Lecture Programme 2011-2012

Date Title Lecturer
13 Sep 11 Art in Paris 1850-1900: The Most Decadent City in the World Linda Collins, BA (Hons), MA, dip Français
14:30
19:00		 This lecture looks at lively, fin de siècle Paris; the Moulin Rouge and the Can Can girls, the Cabarets, the Expositions and, of course, the artists. It covers a wide period of art history from the classical academy painting to Picasso’s arrival at the squalid Bateau Lavoir in Montmartre, and sums up the enormous energy and eccentricity in Paris at this time. Linda Collins has lectured at Historic Royal Palaces, National Trust, London National Gallery and Tate Modern. See Linda Collins' webpage for more information on her lectures.
11 Oct 11 Jennie Churchill: Winston Churchill's American Mother: style Icon or Ambitious Seductress? Anne Sebba, BA (Hons)
14:30
19:00		 Jennie Churchill was said to have had two hundred lovers, three of whom she married, but her love for her son Winston was the great love of her life, as well as her most creative project. Criticised for being a bad mother, this lecture will show her in a different light as the mother he needed. Above all it was Jennie, an American, who gave him a sense of his own destiny and instilled in him a sense of drama as well as a vital blood link to the new world. Anne Sebba lectures to a wide variety of audiences in the UK and US and has written biographies of Jennie Churchill, William Banks, Laura Ashley, and, most recently, Wallis Simpson. See Anne Sebba's website for more information on her publications and lectures.
1 Nov 11 Miss Jekyll and Mr. Lutyens: Bumps and Nedi Professor Michael Tooley, BA, PhD, DSc, FSA, FGS, FRGS
14:30
19:00		 This lecture tells of the 43 year collaboration and friendship between Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens. She, the older by quarter of a century, was the greatest artist in horticulture of her day and he, only 20 when they met in 1899, the finest architect of his age. Miss Jekyll introduced Lutyens to the Arts and Crafts style known as Surrey Vernacular and encouraged him to visit the Renaissance villas and gardens in Italy which had inspired her. Included in the lecture are the gardens at Munstead Wood, Gledstone Hall, Lindisfarne Castle and Hestercombe. Michael Tooley is Professor of Geography at St Andrews University and has lectured extensively in Britain. He is Vice-Chairman of the Garden History Society in Scotland. See Michael Tooley's website for more information on his publications and interests.
7 Dec 11
(Wednesday) Please note		 Diamonds: The Most Precious Gemstone of them All? Patricia Law, BA (Hons)
14:30
19:00		 Diamonds have long fascinated us with their beauty - they literally outshine the other gemstones with their unique qualities of reflection and brilliance. This lecture looks at the use of diamonds in their different cuts and settings throughout the ages. An intriguing and unique stone with a story to match. Patricia Law is a Fellow of the Gemmological Institute, City of London, and worked for many years at Phillips Auctioneers in the Silver and Jewellery Departments.
10 Jan 12 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Dr Colin Bailey BA (Hons), PhD, FSA (Scot), FSA
14:30
19:00		 Founded in 1870, the Met, as it is affectionately known, houses one of the most comprehensive collections in the Western world and is particularly rich in paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. This lecture showcases some of the museum’s masterpieces of European and American art. Colin Bailey is a freelance lecturer and consultant; an assessor on the Reviewing Committee on Export of Works of Art, he lectures for The National Galleries of Scotland and England and leads NADFAS tours in the UK and abroad.
14 Feb 12 Love, Marriage and Fidelity in Western Art Sophie Oosterwijk, MA, MA, PhD, FSA
14:30
19:00		 The theme of love has always inspired authors and artists alike. From Antiquity onwards, married couples have been commemorated in Western art in a variety of ways. Marital strife could prove equally inspiring, and satirical images of ill-matched couples were very popular. This overview of love and marriage through the centuries offers an insight into the idealism, expectations and morals of different periods. Sophie Oosterwijk was born in the Netherlands and studied at the University of Leiden and now lectures in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews. See her staff page at the University of St Andrews for her publications and activities.
13 Mar 12 The Olympic Games: Chariots of Fire Hilary Hope Guise, MA Fine Art, (UCT), MA (Lon)
14:30
19:00		 The Olympics bring a frisson of excitement that no other world event can equal. There is something heroic about the struggle to win a Gold that echoes the distant world of the Ancient Greeks, who would risk their lives for a crown of wild olive leaves. The lecture will draw on ancient sources to bring the games to life in the year of our British Olympics. Hilary Guise lectures in the main museums in London for American universities and has lectured in the US; see her website for more information on her interests.
10 Apr 12 The Art of Advertising Harry Fletcher, MA in Ed, BA, MLIA (dip)
14:30
19:00		 Across the centuries very fine art has been produced to advertise places, events, services and products. This lecture explores the stories behind some of these and highlights the artists behind them like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, as well as seaside and railway posters and paintings used to advertise such products as His Master’s Voice, the mmmmm! advertisement of Marmite, and Tate and Lyle’s Golden Syrup Harry Fletcher is a portrait painter and practising artist. He has taught Art and Design and History of Modern Art for the Open University.
15 May 12 A Troubled Genius: The Life and Work of Michaelangelo Douglas Skeggs, MA (Cantab)
14:30
19:00		 To his contemporaries, Michelangelo was the living embodiment of artistic genius. He was a sculptor, painter, architect and poet, a man of immense energy and fiery temper, dedicated, solitary and single minded, both tormented and possessed by his ambition. In his long life he painted the Sistine Chapel, designed the dome of St Peter’s, created the Medici Chapel and carved Moses, the Pieta, and the towering figure of David. Yet that was only a fraction of what he set out to produce. This lecture looks at this tempestuous genius whose work at first fulfilled the ideal of the High Renaissance and then went on to alter it forever. Douglas Skeggs studied Fine Arts at Cambridge and is a writer, artist, TV presenter and lecturer to many London art courses. He is Director of the New Academy of Arts and has written six novels.
12 Jun 12 The Drama behind the Taj Mahal: The Life and Times of the Indian Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan Oliver Everett, CVO
14:30
19:00		 This lecture is based on the Islamic manuscript, the Padshahnama (chronicle of the King of the World) which is the unique official history of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, who ruled India from 1628 to 1659. He is best remembered for the building of the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Padshahnama is illustrated with 44 of the finest Mughal paintings in the world. They vividly depict the very dramatic events in the Emperor’s life and reign. Oliver Everett was Librarian in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle from 1984 to 2002. He now lectures widely in Britain and abroad.