This Lecture is a secret, when you attend  you will find out.

PETER MEDHURST is a musician and scholar giving musical recitals and illustrated lectures on music and the arts.

The role of outdoor sculpture has changed considerably in modern times. New works often engage the public in surprising ways, think of Kapoor, Gormley and Tracy Emin and how often they stimulate public discussion.

ANNA MOSZYNSKA  is a London based lecturer writer and lecturer  specialising in Contemporary Art .Her books include Abstract Art and Sculpture Now.

Lee Miller abandoned her  starring role as a frontline model  to become a wartime correspondent in the Second World War.She became a Surrealist photographer and a leading figure in the Avant Garde world in London and Paris. She was a woman ahead of her time .

CINDY POLEMIS has a BA in Modern History from Oxford University and is an Art Historian  , independent lecturer and Art Guide.She also has a Masters in Art History from Birkbeck College London.

This lecture travels through 2000 years of London's history  as told in the beautifully illustrated glass windows of the city churches and livery halls. The lecturer will also explore some 18thC and contemporary glass and provide a directory of these pieces of Art.
 

ANNA WARRILLOW

studied for her BA in History of Art and Italian at the University of Sussex and studied for her MA at the Royal College of Art.  She worked as the Curator in the sculpture department  at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The British Crown Jewels remain an anchor in the history of Great Britain. Secrets and mysteries abound within these priceless jewels, seen by millions and worn by one.The regalia used today consists of diamonds , sapphires, rubies and pearls dating  from 1661.

LAURIE WICKWIRE 

has spent over 35 years in the diamond industry and as an expert represents the industry in each sector; mining, grading and brokering some of the worlds key rough stones.She is a certified diamond and pearl grader.She has interviewed celebrities  at the Cannes Festival, presented diamond shows on  television, and created  the historical range for BUCKINGHAM palace.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most iconic paintings in the World.Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in1503,it  travelled with him to France in 1517 and remained  in his possession until his death . Why does she smile? How did she become famous?

PAULA NUTTALi s a specialist in Renaissance , Italian and Northern European Art and has published widely.

CATHERINE THE GREAT  amassed a huge collection of paintings, antiques, gems even buying the entire collections of aristocrats such as Sir Robert Walpole. Eventually her purchases formed the basis of the Heritage Museum.

We are so pleased to welcome back Andrew  Prince , jeweller and designer, who kindly presented us with a beautiful Tiara for our Raffle. 

THE BLUE RIDER ALMANACH  was published in 1912 by the BLUE RIDER MOVEMENT and covered a 3-year period between 1911 and 1914. Russian and German artists such as Kandinsky, Marc and Munter, living in Munich were influenced by Artists such as Van Gogh and Gaugin and by the Cubists and the Futurists but also by Robert Delaunay.

COLIN PINK has a BA in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Southampton and an MA in the History of Art from Birkbeck College. He specialises in C20 and contemporary art.

Most of us will remember the rebuilding of COVENRTY CATHEDRAL in 1962. We drove up to Coventry on a rainy day in a leaky Minivan just to see it and marvel at the vision of a modern building adjacent to the bomb-damaged ruins and to admire the new works of Art by Epstein, Frank, Piper and Graham Sutherland.

ALEXANDRA EPPS is an official guide and lecturer at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Guildhall Art Gallery and a qualified Guide to the City of London

Would you believe it? There are over 500 new buildings over 20 stories high planned for London in the next 20 years. This talk focuses on the development of modern architecture in London and looks at some of the most interesting buildings, including the Shard, the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie, the Leadenhall Building, the Scalpel, and 22 Bishopsgate.

IAN SWANKIE is a Londoner with a contagious enthusiasm for Art and Architecture and is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and at St Paul's Cathedral .

Drawing on his experience as a musicologist and a gigging musician, Sandy can shed a light on JAZZ from the inside. Musical illustrations will include Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, blues and ragtime....can't wait!

SANDY BURNETT is one of UK's most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing.

Another celebration!   This time of the hundredth anniversary of the 1925 PARIS EXPO: The International Exhibition of MODERN DECORATIVE and INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 16 MILLION VISITORS  were drawn to this exhibition which eventually became known as ART DECO.

PAMELA CAMPBELL-JOHNSTON has an MA HONS in Art History from St Andrews University and has over 30 years' experience of giving lectures to undergraduates, adult groups and Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy.

This is such a well-known painting  hanging in the Courthauld Collection of Impressionist Art, but it shocked audiences when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1882.This is Manet's final great work and he died shortly after its completion. Why did he paint the Barmaid at the Folies-Bergeres?

STEVEN BARRETT has a BA(Hons) in Fine Arts from Liverpool and an MA in History of Fine Art from Birkbeck College. He has lectured at Somerset House and at the National Gallery. He is also a painter.

This is a completely NEW subject for our Society. Denmark lost territory and power in the C19. Landscape painting united its diverse regions and instilled a sense of belonging to a new but smaller Denmark.

JAMES VAUX is a researcher and lecturer specialising in Nordic Arts, culture, design and history.

How did a woman  such as ARTEMESIA GENTLIESCHIA become a painter in the C17? Her family connections enabled her to travel to Rome, London, Florence and Naples. Artemesia was a rarity but also one of the greatest artists of that period, her works being compared with Caravaggio, Reno and Domenichino.

CHANTAL BROTHERTON-RATCLIFFE has an MA in History of Art from Edinburgh and a PhD from the Warburg Institute and has taught at the Sotheby's Institute of Fine Arts since 1989. She has also trained as a paintings Conservator.

This year we celebrate the 400th Anniversary of CHARLES 1ST 's accession to the throne in 1625. As a young prince he had already begun collecting works of art following a visit to Spain  where he admired the collections of Philip IV. He celebrated his accession to the throne by purchasing the collection of the Duke of Mantua and thus works by Raphael, Titian and Mantegna became part of the largest private collection in the world.

Barbara Askew is a Historian and London Blue Badge Guide and an acknowledged expert on Royalty and Windsor Castle

Forks and salt cellars, Bacchus and the Garden of Eden, Mediaeval banquets, Mrs Beeton and Coffee Houses - through the centuries food and its rituals have provided vibrant opportunities to celebrate, to analyse their world and even to develop complex ideas of morality. From still lives to the Last Supper, religion, mythology and social traditions are rich in the themes of food and shared meals. At the heart of the home a shared fascination with food provides the perfect opportunity to flaunt money and status  and illustrates shifting fashions and styles of eating.

Nicole Mezey  studied Art History at the Universities of Sussex, York and Paris and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Higher Education Adademy.She also was a Senior Lecturere at Queens University Belfast until 2019 She is now a freelance lecturer working for National Museums and Universities.

The Stirling Prize has celebrated the very best contemporary buildings since 1996.Some winners such as Norman Foster's the Gherkin have become enormously successful and appreciated by the wider public. other have proved harder to love.This entertaining  lecture looks at some of the hits, some of the misses and several buildings that arguably should have won but didnt.

Brian Slater lectured at UCL for 25 years retiring in 2021 as a Senior Teaching Fellow. His principal academic interest lay with the appreciation of architecture and he has a life long interest in photography.He works with a range of cameras including a pre war Leica.

I discuss how Sculpture now plays an important role in terms of site within a city, how Sculpture parks developed in mid C20 , (mainly due to the influence of Henry Moore), how water has attracted artists and how Sculpture has become a challenging and exciting place for a social encounter. Tracy Emin, Anthony Goring, Anish Kapoor, Richard Long, Cornelia Parker and Rachel Whiteread are discussed and feature in  Anna’ s publication Sculpture.

ANNA MOSSYNSKA is a London based lecturer and writer specialising in Contemporary Art.During the nineties she oversaw the development of the subject as the first Masters degree at the Sotheby’s Institute. She has also taught at the City Lit, Royal Academy and the Tate Gallery and continues to lecture at the Sotheby’s Institute for the MA in Contemporary Art as well as running her own classes.Her publications include books on Abstract Art, Sculpture and 2 books on Anthony Gormley.

When Diego Velasquez arrived at the court of PhilipIV in Madrid he stepped into a world that was the polar opposite to the bustle and chaos of his home town Seville. The court of PhilipIV was governed by strict codes , hierarchies and prejudices. This lecture explores his paintings and the relationships behind them and will end with a discussion of Velazquez's greatest and most enigmatic masterpieces, Las Meninas.

Isabel Kent received a BA and an M Phil in the History of Art from Trinitry College Cambridge where she is currently completing her Ph D on the Art of Diego Velasquez and Francisco de Zubarin.In 2020 her book Collecting Bartolame Esteban Murillo in Britain and Ireland was published.

Venice’s unique position brought the city into contact with the different powers of the Eastern Mediterranean including the Byzantine Empire, the Mamalucks and the Ottomans.The lecturer explains the ways in which the interactions between these different groups left their mark on the artistic heritage of the city and examines Venetian Architecture and Venetian Decorative Arts.

Antonia Cevizli gained her Ph D from Warwick University and is now an independent historian specialising in both the Italian Renaissance and Ottoman Art. Her publications focus on cultural and diplomatic exchange between the Italian City states and the Ottoman Empire.

We visit the French Riviera  which became a hub of creativity in the early C20. The light, the beauty and the ambience attracted many now famous artists. We look at the work produced by artists such as Renoir , Matisse, Picasso, Chagall and Bonnard and examine their motivations and interactions at this time and the paths that drove them to the famous Cote d’Azure.

LYDIA BAUMAN  

studied for a BA in Fine Arts at Newcastle and an MA in Fine Art at the Courthauld Institute ( Distinction for Thesis on Matisse Illustration to Poetry) Our lecturer is an Artist and divides her time between painting and lecturing. she had taught at the National Gallery for over 30 years.

The Ancient Olympics lasted over 1000 years and were both very similar and very different to the modern games.They were religious games held in honour of the god Zeus in Olympia in the Peloponnese. Our lecturer explores the artistic and literary evidence for the Ancient Games but we also learn about the triumphs and the heartaches both weird and wonderful of the athletes themselves.

JAMES RENSHAW is currently teaching at Godolphin and Latimer School in London and runs the Schools Ancient World Breakfast Club which has an ethos similar to the ARTS SOCIETY. He read Classics at Oxford University and has written a number of text books including In Search of Greeks  and lectures at the V&A Academy. He is a keen traveller and photographer and many of the illustrations shown will have been from his own camera.

With the expansion of trade between Europe and the Far East in the C17 Chinese porcelain spread across the world. Originally Chinese porcelain was very fragile  and often exchanged as a diplomatic gift and kept in  a Cabinet of Curiosities. The advent of  “ Blue and White” porcelain changed the worlds perception  and it immediately became very fashionable and collectible.

How much influence did Chinese porcelain have on European trade and culture? Listen to the lecture and you will find the answer!

JANE GARDINER  has an MA in the History of Art from London University and trained at the V&A. She was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s for 17 years becoming a Deputy Director. She continues to lecture at the V&A and for many other organisations including the National Trust and the University of Buckingham.

The Mughal Emperors ruled the Indian subcontinent until the advent of the British Raj in the C18.Mughal Architecture followed traditional Indian   Culture but was also influenced by Islam and Persian and Turkish inspirations.These beautiful and iconic buildings ,landscapes and gardens have left an indelible stamp on India's heritage. We travel through India visiting the Jama Masjid in Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra...have you ever sat on the famous seat......to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.....my heart misses a beat just remembering them...The lecture will provide an insight into the historical contexts and colourful personalities involved in their construction.

Dr JOHN STEVENS gained his Ph.D in History at UCL before becoming a lecturer  at SOAS.His biography of the Indian Guru : KESHAB Bengal's forgotten prophet was published in 2018. He has lectured in many Indian Universites and appeared on Indian media.He also appeared on BBC Radio 4  discussing the poet and artist Ravindranath Tagore. Dr Stevens is a scholar.

An election soon? Maybe  2024? And the cartoonists will all have fun. 

Rupert Dickens , an Art Historian based mainly at the Wallace  Museum,  will look closely at the Entertainment series from the 1750's and explain many of Hogarth's jokes and their reference to our present preoccupation with identity and immigration

Venice is an exceptional place and from 1550 to 1750 was at the forefront of musical ideas from all over Europe. This lecture explores the music making at St Marks, the music played at the 17th century opera houses and also the role played by the four Ospedali, which gave rise to the great concertos of Vivaldi and his contemporaries.

Peter Medhurst is a musician and scholar, giving recitals and illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Crash, bang, explosion!
Cornelia Parker is best known for her explosive installation COLD DARK MATTER; AN EXPLODED VIEW for which a garden shed was blown up by the British Army and the resulting debris lit by a single light bulb.

ROSALIND WHYTE has a BA and MA from Golsmiths College and is an experienced guide at Tate Britain Tate Modern and The Royal Academy and will explore the thought processes and ideas of artists such as Cornelia Parker. 

This lecture looks at the ancient traditions and materials of China, focusing first on burial art  and later on recent archaeological discoveries such as the Terracotta warriors and  on all the jade and lacquer objects found in tombs.Chineses painting from figurative to landscape will be explored through the use of materials and styles and this will include calligraphy. Imported ideas brought by Jesuits and trading links influenced traditional practices.

Professor Marie Conte-Helm was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to UK Japanese education and culture.She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo -Japanese Foundation and has held senior academic posts at various universities .She is a long established Arts Society lecturer, with a BA in the History of Art and an MA in Asian Art and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

This lecture focuses on Britain as a workshop and considers both the design impact of the Great Exhibition and the need for a "legacy institution" in the South Kensington Museum. We examine the building itself  and explore the world of William Morris , Frederick Lord Leighton and other influential designers of the Victorian Age.

Anna Warrillow worked for 6 years  as a curator in the Sculpture department of the V& A and continued to work at the Henry Moore Family Trust. She became a Blue Badge Guide in 2013 winning an award and has since established her own guiding company. She teaches undergraduates at the American International university in London.

This lecture contains NUDITY

The lecturer who is a Classical scholar and teacher  introduces us to  the Ancient Greeks in the raw and we study  statues of beauty and realism, in particular the controversial Parthenon and Elgin marbles and the  Venus di Milo, a celebrated survivor of a craze for naked Aphrodites.

RUPERT WILLOUGHBY is a historian and Classicist,  a poet and a wild swimmer. Ruperts forefathers were Vikings and his foremothers were Tartars. He is the author of  Life in Mediaeval England and Chawton; Jane Austens Village. He has given lectures for the Arts Society since 2011. 

At the turn of the century Vienna was a melting pot  of new ideas which included science,philosphy, psychoanalysis,  twelve tone music, architecture and artists in particular Klimt, Kokoshka and Schiele. Klimt led the secession movement and created a highly decorative and sensual art that explored the power of sex in the age of Freud.

Colin Pink has a BA in Philosphy and Politics from the University of Southampton and an MA in History of Art from  Birkbeck University. He specialises in the interrelationship between the ideas of art and of history and has lectured at a wide range of cultural organisations.He is also a curator and a poet.

Shut your eyes and think of Christian Dior and then Vogue or Harpers Bazaar and then dwell on the artists.Traditionally considered to be Commercial Art, this genre of art  is now  recognised to be part of a lost school of Fine Art.We discover the most influential names in post war fashion illustration, their differing approaches to documenting fashion and why these fashion artists were considered the trendsetters of their time.

CONNIE GRAY is a specialist in the history of 20th century fashion illustration  and sits on the advisory boards at the Courtauld Institute and at FIT New York. She has curated many specialist exhibitions and recently curated Legends Only at Claridge's Hotel.During the Covid Epidemic she presented a series of Masterclasses on Fashion Illustration that regularly attracted over 800 people at  each event.

We dwell in Rome for this lecture and stroll through its heart , exploring the monuments, the fountains  and the temples.We walk through  the Rome of the Ancient Romans, Rome under the rule of the Popes and finish with Rome as a the capital of a united Italy. What a wonderful morning this will be.

HARVEY STUART. Is a London Blue Badge  Guide  and also a Guida Turista Abilitata Di Roma and leads Study Tours all over Europe.He fell in love with Rome and has lived there since 2003.

This lecture unfolds the history of the  great auction houses over 200  With prices arousing exhilaration but sometimes deep disappointment the falling hammer induces  expectant excitement.The lecturer will give a colourful introduction to their life story  with one eye on the past  and a guess on their future in a digital age.

GRANT FORD  is an independent Art Advisor and Curator based in Marlborough, having spent 30 years at Sothebys. He is the senior paintings specialist for the Antique Roadshow.

British Art has been enriched by artists from other parts of the world. Artists including Hans Holbein, Whistler, Bromberg, Frank Auerbach and also the more  modern artists Chris Ofili and Yinka Shonibare overcame the obstacles of being an outsider.

MONICA BOHM-Duchen is a freelance lecturer at the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery  and the Courthauld Gallery. She has written many books including The Private Life of a Masterpiece and is also the initiator and director of The Insiders/Outsiders Arts Festival

Judy Rudoe has been a curatorr at the British Museum since 1974 specialising in jewellery and 19th-20th century decorative arts. She is the author of Cartier 1900-1939 and organiser of the Cartier exhibition in 1998. Her last book Jewellery in the age of Victoria won the 2011 William Berger prize for British Art History.

We are delighted to welcome  Judy Rudoe back to speak to our society again and look forward not only  to the details of Cartier's  fabulous designs but also an insight of his famous clientele.

Dali was an omnivorous reader and was as interested in science as much as he was in art. He admired Renaissance artists and designed jewellery and sculptures as well as being an artist , poet  and writer. The lecture follows the path of Dali not only as  a designer but as a science enthusiast .

Julia Musgrave has a degree in Chemical Engineering and became a Chartered Information Systems engineer and an IT project manager. In 2008 she changed her course in life and studied History of  Art at Glasgow University. She is currently studying for her PhD at York University. She is a lecturer in Art History at the City Literary Institute.

After the Reformation  portraiture became the most important subject in Art. Many of the major painters were foreign and included Holbein and Van Dyke. From the c18 British artists  became more popular and included Reynolds and Gainsborough. The lecturer continues this exploration up to modern times studying C20 artists including Lucien Freud and David Hockney.

Valerie Woodgate is  a popular  lecturer returning to our society for the 4th or 5th time. She is a lecturer at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. She has taught at Dulwich Picture Gallery and at Pallant House Gallery Chichester.

This lecture explores the lives and family history of three great families, the Ascots, the Sackville Wests and the Rothschilds.They came from very different backgrounds but each family created beautiful and much admired gardens in the English Countryside.

Caroline Rayman is an official guide at the British Museum and has lectured for many years to universities and art organizations.

An Exhibition with this title will take place at The National Gallery from November 20th 2021 to February 27th 2022 having being postponed from its original date in 2021 due  to COVID.

This lecture focuses on Durer through his travels and discusses the places and people he visited through his paintings and prints. He journeyed   from Nuremberg to to the Alps and Italy in the mid 1490's and then on to Venice in 1505  continuing finally to the Netherlands in 1520. 

Claire Ford Wille has an Honours Degree in History of Art at Birkbeck College London She lectures at the  Centre for Lifelong Learning, London University,National Gallery, V&A Museum and the City Literary Institute.

This lecture follows the course of the invasion of the Iberian peninsula by the Umayyad Caliphate in 711 AD  to the reconquest of Granada in 1492AD by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel. Islamic , Christian and Jewish cultures produced a unique hybrid culture which will be explored in its architecture , textiles  and carvings.

Ian Cockburn is an Art historian with a specialsed interest in medieval Spanish Art History. Previously a Chartered Accountant and a  senior manager in multi-national IT companies, he is founder and director of an art tours company and lectures at the V&A , SOAS and Christies.

Today we have the opportunity to study a single painting in depth , an unusual and most enjoyable pleasure. This lecture looks in detail at Bathers at Asniieres, a popular and well recognised painting by Georges Seurat. Seurat was 24 at the time and took 2 years to complete this painting and developed a technique known as Pointillism to capture the shimmering effect of sunlight on the Seine and the riverbank.

Steven Barrett has  a BA (hons) in Fine Art from Liverpool School of Art and an MA in History of Art from Birkbeck College . He has lectured at the National Gallery since 2004 and  has also lectured at Somerset House, The City Literary Institute and Bishopgate Institute

Why has the teak sideboard you threw out become so desirable? Mark Hill looks at furniture, ceramics, glass, lighting and metalware of the seventies . Who were the influential designers and which designs became popular? As demonstrated on The Antique Road Show articles made in the seventies may now be more valuable than those made 300 years ago

 Mark Hill began his career as a porter  and cataloguer at Bonhams moving on to Sothebys as a Specialist. He co-wrote with Judith Miller the Collectables Price Guide from 2002-2017. He has been a Miscellanous expert on the Antiques Roadshow since 2007 and I am sure many of you will have seen him.

Dame Zaha Hadid died just 6 years ago at the age of 65 and will be remembered as one of the most important if not controversial architects of our era. Many of her  earlier designs were considered unbuildable but after years of frustrations she has left a legacy of many worldwide successful  and much admired projects.

Colin Davies, an architect, was Professor of Architectural Theory at London Metropolitan University and has written several books, his latest book being A New History of Modern Architecture. He is a former editor of The Architects Journal and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programmes.

This lecture covers the period from 1607 to 1759 beginning with Monteverdi and ending with Handel and has a special focus on Johann Sebastian Bach.

Sandy Burnett has worked as  a music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in the West End. He is a core presenter on BBC Radio3 and wrote the Idler Guide to Classical Music. He is a jazz double bassist and in 2018/2019 was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music's Hogwood Fellow.

This lecture will explore two contrasting perspectives of New York city at the turn of the century, a period of vast fortunes, urban poverty, rapid expansion and technicological change. What role did Art, Fashion and Culture play in the rise of the Nouveaux Riche of the Gilded Age.

The Ashcan Painters in contrast paint the skyscrapers, the railways, the shops or visit a vaudeville show or central park and are shocked by the eviction of poor immigrant tenants on the lower east side.

The Gilded Age can be compared to the times in which we live now.

Mary Alexander has thirties years experience as a lecture with a BA in History and in History of Art with distinction in the History of Art from University College  London.

There is more to the world of street art than Bansky! 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 uncommissioned public art is a very  different beast to that which it once was. From the international superstars to the local underground heroes you are guaranteed to leave knowing your "Invader" from your "Aryz ".

Doug Gillan is  a film maker and East End Tour guide specialising in Art and Culture for Alternative London. He 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.

This colourful lecture provides an in depth-exploration of famous art works from a contemporary painter's perspective. The lecturer reveals how Turner and Rembrandt developed new innovations in the langauge of painting and explores painting techniques from the  C16 to the C21  exposing unusual details; from broken brushes to smudged thumbmarks, from dripping pigment on to secret sketchbooks and tearing  canvases to immersive light installations;thus providing new ways of seeing paintings across the centuries.

Alice White is a professional oil painter and Tutor at Central St Martins College of Art and Design. She is  a visiting lecturer at Kings College London, Brunel University ,the Art Workers Guild and the Courtauld institite of Art.

 Her Instant Expert lecture for The Arts Society MAGAZINE entitleded How to Look at Painting was published in July 2020.

Rock, bark, ochre: the story of Aboriginal Art in the culturally distinct communities of  the North of Australia; an extraordinary story of continuous artistic endeavour from rock paintings dating back 50,000 years to modern work done on bark in natural ochres.

Rebecca Hossack  is credited with introducing Aboriginal paintings to Europe. Hossack studied at Christies and at the Guggenhem in Venice and served as the Australian Cultural Attache in London from 1993- 1997. She founded the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery which champions originality in both contemporary Western  and non Western Art. Amongst many other facets of her life she was the first Conservative Councillor in Bloomsbury for over 20 years during which time she ran the New York Marathon to raise £20.000 to plant trees in central London.

The landscape garden was a great English innovation. In place of the formal gardens that were the fashion in Europe,  William Kent introduced a new type of garden in the 1730's, a "natural "garden full of drama and surprises. Examples are drawn from gardens such as  Painshill, Stowe and Claremont and from the ever-ingenious designs of Humphrey Repton. Also considered are two Imperial gardens of China which may have helped to change the shape of the Great Gardens of Georgian England.

Patrick Conner taught at Marlborough College before becoming  Keeper of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion  Brighton. He is now the Director of the Martyn Gregory Gallery London and has written several books including Oriental Architecture in the West.

Sarah Cove is  an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with more than 30 years experience working on paintings for both the private and the heritage sectors. In 1986 she founded The Constable Research Project and she is now the leading authority on Constable's materials and techniques.  Sarah Cove  appeared  as the expert in the BBC's Fake or Fortune ? series.

This lecture will examine several of Constable's paintings including those that he painted on Hampstead Heath

For this lecture today , our lecturer, a retired surgeon, with a passionate interest in Leonardo da Vinci will examine the masters' drawings and paintiings. Many of Leonardo's paintings are undergoing restoration. The talk will review the philosophy with which Leonardo's paintings are presented 500 years on and consider the contribution made by his drawings to the world in which we live.

Guy Rooker is a retired surgeon with a life long passion , fascination and admiration of the work of Leonardo da Vinci. He believes that both his art and his investigation of scientific concepts are quite unique and extraordinary.

Textiles have played a crucial role iin the fortunes of Central Asia. Each medium was important for different reasons. Wool was necessary for the clothing and housing of the nomadic tribes. Silk was used as a currency and was more valuable then gold. Cotton was the cause of Russian colonisation. The familiar carpets, felts, embroideries, robes and veils of the Silk Road changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the world, a meeting place betweem Mohammed and Marx. 

Chris Alexander has travelled extensively , having been born  in Turkey, schooled in war torn Beirut, spent 2 years at sea and then studied journalism at Leicester University. He established a workshop reviving C15 carpet designs thereby creating income for women in Khiva Uzbekistan and then  returned to England to write A Carpet Ride to KHIVA. He subsequently  trained yak herders in Tajikistan to comb their yaks for down  and  moved on  to Kygystan to establish a wood carving workshop. He is now a Curate at St Barnbas Church North Finchley.

Were the Borgias really so bad?   In an age when the church and state were known for brutality and corruption,  were the Borgias really so bad.This lecture dissects the family that dominated Papal and Italian politics at the end of the C15. We learn of the lives and machinations of Pope Alexander V1 and his son Cesare who was  a cardinal, a general and employer of Da Vinci   and of the jounry of Lucrezia Borgia  from the "greatest whore in Rome"  to the devout and treasured Duchess of the city of Ferrara.

Sarah Dunant   is a writer, broadcaster and critic. She has published 13 novels , the last five of which have been set inside the Italian Renaissance.  As a cultural journalist she has worked on programmes  such as the Late Show , Kaleidoscope and Night Waves.

This lecture looks behind the doors of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and at the pressures faced by the singers, the conductor and the musicians. How does the building cope with the demands of modern productions?  What are the expectations of the audiences over the years? The lecture will include several performance video clips.

Nigel Bates has been a performer for more than forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House , including 17 years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and 8 years as the Music Administrator of the Royal Ballet. He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series.

Early depictions of the Magi appear in Byzantine ivories of the C6 and many artists including Bosch Botticellu, Durer and Rubens and others have clearly been fascinated by the story of the Wise men from the East and bequeathed to us  their own artistic interpretation.

Leslie Primo examines first what the word Magi means and will look at the origin of the names of the Magi, the significance of their gifts and the appearance of a black king. What do we want this story to mean and why do we hold on to the legendary story rather than the biblical tale in our mostly secular society

Our lecturer holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Renaissance sStudies from Birkbeck College, he gives talks at the National Gallery and the National Portait Gallery amd also lectures at the City Literary Institute, The National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld institute.

This is a journey though the 60s in music and images following the Beatles from Hamburg to Abbey Rd in 1969. The band was always fascinated by the visual arts and they discovered that  artists and designers could promote their image and music. The innovative covers such as Rubber Soul, Revolver. the White Album and Sgt Pepper turned album design into an art form in its own right.

Barry Venning has lectured to our society many times and we are delighted to welcome him back. He is a historian of British Art and his interests and teaching  extend from medieval architecture to contemporary British Art.

Wine has been part of our global society for over 7000 years and this  story tells of its origin and appearance in all societies across the Mediterranean and Europe. From the kweris of Georgia in 5000BC, the symposia in ancient Greece, the thermopolia of Pompeii, the hospices of Europe, to the dining tables of fine society wine has been ever present. Drawings , paintings, engravings, buildings , pottery and wine labels themselves all contribute to the story.

David Wright has been a wine retailer, importer and distributor for 30 yearss and during that time presented tastings and talks on wine to trade and private audiences. A Brief History of Wine encompasses 7000 years of wine in the form of paintings, decorated drinking vessels, buildings and literature which  illustrate the story.

This lecture will be given via ZOOM details to follow  

Cleopatra, the woman for whose love Anthony is imagined to have given up the chance to rule the Roman world , has been inspiring painters , poets and filmmakers for over two millennia.Their gorgeously voluptuous depictions of her offer insights into changing concepts of beauty and into the racial and sexual assumptions underlying them This lecture reveals how Cleopatra became a screen onto which artists have projected their wildly differing fantasies about exotic danger and erotic bliss.

Lucy Hughes-Hallet is the author of The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio which won both the Samuel Johnson prize,  the Duff Cooper prize and the Costa Biography award, - and of Cleopatra and Heroes. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Historical Association and teaches Creative Writing at Arcadia University and at Arvon.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN REBOOKED FOR NEXT YEAR

For this lecture today , our lecturer, a retired surgeon  with a passionate interest in Leonardo da Vinci will examine  the masters  drawings and paintings .Many of Leonardo's autographed paintings are undergoing restoration. This talk reviews the philosophy with which Leonardo's paintings are presented 500 years on and considers   the contribution made by his drawings to the world in which we live.

Guy Rooker is a retired surgeon with a life long passion ,fascination and admiration for the work of Leonardo da Vinci. He believes that the both his art and his investigation of scientific concepts are quite unique and extraordinary

This lecture will explore two contrasting perspectives of New York city at the turn of the century, a period of vast fortunes, urban poverty, rapid expansion and technicologocal change.  What role did Art Fashion and Couture play in the rise of the Nouveaux Riche of the Gilded Age.

The Ashcan painters in contrast paint the skyscrapers , the railways, the ships or visit a vaudeville show or central park and are shocked by the eviction of poor immigrant tenants on the lower east side.

This Gilded Age can be compared to the times in which we live now.

Mary Alexander has thirty years experience as a lecturere with a Ba in History and in History of Art and a MA with distinction in the Histpry of Art from University College London

Textiles have played a crucual role in the fortunes of Central Asia. Each medium  was important for different reasons, Wool was necessary for the clothing and housing of the nomadic tribes, Silk was used as a currency and was more valuable than gold, Cotton was the cause of Russian colonisation. The familiar carpets, felts , embroideries, robes and veils of the Silk Road changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the world, a meeting place between Mohammed and Marx.

Chris Alexander has travelled extensively, having been born in Turkey, schooled in war torn Beirut spent 2 years at sea and then studied journalism at Leicester University. He established a workshop reviving C15   carpet designs, creating income for women in Khiva Uzbekistan and returned to England to write A Carpet Ride to Khiva. He then moved to Tajikistan training yak herders  to comb their yaks for down  and three years later  to Kyrgyzstan establishing a wood carving workshop in the worlds largest natural walnut forest.He is now a Curate at St Barnabas North Finchley and returns to Central Asia whenever he can.

This is the story of Germany's most famous design school.It was founded in Weimar in 1919 and the director  Gropius attracted leading painters from across Europe to teach at the Bauhaus. After its move to Dessau changes were made in the curriculum moving away from craft based design towards links with industry.The Bauhaus  finally moved to Berlin under the directorship of Mies van der Roche in 1932 but  closed a year later and many of the teachers and students either fled or were exiled by the Nazi regime. The lecturer examines the legacy of the Bauhaus school.

Anthea Streeter studied Fine and Decorative Arts in London and continued her studies at Harvard University. She has taught on courses in Oxford and London, lectured on the Country House course in Sussex and for several private groups arouund the county.

Peggy Gugenheim was ahead of her time,she discovered and nurtured a new generation of artists breaking new frontiers.She has been described as changing the face of twentieth century art, through collecting art  and collecting the artists themselves.Her name is always associated with Venice but her activities in other locations will also be explored.

Alexandra Epps is a member of the City of London Guides Association and is a Co-author of the book Lord Mayor's Portraits. She is also a guide and lecturer at Tate Modern, Tate Britain , Pallant House Gallery and the Guildhall Art Gallery.

Grayson Perry is one of Britains most familiar contempoary artists,identified by his usually outlandish feminine clothes. He is a Turner Prize  winner and  his  artistic  works in  ceramics ,textiles and prints are highly sought.

Ian Swankie  is an official guide at both Tate Art galleries, the Guildhall Art gallery and St Pauls Cathedral and is a Freeman  of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars. He will explore Grayson Perry's unique character as well as his works and exhibitions

Kate Aspinal is an independent historian, writer and historian. She consults for the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and focuses her academic work on British Visual Culture in the C20.

American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein has captivated the world since his debut in the 1960s. This talk, by examining his paintings, sculptures, tapestries and drawings, will discuss why his works are more complex than they appear.

Andrew Prince has had a passion for Jewellery since his childhood. At 16 he started to work for Ian Harris of the Antique Road Show and then moved to the contemporary jeweller Elizabeth Gage. He eventually was commissioned by the V&A to design jewels for the Exhibition 'Tiaras, Past and Present'. This was followed by commissions for 'Mrs Henderson Presents' and for the 'Young Victoria'. In 2012 he designed the jewellery for the third series of 'Downton Abbey'.

In his lecture Andrew will guide us through the extraordinary periods and events between 1890 and 1929 when the great fashion houses collaborated with the finest of jewellers to produce works of art of outstanding quality and glittering opulence.

Paul Rabbitts is a qualified landscape architect and park manager and has worked for several local authorities across Britain. He has written 14 books on the iconic bandstand. He has also written on the Royal Parks, our Great British Parks and on Parkitechture.

This lecture will tell the story of all eight Royal Parks from the point when they were acquired by the British Monarchy to this day, including the major historic moments and important events with which they are associated.

Tasha Marks is an award-winning food historian and artist. Her practice, AVM Curiosities, champions the use of food as an artistic medium with projects ranging from Museum exhibitions and sculpturural installations to interactive lectures.

Food and Art through the ages is a whistle-stop tour of the history of food as an artistic medium starting with C16 sugar sculpture and continuing to 3D dessert printing and beyond.

Elizabeth Merry lectures extensively on classical art and architecture, the visual arts and the links between literature and Art.

This talk explores the artistic revival of the Gothic  and the fascination with vampires, monsters and other horrors.

With Byron are Dr Polidori, Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, each tells a ghost story. Whose story was the most enduring?

Christopher Herbert is the former Bishop of St Albans. He has a MPhil and PhD in Art History and has been awarded two honorary doctorates. He has lectured at the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute, Westminster Abbey and at the University Of Rikkyo in Japan.

The Hotel-Dieu at Beaune was created by Nicholas Robin one of the most powerful men in Europe in the C15.

What stories lay behind this masterpiece? What can we learn about van Der Weyden’s 'Last Judgement' in the main ward? What light can this shed on the medieval way of life?

Anthony Peers is a freelance building consultant having trained as an Architectural Historian at Manchester University. After working with Save Britain’s Heritage he was sent to Bombay to run an innovative project to repair George Gilbert Scott's  University buildings and to train local craftsmen.

This lecture explores the evolving attitudes in India towards the British Empire as well as recounting the story of  this actual project, the building of so many magnificent  Gothic  Revival  buildings and the work of the Jeejeebhoy School of Of Art.

Matthew Williams is the curator of Cardiff Castle  and is particularly interested in design of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this lecture he will draw on some personal memories of Portmeirion and disscuss its location, its architecture and its cultural associations.

Portmeirion was created in 1920 by the architect Sir Willam Clough Ellis and is descibed as a Welsh Italianate Fantasy. Many artists, intellectuals  and aristocrats visited regularly, including HG Wells and Bertrand Russell. Noel Coward wrote 'Blithe Spirit' whilst on one of his many visits.

Sir Clough's daughter Susan created Portmeirion Pottery.

Mary Alexander will explore the extraordinary inventiveness and topical brilliance of the work of John Singer Sargent. Items from his personal life, including letters and diaries, will bring to life this charismatic, unconventional, and complex artist.

Mary Alexander is a longstanding NADFAS/TAS lecturer and has in the past taught at the Open University, Christie’s Education and acted as Museum Curator at Platts' Museum Manchester . She has made several tours as a TAS lecturer to Australia and New Zealand.

Sir Arthur Gilbert made his fortune in property in California. He, together with his wife Rosalind, formed an eclectic collection of silver and objets d’art which is now mainly housed in the V&A museum.

We are delighted to welcome Ian Pickford back for his fourth visit to our Society. Ian is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company, a Freeman of the City of London, and Lecturer at the University of London, the National Trust, the Art Fund and often appears on the Antiques Road Show as the Silver Expert.

 The cartoonist Carl Giles once said that he loved his creation Grandma Giles because she allowed him to say things through his cartoons that he was too polite to say in person. She helped him to poke fun at authority. He was voted Britain's best-loved cartoonist in 2003.

Barry Venning is a historian of British Art and his interests extend from medieval art to contemporary British Art.

"The Sun is God" Turner once said and its prominence in his works, particularly his later ones, is overwhelming. He actually did stare at the sun with the naked eye thereby developing a Glassblowers cataract and this may have distorted his perception of colour, particularly yellow. Many of Turner's exhibitions bore the word Sun in the title - for example 'Turner and the Sun' Winchester 2017. Turner also gave focus to the  Sun by using titles such as:

                     The Sun in Venice 1842

                     The Angel standing in the Sun 1846 

                     Sun settling over a lake 1840

                     Norham Castle at Sunrise 1845

Douglas Skeggs is a writer, artist, TV presenter, and a long-standing NADFAS Lecturer. He is the author of 6 novels and is a Director of the New Academy of Arts.

This lecture traces the patterns and developements in Art from Post-Impressionism in the c19 progressing through  Fauvism,  Expressionism,  Cubism, Dadaism, Suprematism, Surrealism, Pop Art, Post-Modernism, and Conceptual Art to the enfants terribles of today, such as Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst.

Frank Woodgate is a Lecturer and Guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. He also lectures at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and is a scriptwriter for the Living Paintings Trust.

Victoria and Albert viewed their roles as patrons of the arts as being as part of the public duties of the monarchy. They were enthusiastic patrons of the Arts throughout their marriage, commissioning and collecting works  from both British and European artists. They played a pivotal role in the ground breaking Great Exhibition  of 1851.

Oliver Everett was educated at Cambidge University and at the LSE. Following service in the Foreign Office, mainly in India, he was assistant Private Secretary to Prince Charles followed by Private Secretary to Diana Princess of Wales. He is now Librarian Emeritus of the Royal Library Windsor Castle.

Possibly the most admired historic building outside London,Blenheim Palace is an uncompromising World Heritage monument to English military ambition and one family's self importance. This lecture explores the Marlboroughs, the genius of Vanbrugh and considers the impact the palace has left on the nation.

Anthony Russell spent six years working for Luke Hughes and advising on the furniture needs of prestigious buildings.He is now based in London assisting at the British Museum  and undertaking lecturing and research.

This lecture examines the significance of gold in Japanese Art as the symbol of the sacred on one hand and the symbol of wealth and power on the other. Gold was used to adorn Buddhist Icons but in the C16 powerful warriors began to decorate their castles with gold-leaf.

Dr Meri Arichi studued Art History in London and Florence and after working in Christie's  she obtained a diploma  , an MA, and a PhD for her thesis on Shinto-Buddhist syncretic Art

Artists have been as preoccupied with cash as the rest of us. We watch the tug of war between creativity and credit in financial vignettes from five centuries. We look at prices for new ART in relation to the cost of living for both artists amd patrons. Is today's colossal world art market to the benefit or at a cost to creativity?

David Phillips studied History at Oxford and then worked at Nottingham Castle Museum and as a lecturer in Museum Studies and Art History at the University of Manchester

This lecture concentrates on the seven  most important woman in the life of Picasso,two of whom he married. Picasso's emotional life influenced what he painted and how he painted it. His response to each new love can be seen in the different styles in which the women are representated

Valerie Woodgate is a lecturer and Guide in Tate Britain  and Tate Modern. She also lectures for the Dulwich Gallery and on religious art in churches and cathedrals.

Using paintings by artists such as Sickert and photographs taken by Snowden , Beaton and others we shall trace the careers of some of the famous actors of today including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith,Derek Jacobi ,Ian McKellen and Simon Russell Beale, who have all proved that theatre is a fine art.

Frances Hughes ,a long standing favourite NADFAS lecturer was a headmistress for 18 years .Her career change took her to the National Portait Gallery  and the National Trust and she also became Secretary of the Shakespeare Society and Chairman of the Irving Society.

To celebrate the beginning of our 50th Anniversary year  Dr Julius Bryant,a former Curator at Kenwood House  and at present the Keeper of Word and Image at the V&A, will explore the origins of the Iveagh Bequest and of its remarkable collection  of Old Masters and of British paintings.

Artists have always used jokes to make serious statements. and use paint,trompe l'oeil, parody, visual puns.all in fun and all deadly serious: artists jokes will tell you a lot once you know.

Susie Harries  is a writer, editor  and lecturer specialising in twentieth century culture and arts. Her most recent book is a Biography of Sir Nicholas Pevsner.

This lecture will mark the centennary of women first getting the vote  which falls in 2018. It will explore the story of the  suffragettes through portrayals in art and in their own artisitic productions  and will look at how contemporary artists choose to portray female politicians in our own time.

Caroline Shenton is an archivist, historian and author. She was formely Director of the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster.

Christopher de Hamel is the Donnelly Fellow Librarian of Corpus Christi College Cambidge and was responsible for all catalogue and sales of illuminated manuscripts at Sothebys for 25 years. He is probably the best known expert on medieval manuscipts in the world

A silver thread winds through Kosovo' s history.In Prziren a seventh generation of filigree artisans use filum,granum,zigzags and other twists and turns to magic lacy creations from dull sticks of raw material. The results are a fine narrative of Kosovo's history and traditions

Elizabeth Gowling studied at Magdalen College Oxford. and moved to Kosovo in 2006 to  work in the Ethnological Museum in Prishtin. Elizabeth speaks fluent Albanian and has written three books about Kosovo

This lecture looks at the developementof the sport of Horseracing in England through its associated cultural material, using the wealth of archive material, paintings and decorative objects associated with the Sport of Kings .The lecture will examine the early origins of the sport and the developement of   Newmarket and the Jockey Club.

Christopher Garibaldi is the  Director of the  National Horseracing Museum Newmarket and the Assitant Keeper of Art at Norwich Castle Museum

Charlie Waite wil give a fully illustrated talk with in excess of 60 images exploring the relationship  between the making of an image and the way in which it is perceived by the viewer

Charlie Waite is one of the worlds leading landscape photographers. He has held numerous one man shows in London.He was invited by the Royal Academy to exhibit in 2015's Summer Exhibition. His recent publications include Landscape: the story of 50 photographs and  Arc and Line.

 Ghislaine Howard is a painter of national repuation and was named Woman of the Year in 2008 for her contribution to Art and Society.She has published and exhibited widely

This lecture coincides with the current exhibition David Hocknetyat Tate Britain. David Hockney will be 80 this year.

The magnificent Royal Academy exhibition of 2016 opened the public eyes  to the extent to which artists loved to cultivate their own gardens.We trace the parallel developements in the history of both Gardening  and of Modern Art  from the impressionism of Monet, Renoir and Morissot to the near abstractions of Matisse and Kandinsky

Lydia Bauman was born in Poland and studied for BA in Fine Art at Newcastle-upon -Tyne University ( John Christie Scholarship) and studied for an MA in History of Art from the Courthauld Institute.

The history of art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the great early renaissance artists, between Brunnelsci and Ghiberti,between Constable and Turner,  between Salvador Dali and the early Surrealist leader Andre Breton and more recently between Banski amd King Robbo who painted out each others works.They are highly entertaining and tell us a geat deal about key issues in art  history.

Barry Venning is Associate Lecturer with the Open University and lectures for NADFAS ,Christie's Education and other organisations.

From the beginnings of the Rennaisance in C13  Italy to the birth of Abstraction in the twentieth century  this lecture follows the main developement in Western European painting,  charting its progress alongside  the historical contexts in which they were created

Aliki Braine studied at the Ruskin School of Fine Art Oxford, The Slade School of Art  and the Courthauld Institute. She is an Associate Lecturer at  the University of  the Arts London and teaches on courses at the Slade School of Fine Arts Summer programme.

Jane Gardiner has an MA from University of London. She trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. She was also a Senior Lecturer at Sotheby's UK for 17 years.

The lecture will focus on the development of the wine glass but will also look at glasses designed for other beverages such as beer, cider, ale and cordial etc. It will also consider the types of glass associated with different drinking habits e.g. the Venetian winged stemmed glass, the German roemer, the Dutch flute and the English baluster - stemmed glass.

John Ericson was formerly the Director of Studies in the School of Education at the University of Bath.

Most of us have strong memories of the illustrations of books we read as children. John Ericson will examine how illustrations contribute to the development of understanding and how the interaction of image and narrative create such powerful memories.

The Ambassadors is recognised by the National Gallery of London as one of its greatest treasures. It dates from a tradition in the arts where no object is without meaning and symbolism. This lecture considers the tempestuous circumstances of its creation and the hidden messages concealed within it.

The earliest Australian country houses are more than two hundred years old. We travel through New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and into Western Australia and study the evolvement of the popular Georgian style house into the distinctive style of Australian house that had much in common with Victorian Country Houses in England and finally into the c20th.

We will enjoy a delightful look at the the history of pleasure piers covering just over 200years,when, over 100 pleasure piers were built .This lecture explores the heydays of the piers,the remarkable skills of the Victorian engineers who built them and the amusements and entertainments spawned.What of the future,what will happen to our surviving piers?

Charles Hajdamach is the former Director of Broadfields House Glass Museum and one of the top authorities on glass in the country. He is President of the Glass Association.

American glass artist Dale Chihuly is the super star of the glass world. With his passion for glass,his larger than life personality,his skills as a natural leader and educator and his constant exploration of glass's luminous qualities and colour possibilities he creates glass sculptures which are extravagant, colourful and spectacular.

Professor Marie Conte-Helm is an established NADFAS lecturer with a BA in History of Art and an MA in Asian Art. She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation from 1999-2011 and previously held academic appointments in various UK universities. She was awarded an OBE in 2011.

This lecture will chart the artistic relationship between Japan and and the West beginning with the Namban or golden screen paintings that reflected the presence of Portuguese Jesuits and then follow the long period of isolationism and subsequent explosion of interest in Japanese art and prints with the re=opening of trade in 1850.

Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678 on a day of a huge earthquake.His compositions shook the world of music. Against the backdrop of C18th Venice and with LIVE musical performances Peter Medhurst will explore the amazing world of Vivaldi's music.

Clare Phillips is a Curator specialising in the history of Jewellery,based in the department of Metalwork, Silver and Jewellery at the V&A

This lecture takes us from a  Fancy Goods shop on Broadway in 1837 to the global brand of the 1980s, an extraordinary tale of entrepreneurial vision against a backdrop of superb design, craftmanship and materials. It examines the emerging luxury market in America, and is richly illustrated with surviving jewels and archive material.

Linda Collins is a Lecturer at the Historic Royal Palaces and also lectures for the National Trust, the Tate Modern, and the National Gallery.

The new Cumberland Art Gallery has undergone 2 years of meticulous research and will now occupy a restored group of rooms. These were originally designed by William Kent for a Georgian Prince. The gallery will host a changing display of works from the The Royal Collection including masterpieces by Holbein, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Gainsborough and many other artistss collected over four centuries of royal patronage originating with the Tudors.

Oliver Everett served in the Foreign Office with postings in India and Spain and then became Assistant Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales followed by Private Secretary to the Princess of Wales.He was Librarian in the Royal Library Windsor Castle from 1984 -2002.

Brian Stater lectures on photography and architecture and has taught at University College London since 1997..He is a member of the Historical and Fine Art Photography Society.

British photography enjoyed a golden age in the 1960's. Young talented newcomers broke out of the conventional studio to revolutionise perceptions of fashion ,portraiture and popular culture. This lecture looks at a range of superb images from photographers such as David Bailey,Terence Donovan,Lewis Morley and Jane Bown.

Who was the Queen of Sheba? Where did she rule? Many counties have claimed her including Ethiopa and the Yemen Louise Schofield will the unravel the trails and the possibilities of this mystery.

In 2008 the East Bedroom was hung with a newly conserved Chinese Wallpaper one of the best of its type,that had been kept in an outhouse for 150 years.This lecture not only examines the the role of wallpaper on C18 trade but also provides an insight into managing a major conservation project Those members who went on the visit to Northumberland encountered this room during a visit to Harewood House in June 2014

Throughout history man has been absorbed with understanding the concept of time.We have developed all kinds of devices to tell the time,using the Stars,Sundials, our Shadows,Burning Timers,Sand Glasses,Bells and our fundamental biological clock..At the heart of these is the rhythms of the universe,the movements of the Sun and the Moon.Such is our interest in the subject craftsmen have created many and differing beautiful time telling devices.

This lecture explores the relationship between Man Ray and Athony Penrose's parents who adored him. Lee Miller and Man Ray had been lovers in their youth. Man Ray often visited Farley Farm and Anthony was encouraged by him to explore his own artistic pursuits. Man Ray made wonderful and provocative surrealist photographs.

The art of beating gold leaf dates back to Ancient Egypt. Gold leaf is nearly 500 times thinner than aluminium foil. For over 22 centuries, from Tutankhamen's sarcophagus to Rachel Whiteread's Frieze at the Whitechapel Gallery, skilled artisans have exploited paper-thin metal to enrich materials such as wood, metal, marble, leather and even food and drink. Gold leaf continues to be used as the ultimate faux decoration and dazzling ornamentation.

This lecture looks at the sumptuous textile trade from India to the West, including costumes, shawls and furnishing fabrics from the 17th Century to the present day.

This lecture recounts the tale of two artists,their contrasting styles,their. turbulent love life and the consequences of the Mexican Revolution.

When the Wallace Collection was bequeathed to the Nation in 1897 it was believed that it contained twelve paintings by Rembrandt.

After reading Theology at Kings College London, Sarah Lenton has spent all her working life at English National Opera, the Royal Opera House and now Glyndebourne. She writes programmes articles , lectures on the rep and talks about Opera for BBC Chanel 4,on podcasts and during Radio 3 live broadcasts from the Royal Opera House. She is also a cartoonist.

James Russell read History at Cambridge and was then galvanised into writing about art by a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A passionate advocate of modern British art and design, he writes and lectures widely. James’s books include the Ravilious in Pictures series , Ravilious ;Submarine, and Paul Nash in pictures; Landscape and Dreams . His book on Edward Seago is due to be published in 2014.

Daniel Snowman was educated at Cambridge and Cornell Universities and became a lecturer at the University of Sussex. Since 2004 Daniel has been a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research. Alongside his work as a broadcaster and author Daniel has maintained a busy and successful career as a public lecturer. A long time member( and former Chairman ) of the London Philharmonic Choir Daniel has always had a strong and informed interest in music and musicians.

Roger Mitchell studied History at Oxford and Fine Arts at Leeds and was awarded the Churchill Fellowship to travel and study in the USA. He now lectures for the University of Liverpool and for adult residential courses. He organises and leads Country House Study Tours and tries to find time for research at Chatsworth. He joined the NADFAS Directory in 1999 and has given over 450 lectures and study days to NADFAS Societies since that time.

Douglas Skeggs read Fine Arts at Magdalene College Cambridge and has been a lecturer on paintings since 1980, having given over 4000 lectures to universities, art colleges and fine art societies. He was the Director of the The New Academy of Art Studies for 3 years and a regular lecturer at Christie’s course The History of Art. He has written and presented various TV documentaries, notably the Omnibus programme on Whistler and an exhibition video on William Morris. Three one man exhibitions of his own paintings have been held in England and Switzerland. He has published five novels and his book on Monet River of Light has sold 30,000 copies in England America and France

Zara Fleming is a freelance lecturer, art consultant and exhibition curator specialising in the art and culture of Tibet, the Himalayan areas and Mongolia. Initially based at the V& A she has also worked with the Orient Foundation, the Royal Academy, Tibet House, The National Museums of Merseyside and Asia House. She has been a Guest lecturer and tour guide on numerous trips to the Himalayas, has edited Masterpieces of Mongolian ArtVol 1 and has published many articles in the field of Buddhist Art and Culture

Graduating with an MA in the History of Art (Courtauld), Barry Venning has been an Associate lecturer for the Open University since 1986, teaching advanced courses on Modern Art, Italian Renaissance and “Art and its Histories”. He has written and lectured extensively on Turner, and he is the author of books on Constable (1992) and Turner (2003).