from Pixabay

AT THE 37 CLUB, TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Giacomo Puccini is one of the most popular of all operatic composers, though more cherished by the public than the critics. His ability to convey strong emotion through the power of the human voice and his unique handling of the orchestra earned him a place among the most important musical figures of the 20th century. His own life was as colourful as one of his operatic plots. This lecture, which is illustrated with recordings of some of the greatest opera singers of the 20th and 21st centuries, explores the life and works of this fascinating man. 

Roger was a chorister at Wells Cathedral School and a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with an honours degree in English. He combined a teaching career with professional singing in London, and after obtaining a further degree in Music became Director of Music at Daniel Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh.

After retiring in 2003 he returned to the south of England. He is President Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society and Joint Chairman of the Arts Society Windsor.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Taken from Pixabay

At the 37 Club, Puriton TA7 8HB

2.00 for a 2.15 start

French 17th century chateau design owes much to one man; the ambitious visionary Nicolas Fouquet who is still somewhat of an enigma today. He seemed invincible but made one  grave error of judgement  which was to lead to his downfall. He employed the country’s best talent of the day to commission a spectacular chateau for himself. In doing so he was completely outshining the Sun King; Vaux le Vicomte presented a radical new look for the century whilst Versailles was nothing more than a humble hunting lodge at the time. The story that ensues is legendary.

This lecture explores innovative garden design and architecture together with lavish interiors to tell the shocking story.

Carole is an experienced guide and lecturer on combined history and art tours in France with 20 years experience. Having lived and worked on a number of bespoke river vessels and converted barges there she has used them as a platform from which to research her lectures. She uses art in all its guises to explore the characters who shaped France and likes to delve behind the scenes to discover hidden truths.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

At the 37 Club, Puriton TA7 8HB

2.00 for a 2.15 start

Many of you will remember Matthew's visit in 2019 when he gave us a brilliant lecture on Portmeirion. Well, now he's back to examine British interior design at its best and worst. As Matthew says:

This lecture looks at the enormous changes in our homes over a hundred-year period, encompassing aspects of household taste from Victorian clutter to the psychedelic ‘throw away’ furnishings of the 1970s. Although in many ways light-hearted, the lecture examines how social upheaval, war and technological advances transformed our houses. From the 1880s, when each interior was governed by strict convention and the home was regarded as a shrine to family life, we look at how change gradually came about. The coming of electricity and central heating altered appearance and comfort and other major developments in design all changed our interiors. 

Matthew holds degrees from the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He is a recognised expert on the work of the Victorian designer William Burges, Matthew was Curator of Cardiff Castle for nearly 30 years. His most recent publication is a major book Cardiff Castle and the Marquesses of Bute, published in 2019. As a long-standing member of The Arts Society, Matthew has been a programme secretary and a chairman before becoming an accredited lecturer in 2001.

Image by Free-photos from Pixabay

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

 At the 37 Club, Puriton TA7 8HB

2.00 for a 2.15 start

To quote Mariska herself:

As a Dutch Art Historian, having grown up in Holland, the Golden Age is not just a period which is represented in many museums all over the world, the reminders in Holland are everywhere: in our houses, our canals, our royal family, our poetry and all that unites us as a country. This one hour whirlwind overview will try to shed a light on the extraordinary explosion of economic and cultural development that took place soon after the birth of the Republic, and is still with us today.

A Social Psychologist by trade, it took until the birth of her children to take up her love for the arts again. Heavily pregnant with number 3, Mariska finished her MA at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, in Dutch Baroque Art. Soon after this she was lucky enough to lecture for the most wonderful group of students. She decided this was what she wanted to do, and set up Art Historical London offering art historical lectures, courses, tours, travel and events from London. Over the years this has expanded to events in New York and Amsterdam, and since March 2020 online.

Image by Ron Porter from Pixabay

Visitors are always welcom at a charge of £8 per lecturc

At the 37 club, Puriton TA7 8AD

2.00 FOR A PROMPT 2.15 START

Glass is a marvellous material. Everything about it makes it an incomparable plastic medium in the hands of an ingenious artist, offering imagination and talent an almost limitless scope for discovery. [René Lalique]

Glass: tough, fragile and unpredictable; colourful or colourless; capable of flowing like metal or being carved like stone. To be shaped it must be heated and reheated to extreme temperatures and as it cools it may shatter explosively without stringent precautions. No two pieces will ever be identical, and what you think you placed in the kiln will rarely if ever come out exactly as you expected and planned. Glass is dangerous, difficult and glamorous; a combination which has fascinated craftsmen and artists, chemists and collectors throughout history.

This lecture explores the achievement of the masters of Art Nouveau glass, Émile Gallé, Louis Comfort Tiffany and René Lalique, and their outstanding contribution to one of the most important movements of the last century.

Justine studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute and has lectured regularly for Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, as well as to Oxbridge and Bristol Universities, Christie's Fine Art, the Art Fund. Her publications include, amongst others: The Art of John Martin (2001), Michael Ayrton: A Biography (1994) and articles for Apollo Magazine and Modern Painters. 

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

 At the 37 club, Puriton TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

In Matthew's own words:

From the very first Great Exhibition in London held in the magnificent Crystal Palace, to the awe-inspiring events in Paris, New York and across the world there have been many exhibitions that we would consider Great Exhibitions or World’s Fairs. We won't consider all of these events in this talk, but we will consider the most important exhibitions such as London 1851, Paris 1900 and 1925, Brussels 1958 and New York 1964.  

We will trace the development of Great Exhibitions from their birth in London in 1851 at the heart of a thriving Empire, to Europe, in particular Paris where many wonderful events were held, across the Atlantic to America and New York in the post-war period and further East to China, Japan and beyond in recent times. These events all tell of a city and people at a certain moment in history holding a huge and elaborate fair for the world to attend.

I have worked with the fine and decorative arts all my life. I have worked as an auctioneer and valuer with a number of firms. I am currently a senior valuer and head of department at Lawrences in Crewkerne, one of the country's leading provincial auctioneers. I have 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. I taught on a range of subjects including furniture, silver art and design history. I completed a PhD in the Arts and Crafts Movement and have written on design history for a number of publications. I have current research interests in ‘Great Exhibitions’, ‘Post War Design and Architecture’ and ‘The Crafts in Post War Britain’. 

I love to give talks to all sorts of different groups on the fine and decorative arts, my interests in the various Great Exhibitions since 1851 and Post War architecture and design are amongst my current favourite talks which have been well received by a number of groups over recent months.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Alex Sky from Pixabay

A day with Tchaikovsky

Full details under the special interest tab

FOR DETAILS OF OUR MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT, PLEASE LOOK UNDER THE 'NEWS' TAB

The Arts and crafts movement in England's churches

June 1st 2022 at the 37 Club, Puriton TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

Between about 1890 and 1930, Arts and Crafts designers built and contributed to hundreds of churches across England. Some are famous schemes including the church building and all its interior fittings, such as Brockhampton in Herefordshire; Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, London; St. Andrew’s, Roker. Sometimes it’s just one commission – a stained glass window, a screen, a font cover. Discover how these designers, Morris & Co. in churches like Selsley changed the course of church furnishing in England, and how the next generation of Arts and Crafts designers revolutionised church design. With a particular focus on Brockhampton, just over the border in Herefordshire, perhaps the finest Arts and Crafts church in Britain.

Kirsty Hartsiotis has been the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham since 2008, and prior to that was the curator and manager of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. At Cheltenham she looks 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, most recently 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 newsletter editor for Society of Decorative Art Collections, a regular columnist for Cotswold Life, and writes for diverse other publications on art history and folklore.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Please note, this is a replacement for the original lecture planned for this meeting, due to the retirement owing to ill health of Martin Ellis

Image by Falco from Pixabay

JANE AUSTEN: HER LIFE AND TIMES 

JANE TAPLEY

4th May 2022 at the 37 Club Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

We shall follow the career of one of the earliest and greatest female writers of the eighteenth century, if not of all time. Taking a journey through one of the greatest literary periods Jane will chart the new-style novel's rise in popularity We will hear about Jane Austen's quiet, private upbringing and her personal struggle for true independence and learn how her novels gathered momentum and appreciation after her death.

Jane Tapley is currently a Special Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal Bath where she interviews visiting actors, writers, and directors. She lectures regularly to theatre going societies, NT and history and fine arts groups. Jane is also a West Country Tourist Board Registered Blue Badge Guide and Lecturer and the author and researcher of theatre programme notes on Hamlet, Sheridan's The Rivals and Jane Austen's Emma. Additionally Jane is a theatrical landlady, a home economist and consultant to various TV productions of Jane Austen adaptations as well as on food in the 18th and 19th centuries. She also hosts and cooks period meals in her Regency house in Bath for the Jane Austen Festival and other literary groups.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by David Chiverton with permission from the Jane Austen centre, Bath

HOW DO GARDEN HISTORIANS RESEARCH GARDEN HISTORY?

ANN BENSON

April 6th 2022 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

Great country houses have often amassed records across time of the designers of their gardens, accounts showing what was done and when, estate maps, paintings, drawings, and occasionally, diaries and stories of peoples' experiences of being in the garden. Discovering a garden's history can be challenging because it requires investigating different types of evidence from different disciplines, including social history and archaeology ‒ but it is also immensely enjoyable as a sleuthing activity when the bits of the jigsaw fall into place. This lecture reveals how one aristocratic family, the Dukes of Beaufort and their ancestors, created gardens at their three main homes, Raglan Castle during Tudor times, Troy House during the Stuart period and Badminton on the cusp of the eighteenth century. Richly illustrated, including 3D and fly-through reconstructions of these gardens from her research. Ann provides an insight of how the history of a garden can be discovered.

Dr Ann Benson FSA FRHistS is a writer and lecturer on Garden, Landscape and Architectural History specializing in the Tudor, Stuart and early Georgian periods. She teaches and lectures for the Society of Antiquaries, the Gardens Trust, the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain and many local history groups. Ann has also taught garden history at the Institute for Historical Research.

She has degrees in Garden History (MA, Distinction), Learning and Assessment (MEd, PhD) and Science (BSc, Hons). Ann was first a teacher and then an academic at the universities of Oxford, Bristol, and the Open University whilst serving as a consultant for the UK’s Cabinet Office. She has published three ground-breaking history books, one commissioned by the Duke of Beaufort, and many peer-reviewed articles on garden and architectural history. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians of London, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow for her garden history research, an Associate of the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates, and Beaufort Visiting Fellow at St John’s College, University of Cambridge. She has forty years’ experience of being an educator and continues to love sharing her knowledge and experience with others.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

www.annbenson.co.uk

Image by JamesDe Mers from Pixabay

PORTRAITS IN STONE: THE GREAT CATHEDRALS OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

MARK COTTLE

March 2nd 2022 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

Over a time span of five hundred years the great medieval cathedrals of England were built. In terms of resources called upon, space covered, design and craftsmanship employed, this period marks the greatest single architectural achievement in English history. From Durham to Gloucester the lecture follows the evolution of cathedral building with particular reference to structural and aesthetic details together with some of the fascinating figures and events behind them – portraits in stone as rich as a great East Window. 

Born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University. Mark's 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. 

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Mark Cottle - Learn for Pleasure

Image by Emphyria from Pixabay

SARAH DEERE-JONES

February 2nd 2022 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

Using illustrations from carvings, wall paintings, pottery, mosaics, sculpture, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, and 18th and 19th century art, Sarah traces the history of one of the world's most ancient and beloved musical instruments from thousands of years BC, to its arrival in northern Europe, including the huge developments and improvements during the Renaissance and 19th centuries that created the highly mechanised and beautiful instrument we see played in orchestras and as solo instruments today. Performing on her own reproduction and antique instruments, Sarah will demonstrate the development and evolving sound and repertoire of the harp throughout its history.

Sarah is a graduate and prize-winner from the Royal Academy of Music and in 2015 was elected an Associate. She performs, writes and lectures about the harp regularly in America, Australia, Europe and UK. All lectures include live music and songs on harps and other instruments depending on subject matter. 

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

  http://www.sarahdeere-jones.co.uk

WHO IS SANTA CLAUS? ART FROM ST NICHOLAS TO FATHER CHRISTMAS

CHRISTOPHER BRADLEY

December 8th 2021 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

Nicholas was the Greek Bishop of Myra, a 4th century port in Anatolia. Following his death, his legendary generosity established him as the principle gift-giving saint as well as the patron saint of seafarers. The body of St Nicholas was stolen by Italian sailors to protect their own ports in the Adriatic. Over the centuries the image of St Nicholas changed constantly until the Dutch re-invented him as Sinterklaas. Taking him to their new colonies in America, he transformed into kindly Santa Claus. Later re-imported into Britain without his Catholic baggage, he gradually emerged as Father Christmas.

Join us for this seasonal lecture and enjoy a mince pie and perhaps a glass of mulled wine after the lecture

Christopher is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. He has written extensively on Arabia and is the author of The Discovery Guide to Yemen, Insight Guide to the Silk Road and Berlitz Guides to Libya; The Red Sea; Oman; Cairo; Abu Dhabi and Nile Cruising. As a photographer he has pictures represented by four photographic libraries. A broad range of lecturing experience, includes to the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of British Architects. And as a film producer and cameraman he has made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.

As a seasonal special, we would like to invite viitors to a free lecture and a mince pie and perhaps a glass of mulled wine. Come and join us and see what a friendly bunch we are.

Image by Keith Hardin from Pixabay

INSPIRED BY STONEHENGE

JULIAN RICHARDS

November 3rd 2021 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

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. Finally, we will look at Stonehenge as a global icon and how its instantly recognisable stones now grace tea towels in Wiltshire, phone cards in Japan and stamps from Bhutan. 

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 is being awarded an honorary doctorate. Additionally Julian has been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education, to groups and societies and to special interest tour companies. He has had a career in broadcasting involving researching and presenting Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings for BBC2, and Mapping the Town for Radio 4. Other activities include authoring a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Finally Julian was guest curator of Wish you were here, an exhibition of his own extensive collection of 'Stonehengiana' which is currently on display at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre, and has curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016. 

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

HIDDEN CANVASES: STREET ART AND THE CITY  

DOUG GILLEN

October 6th 2021 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

There's more to the world of street art than Banksy, Hidden Canvases is a beginner's guide to the biggest art movement since pop art.  From train writing in New York to interactive technology that brings murals to life, the concept of un-commissioned public art is a very different beast to that which it once was.  Hidden Canvases explores the key stages in street art's growth examining the different elements and styles that comprise the scene with no rules.  From the international superstars to the local underground heroes you're guaranteed to leave knowing your Invader from you Aryz and who knows you might even start looking at the world a little differently.

Doug is heavily involved in documenting the street art scene in London and abroad through his project Fifth Wall TV, and can offer a genuine insight into this world. Previously lectured for London Art and More, and when not filming he is an East End tour guide for Alternative London, specialising in culture and art.

Visitors are always welcome at a charge of £8 per lecture

Image by David Chiverton

Doug Gillen's website is http://www.fifthwalltv.com

PERSISTENT MEMORY: THE ART OF SALVADOR DALI

ANGELA SMITH

September 1st 2021 at the 37 Club, Puriton

TA7 8AD

2.00 for a 2.15 start

In Angela's own words: "This lecture is essentially an overview of the life and work of Salvador Dali. I begin by considering the painter’s early life and influences and the variety of styles he tried before developing and settling on his own idiosyncratic style. Dali came late to Surrealism and was ousted by its controlling leader Andre Breton before too many years had passed. Nevertheless Dali is often regarded as the archetypal Surrealist. I discuss this notion but also explain Dali’s personal response to Surrealism, in particular the approach he called his ‘paranoiac critical activity’, one which spawned works such as The Persistence of Memory and Metamorphosis of Narcissus. "

Angela has a PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University, and is the author of numerous articles and several books including A Timeline of Art History (2013). She is an experienced lecturer who has taught for several universities, and has catalogued paintings in galleries for the National Inventory Research Project. She has led a number of cultural tours on the continent and has lectured for several cruise lines. Additionally Angela regularly runs courses of study days for The Arts Society on subjects including ‘Women artists down the centuries’ and 'English church art and architecture' and has contributed to television programmes, most recently an episode of Digging up Britain’s Past.

Image by Pepe Vaquero from Pixabay

MEETING STARTS AT 2.15

THIS WILL BE A LECTURE VIA ZOOM

'Doors open' at 2.00

Rodin is one of the heroic figures of 19th century art history and was internationally celebrated during his lifetime. But after his death his reputation slipped and there were questions about his use of the female image. Now that is very much being reassessed and he is seen as having in one career taken sculpture on a revolutionary path equivalent to what the Realists, Impressionists and Post Impressionists did with many careers. This lecture surveys his work showing why he is one of the greatest sculptors ever, looking at his work in relationship to 19th century sculpture as well assessing his continuing relevance.

David Worthington has been drawn to abstract sculpture since seeing a Barbara Hepworth in a school history book at the age of 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.

David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors, and was Vice President in 2010-13.

He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America and Japan. His work is in the museum the Creative Cities Collection Beijing China. He has had solo shows at the Lefevre Gallery, Sladers Yard, Horatio’s Garden, the William Bennington Gallery, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and in October 2017 at the Lightbox Gallery Museum, Woking. He took part in exhibitions at Colyer Bristow Gallery and Contemporary Sculpture at Fulmer 2018.

This lecture will be offered free to visitors. Please join us by using the zoom code below.

Topic: TASS meeting
Time: Jun 2, 2021 2:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://theartssociety-org.zoom.us/j/96457329742?pwd=aEx4dnFsODhJRU8xTnJvdkZ4Y1EvZz09

Meeting ID: 964 5732 9742
Passcode: 770959
 

Image by Jonny Shannon from Pixabay

David Worthington's website is  http://www.davidworthington.co.uk

LECTURE BEGINS AT 2.15

This will be a lecture by zoom

'Doors open' at 2.00

For every ache and pain, for every ailment known to man the quack has tried to sell his wares. Indeed he has sold the worst cures for nearly everything! For centuries right up to the present day artists have depicted the snake oil salesman and the pseudo science on which his cures are based. I shall take you on an amusing and fascinating journey amongst the sick, the not so sick and the gullible. Beware however this is not a source of actual medical advice!

As a retired country doctor with a lifetime of working in the NHS both in hospital and in rural practice I am passionate about all aspects of medicine, its history and its relationship to art and artists. I feel very strongly that lecturing should be stimulating, informative and entertaining. I have been very privileged to be able to share my interests with others lecturing to a variety of different groups and now as a lecturer for The Arts Society.

As this is a lecture funded by The Arts Society Sedgemoor we will need to make a charge of £5.00 per household for any non members attending. This can either be paid directly into our bank account at 

1 1 2 7 5 1 8 6 , sort code 40-13-32 , Account name TASS. Please put your surname in the reference box

or by cheque to TASS, please send to David Chiverton, 4 Dawbins Drive, Woolavington, TA7 8HB.

Please confirm by email to davidchiverton1@gmail.com at least 24 hours before the event that payment has been sent and you will then be sent the joining details for the lecture.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

James Grant's website is  http://jamesgrantmedart.com

LECTURE BEGINS AT 2.15

This will be a zoom lecture commencing at 2.00pm

'Doors open' at 2.00

Frank Matcham (1854-1920) was the architect of many of Britain’s best-known theatres, including the Hackney Empire, Buxton Opera House, Belfast Grand Opera House, Bristol Hippodrome, The Gaiety Theatre in Douglas, Isle of Man, and the London Coliseum. Simon Rees has worked in many of these theatres, and gives an insider’s view of Matcham’s architectural legacy. The lecture is illustrated by present-day and period photographs, postcards from the turn of the century, and Matcham’s own fascinatingly detailed architectural drawings. 

Simon studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature. He taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries. From 1989 to 2012 Simon was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production. He is now a freelance writer and lecturer, lecturing widely on opera, art history and literature, travelling extensively with travel companies, and has published several novels, including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass, poems and opera librettos.

As this is a lecture funded by The Arts Society Sedgemoor we will need to make a charge of £5.00 per household for any non members attending. This can either be paid directly into our bank account at 

1 1 2 7 5 1 8 6 , sort code 40-13-32 , Account name TASS. Please put your surname in the reference box

or by cheque to TASS, please send to David Chiverton, 4 Dawbins Drive, Woolavington, TA7 8HB.

Please confirm by email to davidchiverton1@gmail.com at least 24 hours before the event that payment has been sent and you will then be sent the joining details for the lecture.

Image by Mustangjoe from Pixabay

CAVE PAINTINGS AND PRE-HISTORIC CARVINGS

A ZOOM LECTURE BY GERI PARLBY

WEDNESDAY 3rd MARCH 2021 AT 2.15 pm

Until 1999, art was not thought to have existed prior to 30,000 BC. However a carved and painted figurine from Morocco has been estimated to be at least 400,000 years old. Today's lecture will look at some of the earliest examples of pre-historic art.

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.

As this is a lecture funded by The Arts Society Sedgemoor we will need to make a charge of £5.00 per household for any non members attending. This can either be paid directly into our bank account at 

1 1 2 7 5 1 8 6 , sort code 40-13-32 , Account name TASS. Please put your surname in the reference box

or by cheque to TASS, please send to David Chiverton, 4 Dawbins Drive, Woolavington, TA7 8HB.

Please confirm by email to davidchiverton1@gmail.com at least 24 hours before the event that payment has been sent and you will then be sent the joining details for the lecture.

Image from Pixabay

THE STUNNERS: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF THE PRE-RAPHAELITES

THIS WILL BE A ZOOM LECTURE

LECTURE STARTS AT 2.15 pm

The Pre-Raphaelite painters were rebels both artistically and in their conduct which often shocked their Victorian contemporaries. Most indulged in romantic affairs with beautiful women whom Rossetti called ‘The Stunners’. Julian will examine the roles of Fanny Cornforth, Lizzie Siddall, Annie Miller, Janey Morris, Maria Zambaco, Alexa Wilding and Effie Ruskin in the private lives of the painters. Millais’ elopement with Ruskin’s wife broke up the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and was a notorious scandal in Victorian Britain. Finally he will show how these women were very modern in their attitudes and their dress and how the Pre-Raphaelite concept of beauty has endured.

Julian studied History of Art at Cambridge. Formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. 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). Interviews artists for the Artist Magazine and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and The Critics Circle. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and appointed Keeper in 2010.

As this is a lecture funded by The Arts Society Sedgemoor we will need to make a charge of £5.00 per household for any non members attending. This can either be paid directly into our bank account at 

1 1 2 7 5 1 8 6 , sort code 40-13-32 , Account name TASS. Please put your surname in the reference box

or by cheque to TASS, please send to David Chiverton, 4 Dawbins Drive, Woolavington, TA7 8HB.

Please confirm by email to davidchiverton1@gmail.com at least 24 hours before the event that payment has been sent and you will then be sent the joining details for the lecture.

Image by Kanchan Mahon from Pixabay

A NEW ZOOM LECTURE

A GUIDED TOUR OF SHAKESPEARE'S LONDON

BY LANCE PIERSON

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13th AT 2.15pm

Lance is a London blue badge holding guide, a professional actor and a poetry reader. He will give us a fully illustrated and historically fascinating tour of Shakespeare's London. What better way to spend a January afternoon in place of our sadly cancelled New Year's Luncheon. The meeting will be introduced by our chairman, Adrian Forber.

Again the event will be open to all visitors and guests free of charge, though a £5.00 donation would be most welcome. This can be given to any committee member either as cash or cheque (payable to The Arts Society Sedgemoor please), or by bank transfer to our account named TASS, account number 11275186, sort code 40-13-32, using the reference Shakespeare.

You can join the meeting from 2.00pm onwards with the Meeting ID 955 5074 6405. No password should be necessary. We look forward to welcoming you then

Image by RGY23 from Pixabay

PLEASE JOIN US FOR

'CHRISTMAS WITH GILES, GRANDMA AND THE FAMILY'

**OUR FIRST ZOOM LECTURE**

AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AS WELL TO ENJOY THE GOOD OLD GILES HUMOUR

For a great many members of The Arts Society, the cartoonist Carl Giles was as much a part of the festive season as the Christmas tree, crackers and the Queen's Speech. So popular were the Giles annuals as Christmas presents that they helped to make him Britain's best loved, most successful and wealthiest cartoonist. The talk looks at Giles's life and work with a particular emphasis on his seasonal cartoons, particularly those featuring Grandma and the Giles family. They include some of his funniest cartoons but, as the art historian William Feaver pointed out, they also demonstrate that he had few equals when it came to representing Britain in Winter.

THE ZOOM SESSION FOR THIS LECTURE WILL OPEN AT 2.00 pm ON DECEMBER 2nd. THE LINK TO ENTER THE ZOOM SESSION IS

 https://theartssociety-org.zoom.us/j/8675375925

EITHER CLICK ON THIS LINK OR COPY AND PASTE INTO YOUR BROWSER.

If you are not sure how to do this or how to obtain zoom (which is entirely free) please email me at: davidchiverton1@gmail.com and I will try to help.

Please also invite your friends to join us, the more the merrier. Again there is no charge, but for visitors could we suggest a donation of £5 which can be sent to either:

Adrian Forber at 5 Beaumont Close, Longwell Green, BS30 9XN

or

David Chiverton, 4 Dawbins Drive, Woolavington, TA7 8HB

Cheques made payable to The Arts Society Sedgemoor please.

Barry is an historian of British art with a particular interest in the work of JMW Turner, on whom he has published widely, including the volume on Turner in Phaidon's Art & Ideas series, and several catalogue essays for exhibitions in the UK, Germany, Italy and Poland. He was the BBC's script consultant on Turner's Fighting Temeraire and has recently taken part (2013) in a BBC documentary called The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution. He has also published a study of John Constable's paintings. His interests and his teaching extend from medieval architecture to contemporary British art. He is currently Associate Lecturer with the Open University and lecturing on a freelance basis for The Arts Society, Christie's Education and other organisations.

LECTURE STARTS AT 2.15 pm

CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

At the 37 club, Puriton, TA7 8AD

Betty Joel, born Mary Stewart Lockhart, ran a furniture making and design business. At its peak, in the 1920s and 30s, Betty Joel Ltd employed 50 craftsmen and had showrooms in Knightsbridge. With no formal training, she created, through a flair for branding and marketing, the leading furnishing company of the day in London. The talk explores her early life and marriage to David Joel, and her exhibitions, and projects. Her clients included royalty, high society, politicians, banks, hotels (such as the Savoy in London) as well as film companies and theatres. The style and glamour of 1930s' design is brought to life and retells the story of a determined woman in a world still run by men. 

Clive studied on the Sotheby's Works of Art course and has now been working in the fine art world for 40 years. Managing Director of Woolley and Wallis, the UK's leading regional auctioneers in Salisbury, he has been a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow for over 20 years. He has also lectured on cruise ships as well as for many other groups, and recently published a major article in the Journal of the Decorative Arts Society on Betty Joel.

https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/furniture-cabinetmaking/features/profiles/europe/betty-joel-from-arts-and-crafts-to-modernism/

Image by Ron Porter from Pixabay

CANCELLED

* CANCELLED *

* CANCELLED *

LECTURE STARTS AT 2.15 pm

At the 37 club, Puriton, TA7 8AD

As a youngster Ian spent many an hour watching the great liners entering and leaving Liverpool. This turned into a lifetime passion for ocean going ships and eventually to volunteering for the SS Great Britain trust in 2007. Ian has lectured to several other local Arts Societies in recent years and has always received a great reception so it should be a fascinating afternoon.

www.ssgreatbritain.org/

Image by M Stewart

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

This lecture will be followed by the (short) AGM, an opportunity to learn a little more about your society.

Puccini based his opera Tosca, premiered in 1900 and set in 1800, on a melodrama by the French playwright Victorien Sardou which was originally written as a vehicle for Sarah Bernhardt. Tosca is set in Rome, with three specific locations for its three acts: the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese, and the Castel Sant’Angelo. This lecture follows the story of Tosca from the church where her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, is painting a picture of Mary Magdalene, modelling it on Tosca’s rival, the Countess Attavanti; to the Palazzo Farnese, where the infamous Baron Scarpia, chief of police, has his office and torture chamber; and finally to the parapet of the Castel Sant’ Angelo, where Cavaradossi is to be shot at dawn. Both Sardou and Puccini paid meticulous attention to the architectural details of each of these important Roman monuments, which can be visited during the course of a morning’s stroll. 

Simon studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature. Taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries. From 1989 to 2012 was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production. Now a freelance writer and lecturer, lectures widely on opera, art history and literature, travelling extensively with travel companies. Has published several novels, including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass, poems and opera librettos.

Simon Rees, formerly dramaturg at Welsh National Opera, has worked on several productions of Puccini’s Tosca, and illustrates his lecture with musical examples and with photographs of the buildings, and of the costumes and sets which the opera has inspired.

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

Stella speaks on a range of subjects linked to art history, and her lectures have been described as “a class act: informative, authoritative and delivered with great charm. We shall certainly ask you again. Thank you so much – they all loved it”.  

        Stella Grace 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, and three months studying Venetian art in Venice. In addition, she attended drawing classes at the prestigious Charles H. Cecil studios in Florence. In 2017, Stella was selected by The Arts Society to lecture at the launch of ‘Drawing Room Discussions’ in association with ROSL ARTS, hosted by Guardian arts correspondent Maev Kennedy. Stella runs her own art history courses and she is also a regular lecturer in the UK and Europe for The Arts Society, National Trust, Contemporary Arts Society Wales (CASW), Classical Education Forum, WEA, and several travel companies. Stella also works as an artist’s model for the internationally renowned figurative artist, Harry Holland.

http://www.stellagracelyons.com

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

The lecture will look at the place, architecture and associations of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’s creation of Portmeirion on the coast of N Wales. Matthew will call on personal memories as his uncle was resident director of Portmeirion for nearly 30 years.

Portmeirion is an extraordinary surprise; a colourful and delightful fantasy village on the coast of north Wales.   Created from the 1920s by the remarkable architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion was his personal defiance against the advance of modernism and what he saw as the despoilment of Britain. By the 1950s it had become the playground of artists, intellectuals, aristocrats and the merely rich. Regular visitors included H G Wells, Bertand Russell and Noel Coward (who wrote Blithe Spirit at Portmeirion).

Sir Clough’s daughter Susan created Portmeirion Pottery, which during the 1960s and 70s, was synonymous with cutting-edge ceramic style. This lecture looks at the place, its architecture and associations.

Matthew lectures widely on the subject of design, and is especially interested in that of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A recognised expert in the work of the designer William Burges, he has been the Curator of Cardiff Castle since 1990 and has published widely in art and architectural journals. A long standing member of The Arts Society, Matthew has been a Volunteers Representative, a Programme Secretary and a Chairman. He has been an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society since 2001.

http://www.matthewwilliamslectures.co.uk

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

In the early 1860s Japanese prints started to pour into Europe and in Paris young radical painters, seeking fresh inspiration, began to collect them. Works by Japanese artists such as Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro and Kunisada became hugely influential on the work of such Western artists as Manet and Van Gogh, on whose works tonight’s lecture will focus.

Colour, line, and a new approach to space and the picture plane are just some of the influences Japanese art had on painting in the latter half of the 19th century. The influx of Japanese prints into Europe coincided with the industrialisation of art materials. New, and often more intense colours were increasingly available at affordable prices. They came in tubes, which made painting outdoors easier as well as changing age-old studio practices. In addition, the printmakers from Japan took every day contemporary life as their subjects. Baudelaire had said that artists should take on contemporary life in their art, and the more radical artists of the day took on the challenge. We will look at many Japanese prints and tease out the influences on the principal Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters.

Oliver was born in 1958. Painter, trained at Royal College of Art. Exhibits internationally. Work in collections around the world. Lived, exhibited in Japan for two years (1998-2001), China for eight years (2007-2015). Lectured widely in China on contemporary art in Britain and own work. Lectured for Christie’s in Hong Kong: The Impact of Western Contemporary Painting on Far Eastern Painting. From 1994 to date: Lecturer, BA Fine Art Painting, University of Brighton; From 2001 to date: Lecturer, Certificate in the History of Art, University of Oxford (Materials and Techniques of Western Painting). 2002-7: designed and delivered courses for Continuing Education Department, University of Oxford. Freelance lecturer from 1988: includes Broadmoor Special Hospital, Bow Community Centre, North Oxfordshire College of Art and Design. Recent: Luborimov and Angus-Hughes Gallery, London. Wilson Museum, Cheltenham.   

http://www.olivergosling.com

Lecture starts at 7.00 pm

In the 19th century ceramics became increasingly industrialised, but in pottery a revolution was led by William Morris against the soulless products of a mechanical age. Julian will examine the works of William de Morgan, The four Martin brothers, Sir Edmund Elton and Bernard Leach, whose work, and that of his successors is so well known in Somerset.

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.

 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. Elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and is being awarded an honorary doctorate. Has been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education, to groups and societies and to special interest tour companies. A career in broadcasting involved researching and presenting Meet the Ancestors and Blood of the Vikings for BBC2, and Mapping the Town for Radio 4. Author of a number of English Heritage publications on Stonehenge, including the previous and current guide books to the monument and landscape. Guest curator of Wish you were here, an exhibition of his own extensive collection of 'Stonehengiana' which is currently on display at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Also curated an exhibition for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute in Vienna, in 2016. 

Lecture starts at 7.00 pm

As a young reporter working for the Lahore Gazette Kipling journeyed through Rajasthan in 1888, producing magical and evocative descriptions. Elizabeth has lectured widely in the UK, and abroad, and has been described as “inspiring and effective”, “her knowledge of her subject and her ability to communicate it hugely impressive”,

Lecture starts at 7.00 pm

This talk looks at female artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Dr Ford will discuss the difficulties faced by female       painters during both centuries and he will look at some of the extraordinary, innovative and creative paintings and works of art produced by these incredible women. Of particular note will be narrative paintings from the 19th century depicting poverty, domestic life, industrialisation and social divide.

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

The General Post Office film unit was created in 1933 with an exciting collection of artists, photographers, composers, anthropologists, poets and animators. The unit produced such films as the well-known “Night Mail” with words by W.H.Auden and music by Benjamin Britten.

Lecture starts at 2.15 pm

Lucia has extensive experience in Egyptological research, teaching, museum work and excavation. She has a well- deserved reputation for making Egyptology exciting and accessible to diverse audiences. She is the author of a book entitled “Egypt: Gods, Myths and Religion”.

2:15pm

Fake???? A look in detail at the human stories and the evidence pro and con in some notoriously undecided disputes. The Metropolitan Museum called a press conference to denounce their own ancient bronze horse as a forgery. The Turin Shroud is a fascinating object whatever your take on it. The Getty Museum frankly labels the Kouros they bought as either Greek from the 5th century BC, or a modern forgery.  The most topical cases looked at by the time this lecture gets delivered may not yet have hit the headlines. 

2:15pm

There are many gardens on the shores of Lakes Como and Maggiore in the mountainous far north of Italy. Those included in this lecture include a 16th-century parterre and water staircase; a baroque garden in the middle of a lake; 2 gardens made by rival Napoleonic grandees; and a garden created by two Edwardian romantics as a theatre for sharing their love of art and nature. Wordsworth, Liszt and Bellini found inspiration there. It could work for you.  

2:15pm

A Passion for Fashion tells the story of 20th century fashion design, tracing how clothes, textiles and accessories were influenced by contemporary history. It includes the elegant fashions of the Edwardian era, the glamour of the 1920s and 1930s, the austerity of the 1940s, the futuristic fashions of the 1950s, the liberating styles of the 1960s and the avant-garde fashions of the 1970s to the present day.

2:15pm

Artists have depicted multiple aspects of medicine and its practice for centuries. This talk looks at how artists as diverse as Jan Steen, Rene Magritte and L. S. Lowry have depicted the various steps in the development of modern doctoring. The various stages in a doctor’s life from student to senior clinician are explored with insight and humour.

7:00pm

Jonathan has lectured to us before on the subject of musical instruments and did a special interest day on “The Arnolfini Wedding” and “The Ambassadors”.  Today he examines the details of this small but important portable diptych, now in the National Gallery, London. It is an extremely rare survival of a late Medieval religious panel painting from England.

7:00pm

Looking at maps from their origin to the present, consider them as works of art and as functional tools. Assesses the particular challenges of mapping and of representation. Considers range of maps, both thematic and geographical.  Jeremy graduated from Cambridge with a starred first. Undertook graduate work at Oxford and taught at Durham from 1980, eventually as professor, before moving to Exeter as professor in 1996.

7:00pm

Philippa has been making relief murals in ceramic since the 1960s. She has completed over one hundred major works on sites all over the United Kingdom and overseas. Most were commissioned for display in public situations. Philippa studied Illustration and Ceramics at Cardiff College of Art and was an art teacher at Goldsmiths College London.

2:15pm

This talk explores the work of C. R. Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh through the distinctive architecture, furniture, stained glass and panel designs they designed for the four tearooms run by the enterprising Kate Cranston, his most loyal and consistent patron.    

2:15pm

Bridging the worlds of food, art and history Tasha’s work ranges from museum-style exhibitions and sculptural installations, to limited-edition confectionery.  As well as a strong emphasis on storytelling and history, the talk will comment on how to introduce the senses into the museum space, the rituals of eating, and why sugar was one of the original artistic mediums.

As adults we carry in our heads huge numbers of images from childhood, and some of those most deeply etched come from illustrations in books that we read as children. Images of ‘Tigger’ and ‘Toad’ or even ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ will probably remain with us for ever! In addition to a wide range of examples John will examine how illustrations contribute to the development of understanding and how the interaction of image and narrative creates such powerful memories.

A verbal, visual and musical kaleidoscope celebrating the British coastline, combining paintings, photographs, posters, sounds of the sea, film, songs, music, and quotations from writers and poets.

Camouflaging of ships in wartime was invented in WW1 by the artist Norman Wilkinson, and perfected in the Royal Academy Schools.  But it was a professional conjuror who accomplished astonishing things against Rommel in Africa.  But his greatest challenge was the first one he was given. “The Suez Canal is over 100 miles long and 200 yards wide. We want you to hide it.”  And in fact, throughout the War, not one German bomb was dropped on the Canal, because the Luftwaffe simply couldn’t see it! 

Love them or hate them, Brutalist buildings are now being listed and protected as a part of our architectural heritage.  Brutalist structures, with their emphasis on blockish forms and concrete construction are often described as ugly, crude and drab yet there are examples of this building type which merit a second examination. 

At 7.00 p.m.

Thomas Heatherwick, has won many awards and honours: in 2004 he was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. Sir Terence    Conran spotted his talent early on and has described  Heatherwick as “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times”.   Heatherwick’s work received world-wide coverage in 2012 when with his studio team he designed the Olympic Cauldron at the London Olympics.

At 7.00 p.m.

Stained glass tells stories. It is not just about saints; it has been used to play politics, bribe bishops, recruit soldiers and tell jokes.  The most remarkable subjects appear in its panes, from Moses to Mandela, tanks to Tiffany, Bourne Jones’s water closet to Churchill’s cigar. It is a powerful way to send a message, not just in churches, but in airports, town halls, banks, libraries, etc. The talk would include stories in our area.

Despite his reputation, Gauguin held certain women in great respect.  His  exotic childhood and conventional marriage might account for much of this esteem.  The lecture looks at how Gauguin represented his mother, wife and daughter as well as his Parisian and his Tahitian mistresses. 

At 2.15 p.m.

The Festival of Britain marked a moment of celebration and creative innovation following the aftermath of WW11. The  site of the exhibition took place on the South Bank of the Thames in London. The lecture will explore this fascinating event and place the Festival in the context of the aftermath of the Blitz that had commenced only eleven years previously.

2.15 p.m.

Five generations of one family brought this great collection together.  It is their French upbringing which will largely explain the strong but not overwhelming French emphasis. It was Lady Wallace, the widow of Sir Richard, who bequeathed the collection to the British nation. This lecture tells the fascinating story of the formation.

What was happening at the heart of Dickens's   life. He was sensitive to the woes of the fallen,   giving Nancy a voice in 'Oliver Twist' and generously setting up a 'home for  homeless women' in West London. Yet in 1858 he abandoned Catherine, his wife of  20 years. Charles Dickens was smitten with a young actress called Nelly Ternan. This  illustrated  lecture  reveals  the    tension between his public persona and his secret love.

This lecture traces the history of the publishing house Faber and Faber  through its illustrations, covers and  designs.  Early years brought  innovations like the Ariel   Poems- single poems, beautifully illustrated and sold in their own envelopes. In the 1950s and 60s there was an emphasis on typography. Slides will display book covers, advertisements and photos of key individuals.

The Grand Era of Travel in the 1920s and 30s.

                                                                             Once travel had been the preserve of the wealthy. With the advent of steam,     hotels, boarding houses, seaside resorts and Thomas Cook, travel was no longer an élite experience but an activity for the middle classes. By the 1920s the social elite not only  needed new destinations to get away from the package  holiday-maker, but they also needed new, exciting activities and  a distinctive air of class and luxury.   

Without a doubt, this was one of the best lectures we have ever had. Informative and with humour

This is an in depth look at the profound mystery of perception. There is an eternal fascination with the unfathomable, the weird ambiguous state of seeing things which are not there. This includes Trompe l’oeil and the closely related anamorphic art.  From the  16th  to the 19th century.  Anamorphosis became extremely popular and supplied an ideal means of camouflaging dangerous political statements, heretical ideas, and even erotic pictures.

An interesting lecture but members being Somerset folk expected to hear more about King Alfred and his local connections.  Alfred hold up on the Somerset Levels and it was from here that he gathered his army to defeat the Danes which why some members were somewhat disappointed.

A new look at the dramatic story of how the West Saxon King Alfred defeated the Danes and saved England.

King Alfred, as we know, is very much part of our local    history.

At the heart of medieval life was the  Mass. As the backdrop to the Mass,  altarpieces provided places for artists to create some of the most dramatic and moving paintings and sculptures of the late medieval and early Renaissance period. Really great  altarpieces were  created by van Eyke and Grunwald.  This lecture explores the richness of those Altarpieces and the thought processes and beliefs which underlay their existence.

Another superb lecture from Mark Cottle. Never a boring moment. Absolutely incredable the works of early scribes, described in great detail.

An Inspirational  Journey through Medieval England

The music,  architecture and manuscript  illuminations  of  medieval  England  are among the greatest achievements of any period  of English cultural history. The aim of the lecture is to open a window onto this remarkable world to capture something of the essence of its religious and secular music, its Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals.

Time 2.15 pm

In 1877 Whistler held an exhibition of his work in Bond Street. A month later the revered art critic John Ruskin reviewed the exhibition. He accused Whistler of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”. This lecture explores the personalities and stories surrounding the court case and reflects on the longer term legacy of the action.

This lecture was informative with good pictures.

This lecture examines the history of Byzantine mosaics through from AD 600 to the 12th Century. The best examples are in Ravenna where new techniques were employed. A period of economic stability, during this time, allowed this highly expensive art form to develop and reach astonishing heights.

This was an exciting and wonderful lecture, certainly one of the best we have ever had.

Discover how art and design made a vital contribution to the campains of 1914 - 1918. Featuring the story of Alfred Leete who devised the memorable pointing finger of Lord Kitchener, as well as paintings by the official war artists including: Bone, Nash, Nevinson, Spencer and Wilkinson and the origins of the Inperial War Museum.

Time 2.15 p.m.

Earlier, women had only menial tasks in glass making. But that was not going to last and slowly They worked their way up. Some became designers as well as models. The movement finally allowed women to make glass. But it was the Studio Glass Movement which really brought the women into their own.

Time 2.15 p.m. A newspaper story in pictures

Since the end of 15th century, when Wynkyn de Worde set up England's first printing press and after 1702, when the first newspaper, the Daily Courant, moved in, the term "Fleet Street" has been synonymous with newspaper journalism. In this lecture we will be looking at the ups and downs of this notorious "Street of Shame" via the art that illustrates its stories.

Time 2.15 p.m. John and Myfanwy Piper and the Music of Benjamin Britten.

Their friendship began, developed and strengthened through their working together and that succeeded because they all had a passion for a unity of the arts in the theatre. What sounded good must look good; what made musical sense must make a visual and poetic sense as well.

Time 7.00 p.m.

If you missed this lecture then you missed one of the best lectures we have had this year.This young lady imparted so much information as well as displaying her talents at playing the harp. Sarah traces the history of this of the world’s most ancient and beloved musical instruments from thousands of years B.C. to its arrival in northern Europe. She demonstrates the significant developments and improvements during the Renaissance and 19th centuries that created the highly mechanised and beautiful instrument of today. This lecture was excellent, another five star talk. Deere-Jones is a talented and knowledgeable young lady.

In the 200 years since Lord Elgin removed the marbles, their meaning has changed dramatically. From architectural decoration to disputed cultural objects, this lecture looks at the response to them during their time in Britain, from the original controversy over their purchase to the current debate surrounding the restitution of the marbles to Athens. A wonderful lecture which we would recommend to any society. Informative with the odd humour. Now we know Lord Elgin did not steal the marble but saved them.

7.00 p.m.

Born within months of each other, yet destined to be arch rivals, these two great architects were as different as chalk and cheese. Soane was the scholarly intellectual from humble background who conscientiously studied architecture at the Royal Academy School. He secured the key job of designing the Bank of England as well as collecting an astonishing amount of antiquities. He died a melancholic

We are all familiar with playing cards but how far do you think they go? No one knows where playing cards originated but they go back as far as 1377. The English took their cards from France and the trade was then protected. Cards become truly interesting when the face of the card deviates from the standard. Thus a pack of cards became a medium of communication, propaganda and education. This was a very good lecture, the speaker being a great character.

Starts 2.15 pm Today textiles for clothing or decoration are taken for granted, but it was not always so. This lecture unpacks the history of how cloth and yarn were coloured and how the different colours represented power, achievement and desire. Using a variety of illustrations it sheds a forgotten light on how important textiles have been in European history, but more than this, the history of textiles is not just a matter of fashion but is also a story of politics, money, war, trade, laws, the church, agriculture, exploration, science and even serendipity.

Artist or cartoonist? The choice is yours after this enlightening and delightful lecture delivered with confidence and humour. Certainly it made those half of the audience that had never heard of Norman Rockwell probably feel some what guilty about their ignorance of this witty character. A lecture to be recommended. A celebrated and prolific 20th century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for “The Saturday Evening Post”. But it is his undoubted technical ability coupled with his talent to tell whimsical stories in his pictures that is to be most applauded and admired. No other illustrator remains in the public eye through calendars, reprints, and monographs, as does Norman Rockwell.

Recommend. A well recieved informative and interesting lecture. An example of where the subject matter is very much part of the speaker's life so the talk has a greater meaning. This lecture will explore the sacred architecture of Laos, particularly in Luang Prabang, in the mist shrouded mountains of the north. The natural setting of the town, in an amphitheatre of steep, verdant mountains, enhances its jewellike identity. In this remote spot there are 32 Buddhist temples, some dating from the 16th century, superbly gilded and frescoed, with tiered roofs that sweep to the ground. The ornate shrines and golden Buddhas found in Laos are unique to this artistic culture. Inhabited mostly by saffron robed monks, Luang Prabang is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This status extends to the French colonial architecture of the town as well. The lecture examines the French legacy of elegant wooden houses with Lao motifs, built during the late 19th century, which blended harmoniously with Lao secular architectural traditions, a unique fusion of East- West influences. Finally, there is reference to contemporary art, especially the shimmering silkweaving, once the preserve of the Lao monarchy, and an ancient, traditional craft of intricate designs and exceptional beauty that has recently been revived.

Lecture starts at 7.00 pm Paul Nash and C.R.W. Nevinson were two of the most significant artists to paint the soldiers and battlefields of World War One. Walter Sickert described Nevinson’s painting La Mitrailleuse (‘The Machine-Gun’, 1916, Tate Britain) as probably ‘the most authoritative and concentrated utterance on war in the history of painting. Another contemporary wrote that Nash’s shattered landscapes seemed to have been ‘torn from the sulphurous rim of the inferno itself.’ This lecture explores the artistic development of both men, and their distinct but related responses to representing an extraordinary, horrific and very modern war in paint.

Another superb lecture which revealed all sorts of interesting facts and details of ancient Egypt. ‘Follow your desire, allow the heart to forget’, so sang the ancient Egyptian harpist as he encouraged the partygoers to relax and have a good time. The ancient Egyptians loved nothing more than to feast and celebrate whenever the opportunity arose. This lecture will explore the depiction of celebration in Egyptian art, from the elaborate temple festivals to banquets with family and friends. We shall examine the ancient art in order to explore the clothes and adornments worn; the food and drink consumed; the games played; and the entertainment enjoyed. We shall pay particular attention to the so-called ‘banqueting scenes’ on the walls of the New Kingdom (c1550 – c1069 BC) non-royal tombs at Thebes (on Luxor’s west bank).

Most members will agree that this lecture was one of the best we have had. On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away. Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer. His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama is played out. The aim of the lecture is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.

As Venice declined, it produced ever fewer opportunities for high-grade lucrative employment and as a result, many of its native artists and musicians looked for work elsewhere. many – inspired by the constant procession of Englishmen on the Grand Tour – set their sights on the ever expanding English capitol. Through digital images, film and live examples sung and played at the piano, Peter Medhurst explores the knock-on effect of the Venetians’ stay in 18th century London and reveals how English culture took on a discernable Venetian quality that was to be detected in its art and music for many years to come.

One of three sons of wealthy German/Jewish parents who came to Britain in 1933 and grandson of Sigmund, Lucian Freud was influenced first by the German Movement and by Cedric Morris of the East Anglian School of Painting and Design. His early painting of Morris and his first recognised exhibit “The Painter’s Room” provided evidence of the early thin application of paint and vivid colour. It contrasts strongly with the increasingly thick impasto layers of typically muted colour and visible hog's hair brushwork in later work. It facilitated his fascination with the portrayal of flesh in bulk. From the outset he showed his talent for line and colour. The grouping of objects in strange juxtaposition and the inclusion of himself by some means to suggest personal involvement, or an autobiographical approach are constants. It could be his shadow, reflection, his paint encrusted studio wall, a subject reclining on his used paint rags or the city landscape seen from his studio window in the background. Self portraits throughout his life recorded his developing style as well as his own ageing personality and are amongst the most unconventional pieces. Freud’s most successful works are of the people in his life; his several wives, lovers and children, friends and fellow painters like Francis Bacon. “The Benefits Supervisor” sold by auction for over thirty three million dollars, was a world record by a living artist. Portraits of the Queen and other commissioned pictures have been less well received. Many portraits, especially those of his wives and lovers, seem to reflect the depth of emotion which one might imagine in a close relationship with such an artist. The personal involvement, sensuality and not a little angst are evident. Freud’s models tolerate seven hour sessions, often in uncomfortable sprawling positions. The subject receives the same degree of care and attention as the plant, the pet, the wall and other parts of the composition. It was heartening to hear that a sitting would end with a sumptuous meal of game and champagne. “I paint people,” Freud is reputed to have said, “not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be”. Freud is said to have “painted to astonish, disturb, seduce and convince”. The talk communicated all this and more. Frank Woodgate’s depth of knowledge, familiarity with his subject and engaging humorous style made it a delightful evening. Obviously there is a very large body of work including cityscapes, plant studies, interiors and of course more portraits yet to be seen and a great deal to read but we learned enough in one very enjoyable hour to stimulate further interest.

Claire Walsh has led and taught a successful interdisciplinary MA programme in Children’s Literature and Culture. She has supervised to completion, and continues to supervise, a number of MPhil/PhD students. She was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006, something of which she is particularly proud since it was voted on by students.

Chloe Cockerill has written articles and guide books on churches and heraldry and is in demand for leading church tours. Chloe is a former Regional Development Manager for The Churches Conservation Trust. She is a popular lecturer for NADFAS and The National Trust, with a special interest in heraldry and fabulous beasts. She has written articles and guide books on churches and heraldry and is in demand for leading church tours.

Zara Fleming is an art historian, lecturer and exhibition curator specialising in Tibetan and Himalayan art and has travelled extensively in Tibet, its border regions and Buddhist climes within Asia. She has a keen interest in Mongolia and its cultural and artistic traditions; and has recently edited a new publication 'Mongolian Buddhist Art: Masterpieces from the Museums of Mongolia'. She has led tours to Asia for many years, including first travelling to Ladakh in 1976.

Gijs van Hensbergen was born in Belgium in 1958. He studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, graduating in 1982. In 1987 Gijs and his wife, Alex, went to live in central Spain. While there he wrote 'In the Kitchens of Castile'. In 1992 he returned to live in Dorset with his wife and young family.

Gloria Broadbent, architect and lecturer was born in Peru. She graduated from the University of Cusco with a BA and a Degree in Architecture in 1988 and studied for an MA in the Theory and History of Architecture. She has lectured at many institutions, including the Royal Academy of Arts, University of Bristol, the National Trust and several Rotary Clubs.

Neil Faulkner is the author of numerous articles, academic papers, and several books. His works have centered on ancient civilizations and archaeology. His aim is not only to bring you an action-packed narrative, but to provide all the technical detail, in-depth analysis, and cutting-edge controversy you need to understand not just what happened, but also why.

The Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, a former Bishop ofSt. Alban's, has an MPhil and PhD in Art History from the University of Leicester. He lectures widely in the UK and in Italy.