Tuesday 7 July 2020
The World of the Bayeux Tapestry
Speaker: Rupert Willoughby
A lively introduction to the tapestry, a landmark in the history of Western art.
Tuesday 4 August 2020
English Deltware Pots
Speaker: Briony Hudson
“In Painted Pots is Hidden the Deadliest Poison”
Tuesday 1 September 2020
The Punch and Judy Show
Speaker: Bertie Pearce
A subversive symbol from Commedia dell’Arte to the present day.
Tuesday 6 October 2020
150 years of London Underground Design
Speaker: Mark Ovenden
Mark discusses the design of the London Underground, including the iconic tube map.
Tuesday 3 November 2020
From Tabards to Tailoring
Benjamin Wild
A brief history of men’s fashions from the middle ages to modernity.
Tuesday 1 December 2020
The Magic of Pantomime
Speaker: Ian Gledhill
Ian discusses the history of this enduring and peculiarly British institution, from its origins in 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte, through the influence of 19th century music hall, to the family shows that are still much loved today.
Tuesday 1 December 2020
The Magic of Pantomime
Speaker: Ian Gledhill
Ian discusses the history of this enduring and peculiarly British institution, from its origins in 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte, through the influence of 19th century music hall, to the family shows that are still much loved today.
Tuesday 5 January 2021 (Extra Lecture)
The Adoration of the Magi
Speaker: Leslie Primo
This lecture will look at the art depicting the story of the Adoration of the Magi and the various meanings behind changes in its iconography, not to mention the changes in the story itself.
Tuesday 2 February 2021
The Hidden World of Canal Architecture
Speaker: Roger Butler
This lecture examines the unique buildings and structures associated with the UK’s canal network, with a vast array of distinctive designs, landmark features and unusual artefacts: only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed structures than our canals. Look out for lock flights and lighthouses; cottages and clock towers; warehouses and lots of whimsical architecture – our canals delight the eye and refresh the spirit.
Tuesday 2 March 2021
The Colour Blue in Western Art
Speaker: Caroline Levisse
This lecture retraces the story of blue in Western arts from Antiquity to the present. We will reflect upon the changing meanings given to the colour blue.
Tuesday 6 April 2021
Moorish Architecture – The Legacy of a Vanished Kingdom
Speaker: Ian Cockburn
The Alhambra of Granada, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of Seville are the three most impressive monuments to the architectural creativity of the Moors in Spain, but there are many other examples worthy of mention too.
Tuesday 4 May 2021
William Hogarth: Harlots, Rakes and Crashing China – Hogarth’s Pots
Speaker: Lars Tharp
Pots, crocks and chinaware tumble through Hogarth’s domestic dramas. His detailed paintings and prints are wittily infiltrated with recognizable ceramics – earthenwares, stonewares and ‘china’- in an age drunk on Luxury. A typical post-talk plaudit: “I shall never look at Hogarth in the same way again”.
Tuesday 2 June 2021
Cloisters – Remarkable Cathedral Survivors
Speaker: Janet Gough
This talk follows the development of the 15 or so cathedral cloisters in England, using spectacular photographs.
Tuesday 6 July 2021
Lecture at 8pm
The English Face Unmask’d – 500 Years of Portraiture, Materials and Techniques
Speaker: Sarah Cove
This title relates to the catalogue for The Suffolk Collection at Kenwood House in Hampstead which houses the most well-known group of portraits by Jacobean court painter William Larkin (active 1609-19) alongside notable examples of English portraits from the 16th-19th centuries.