Featured Image Attribute "Versailles Feu d'artifice" by Maurits Verbiest is licensed under CC BY 2.0.   Description of Lecture The fireworks that mark great events such as the opening of the Olympics, or even the start of a New Year make an enormous impact. Despite their brevity, the displays live on through film and photography. […]

Featured Image Attribute Description of Lecture The long British tradition of political satire is coming to the fore again as a General Election approaches - January 2025 at the latest. At the root of that tradition is William Hogarth’s Election Entertainment series of prints from the 1750s. His ruthless exposure of electoral corruption and hypocrisy […]

Insert Attribution Here   Andrew was inspired to produce this talk after visiting the National Portrait Gallery. Seeing all the Tudor, Stuart and Hanoverian monarchs, dressed in their finery, he wondered where had all their spectacular jewels gone? Among the many jewels he traces, Andrew follows ropes of glowing pearls that belonged to Catherine de […]

George Peter Alexander Healy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons   The talk comprises a practical, step-by-step guide to the conservation of paintings through the ages.  It starts with a brief history of the preparation of panels and canvases and illustrates the different approaches and techniques involved in their conservation.  Various ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ photographs […]

'Marley's Ghost. Ebenezer Scrooge visited by a ghost' by John Leech, Public domain via wikimedia commons.   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 […]

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Gallery. Painting by David Teniers the Younger. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons   A fascinating time-line talk focusing on why we collect and how our predilection for collecting has evolved through history, illustrated with examples from the great historical collectors and illuminated with objects from Marc’s own eclectic collection. Lecturer: […]

16th century stained glass, Ibberton, Dorset" by Ydigresse is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0   This Lecture replaces the scheduled lecture which was cancelled, by the lecturer Imogen-Corrigan, due to family illness. Stained glass tells stories. It has been used to play politics, bribe bishops, recruit soldiers and tell jokes. The most remarkable subjects appear […]

poster art from "La Belle Epoque", via wikimedia commons   This lecture on the Poster relates the technical innovation combined with the creative genius and remarkable craftsmanship that enabled the Poster to become the world’s first effective method of mass communication. From ‘Les Chats’ by Edouard Manet to ‘Saxoleine’ by Jules Cheret, and ‘Moulin Rouge’ […]

Hieronymus Bosch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons   Hieronymus Bosch’s (c.1455-1516) nightmarish monsters and demons, his bizarre allegories, and the amorous exploits in his Garden of Earthly Delights have intrigued viewers for centuries. Little is known about this remarkable painter, although it has been claimed that he was a member of a heretical sect, a […]

Casa Batlló (Casa dels ossos) in Barcelona by Antoni Gaudí - Image tube, CC BY-SA 4.0   Antoni Gaudí is well known and much loved. In this lecture, his work will be explored in detail. It will be shown how he engaged with nature in the most innovative and extraordinary ways. Inspired by honeycombs and […]