An Introduction to the Newlyn School
Thu 1st Oct 2026 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Walter Langley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In the 1880s, the fishing village of Newlyn in the far West of Cornwall became a mecca for rural realist painters, who documented the lives of the local community in their beautiful and moving paintings. This talk will outline the key characteristics of this famous art movement, introducing the ‘father of the Newlyn School’ Stanhope Forbes and his talented wife Elizabeth (nee Armstrong), along with a host of their fellow artists, including Frank Bramley, Walter Langley, Albert Chevallier Tayler and Henry Scott Tuke tales, as well as some of the real-life characters they depicted.
Lecturer: Alison Bevan
Alison Bevan is an acknowledged expert on the Newlyn School, and her book 'The Art of the Newlyn School: Paintings of Cornish Life and Light' is being published by Sansom & Company in October 2026 to accompany a national touring exhibition she has curated.
Since graduating in History of Art from Nottingham University in 1986, Alison Bevan (née Lloyd) has spent her entire career working in public art galleries. Starting out at the Graham Sutherland Gallery in her home county of Pembrokeshire, she then spent ten years organising and curating exhibitions at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea, where she honed her broadcast media skills, including presenting a weekly Arts News feature on BBC Radio Wales, 1995-6.
In 1999, Alison took up the role of Director of Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance. It was here that she gained her expertise on the Newlyn and Lamorna artists' colonies (1880-1930), a subject on which has lectured in the UK, USA and France. She raised the profile of this area of art through initiating national and international touring exhibitions, and contributing to numerous publications and television programmes, and in 2013 was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Cultural Heritage in Cornwall.
From 2013-2024, Alison was Director of the RWA (Royal West of England Academy) – Britain’s only regional Royal Academy of Art: an extraordinary historic institution whose Academicians have included leading figures of the Newlyn School and Bloomsbury Group, and today include Sir Peter Blake, Sir Frank Bowling and Eileen Cooper.
Now based in Chepstow and working as a freelance lecturer, curator and consultant, she is also Chair of Bristol Museums’ Oversight Board; a Fellow of the Museums Association, and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Bristol.
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EVENT
An Introduction to the Newlyn School
Thu 1st Oct 2026 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
Symbolism, Iconography, & Hidden Meanings in Art
Thu 5th Nov 2026 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
A picture crammed with hidden meanings. Hans Holbein the Younger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the deeper meaning hidden in the work of paintings of the past. Learn how to read the secrets of different objects, forms, shapes and colours included on the canvas. As the centuries passed, a language of symbols developed so that artists could tell stories with deeper and more intricate emphasis. This lecture, or lecture series, will cover a wide range of art of diverse kinds and origins, and examine the fascinating and complex range of different symbols no longer recognised by modern audiences, making it easier for you to interpret works of art.
Lecturer: Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff
Mariska read Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and was tempted to do a PhD in Decision Making Behaviour. In the end she turned to her true love - the Arts.
Whilst having her three children, she completed her BA and MA in Art History, majoring in The Dutch Baroque Arts from the 17th century at the Courtauld Institute of Arts. She started as a College Lecturer, but soon after started her own company - Art Historical London offering art historical lectures, museum visits, courses, tours, travel and events from Amsterdam, London and New York, and since 2020 online.
A fully accredited PTLLS lecturer, she also teaches on the public program of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, for Roundtable, the Timken Museum and the New York Adventure Club in the States, for Academy Travel and the Art Academy in Sydney, and for a number of institutions in the Netherlands. Mariska can provide live, online and recorded lectures for groups or individuals.
N.B. From summer 2023 Mariska will be living between London and Amsterdam, available for jobs in both countries. Travel will only be charged within the country where the event is taking place.
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EVENT
Symbolism, Iconography, & Hidden Meanings in Art
Thu 5th Nov 2026 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
Chinese Painting from Tang to Qing Dynasty
Thu 3rd Dec 2026 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Qing dynasty artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What is Chinese painting? What makes it Chinese and why is it different from Western painting? In this lecture we will look at paintings from the Tang dynasty (618-907) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and at the ideas that shaped a unique pictorial language. Landscape painting was considered the superior subject for painting, as it was felt it could best express moral and cosmic principles. The Chinese word for landscape painting is sanshui (山水画), meaning mountain-water painting. Landscape painting was to harmonise yin with yang, mountain with water. The paintings are made with the incredibly versatile Chinese brush, the same as is used for their calligraphy, to which painting is closely connected. Daoist and Confucian thought underpin just about every aspect of the paintings.
Lecturer: Oliver Gosling
Born 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), where he continues to be represented by two galleries. Lectured widely in China on contemporary art in Britain and own work, and 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 and MA Fine Art, University of Brighton; From 2001 to date: Lecturer, Certificate in the History of Art, University of Oxford (Materials and Techniques of Western Painting). Currently represented by the Fanxi Delarue Gallery, France.
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Chinese Painting from Tang to Qing Dynasty
Thu 3rd Dec 2026 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
How to Understand Contemporary Art
Thu 7th Jan 2027 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Linnaea Mallette has released this “Abstract Contemporary Art” image under Public Domain license.
Why do so many art lovers find contemporary art intimidating or puzzling? This lecture explores the ideas, methods and intentions behind contemporary art. Since the 1960s, artists have used an increasingly wide range of media and exhibition spaces to question the conventions of Western art, often leaving audiences frustrated or uncertain. Despite sustained efforts by galleries such as Tate Modern and other museums to interpret art from the past sixty years, many works still seem difficult to grasp. In this talk, the speaker shows why the visual culture of our time matters and why it deserves attention. From performance using the artist’s own body to deliberately simple works that appear unskilled or even untouched by hand, the lecture reveals how misleading first impressions can be. It is designed to spark debate while also offering ways to recognise the value of art that is experimental, provocative and genuinely rewarding. Whether the work takes the form of a pile of bricks, a stack of discarded objects or a blank sheet of paper, this lecture argues that art which first seems irritating can also be moving, profound and even beautiful.
Lecturer: Joshua White
Joshua is an enthusiastic and experienced art historian and lecturer who thoroughly enjoys sharing his love and knowledge of art, photography and visual culture with an audience. He is an experienced lecturer in 19th and 20th century European and American art, international contemporary art, photography, design and architecture. Teaching for 20 years at Christie’s Education, the college of Christie's auction house in London, he can provide a lecture or study day with his listed talks or create bespoke talks on request, for example to coincide with a temporary exhibition, special event or anniversary.
At Christie's Education, Joshua was director of The London Art Course and many other courses in the field of modern and contemporary art, ranging from Impressionism and Surrealism to photography and modern sculpture. He has also taught on the client VIP courses for the Chairman's and President's offices at Christie's, the world's biggest art business.
Drawing on his media experience as a former BBC journalist, Joshua is also a founder and presenter of The Art Channel, an online project documenting and interpreting art exhibitions and artworks in museums and commercial galleries. The channel has now received two million views.
Joshua has direct experience of the art market while working as the Director of Hamiltons Gallery between 2018 and 2020 specialising in 20th Century photography. At Hamiltons, he exhibited and represented Don Mccullin and the estates of Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts.
Elsewhere, he has lectured for Sotheby’s Institute, The University of the Arts, The University of California, Cheung Kong Business School (China's leading business university), Tate Modern and Tate Britain, The Victoria and Albert Museum Academy, The National Portrait Gallery, Somerset House, The Design Museum, Union Bank of Switzerland, Artemisia, P & O Cruises and Mr and Mrs Smith. Further to his institutional work, he has worked with numerous private clients (including many former students) in London and led groups abroad to visit Berlin, the Venice Art Biennale and the influential art festival, Documenta in Kassel, Germany. In the UK, he has led groups to visit Bristol, Cambridge, Chichester, Liverpool and Oxford. In 2026, Joshua will be leading tours abroad for Kirker Cultural Tours and ACE Cultural Tours.
On television and radio, Joshua has been a guest contributor to Channel 5’s ‘Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr’, BBC Radio 4’s ‘Behind The Scenes’ and BBC Radio 3’s ‘Turning Picasso.’ As a writer, Joshua has written exhibition catalogues and been published by Hamiltons Gallery, the BBC, The FT, Christie’s Magazine, Flash Art, Wanderlust, Decanter, Lonely Planet, Mr and Mrs Smith and The Nicola Erni Collection of art and photography in Switzerland.
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EVENT
How to Understand Contemporary Art
Thu 7th Jan 2027 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
Stanley Spencer: The Odd One Out
Thu 4th Feb 2027 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Spencer, an English painter working in the 20th century, is considered a visionary and an eccentric, he was an independent artist that never joined any of the artistic movements of the time. Spencer's works often express his fervent if unconventional Christian faith, his romantic and sexual obsessions. Spencer was a commissioned War Artist in both WWI and WWII. He was skilled at organising multi-figure compositions as seen in some of his greatest works including Resurrection, Cookham, The Sandham Memorial Chapel and the Port Glasgow Series. Spencer saw military service in WWI, had two unconventional marriages, was rejected on occasions by the Royal Academy, had an attempted prosecution for obscenity against him, all while living his entire life in a Berkshire village make his life as intriguing as his paintings.
Lecturer: Paul Chapman
Paul is an Art Historian and a National Gallery trained guide with many years of experience working in education. As a freelance Paul delivers courses and lectures for a wide range of educational organisations. Paul has also given talks and tours for art associations/societies in Museums and Galleries in the UK and Europe. As a writer, Paul has published a book, which examines the subject of cultural crossovers and appropriations in 20th century painting. Paul has a long-standing commitment, in conjunction with the National Gallery as a tour guide at the Longford Castle art collection and he is also a visiting tutor at Marlborough College and a tutor at MCSS.
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Stanley Spencer: The Odd One Out
Thu 4th Feb 2027 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
The Stuff of Life: a History of Still Life
Thu 4th Mar 2027 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Still Life - Caravaggio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Objects have always been present in paintings but the necessary clutter of daily life came to be used by artists as a language of its own, symbolising complex and invisible ideas. This lecture charts the rise in popularity of independent still life paintings from the Renaissance to the present day, paying particular attention to its apotheosis in the 17th century.
Lecturer: Aliki Braine
Aliki studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, The Slade School and The Courtauld Institute where she was awarded a distinction for her masters in 17th century painting. She has been working for The National Gallery for 25 years and teaches for Christie’s Education, The Wallace Collection and numerous private clients. Aliki is also a practising artist who regularly exhibits her photographic work internationally and has taught at Camberwell College of Art.
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EVENT
The Stuff of Life: a History of Still Life
Thu 4th Mar 2027 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
Clocks in Art & Literature from 1300 to today
Thu 1st Apr 2027 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
A time piece in the hands of an architect? By Peter Paul Rubens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Few people nowadays give more than a second thought to their clocks: practical, sometimes beautiful, devices that form the background noise of our daily lives. But from their introduction in the thirteenth century onwards, clocks have held a variety of philosophical and social meanings. This talk explores the visual and literary uses of the clock, the varied meanings it could hold throughout the ages: as an ominous symbol of oncoming death, but also as a metaphor for the soul, for capitalism, and for the good use of time. We will consider medieval manuscripts and frescoes, poetry by Dante and Jean Froissart, still life and genre paintings, satires by Jonathan Swift, Lawrence Sterne, and Hogarth. We will consider nineteenth-century ideas about power and the working day, in portraits of emperors and seamstresses and novels by Dickens. Finally, we will consider the breaking down of temporal certainties in the twentieth century, with Dali, Chagall, Harold Lloyd, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Christian Marclay.
Lecturer: Christina Faraday
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Clocks in Art & Literature from 1300 to today
Thu 1st Apr 2027 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
The Art of Chalk Landscapes
Thu 6th May 2027 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Eric Ravilious chalk landscape, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Between the world wars a group of British artists explored the downland of southern England, finding in the ancient landscapes of Sussex and Wessex inspiration for modern paintings. Eric Ravilious and fellow artists Peggy Angus and Tirzah Garwood, William Nicholson, and John and Paul Nash led the way, choosing not only to work but in some cases also to live among the chalk hills.
It was not only artists who were fascinated by the chalk hills. Between the wars around forty Iron Age hillforts were excavated by archaeologists as the nation was gripped by a mania for prehistory, a passion for the past fuelled by modern innovations. On the one hand aerial photography brought downland sites to life in a new way. On the other, motor cars and buses enabled people to explore the hills, guidebook in hand, box brownie at the ready. While archaeologists such as Mortimer Wheeler became celebrities, artists congregated in downland villages, lured by simple, cheap living and the freedom of the hills. Based on new, original research for the 2026 Holburne Museum (Bath) exhibition devoted to this fascinating subject, the lecture is wide-ranging and filled with beautiful works - some well-known, while others will be new discoveries...
Lecturer: James Russell
Having studied History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, James Russell enjoyed a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an experience that inspired him to begin writing and lecturing on 20th century art. Of his dozen or so books, one was a Sunday Times book of the year, while his writing has been described by critics as 'insightful', 'informative' and 'enjoyably readable'. James has curated major exhibitions at Dulwich Picture Gallery and for museums around the country. He bases his lectures on wide-ranging original research into the subjects that fascinate him.
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EVENT
The Art of Chalk Landscapes
Thu 6th May 2027 @ 11:30
VENUE
Stalbridge Hall, Lower Road, Stalbridge
Sturminster Newton,
Dorset
DT10 2NF
United Kingdom.
ORGANISER
The Arts Society Blackmore Vale
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