John Singer Sargent

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth. Yet beneath the dazzling works lurks a much rawer world by far. This talk charts his life and prolific output showing that, like the era he came to represent, Sargent was always on the cusp of seismic change.

Finn Juhl

In the 1950’s Finn Juhl was one of the most celebrated architects and designers in the world but 30 years later he had fallen into obscurity. Today he is recognised as one of the giants of mid-century design. What was behind this extraordinary reversal in fortune and what does it tell tell us about the vagaries of artistic success more generally?

Life on a Harp String

Before the British arrived in India, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Emperors.

The stunning buildings and gardens they constructed from the 16th-18th Century have left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape. This lecture will take you on a tour of some of India’s greatest buildings from the Jama Masjid in Delhi to Taj Mahal in Agra, to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore and provide insight into the historical contexts and colourful personalities involved in their construction.

Pots and Frocks – The World of Grayson Perry

Best known for his outlandish appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire, Sir Grayson Perry is now a core part of the art establishment. This lecture will examine his often controversial works of ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints and the exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions plus the unique character inside those flamboyant frocks.

The Queen Mother`s Lifelong Love of Jewellery

The Three Great Game Changers of 19th Century Opera

Making sense of Portraits in Country Houses

The Mayan Civilisation of Central America

The Skagen Painters

Mars and the Muses:

The Renaissance Art of Armour

Armour was one of the great Renaissance art-forms. In the 15th and 16th centuries most of the richest noblemen in Europ were dedicated patrons of the armourer’s art. This lecture serves as an introduction to the idea of armour as an expressive art-form.

The Power of Photography

Photographs have the ability to stop time, to provide a freeze-frame of a moment in time and space. This lecture examines some of the most important images and photographs of the past century.

Mad Men and Artists

How the Advertising Industry Exploited Fine Art

Post War Fashion Illustration And The Artists of Today

Vaux Le Vicomte “Fit for a King”

The Inspiration Behind Versailles Palace: A Take of Misplaced Ambition, Jealousy and Betrayal

160 Years of the London Underground Design and Architecture

From Errol Flynn to Bottles of Gin

Literary Portraits and their Afterlives

1st November 2023

WELLS CATHEDRAL

90 Years of Excellence in Book Cover Design

One of London’s most Important publishing houses. Its history is traced through its illustrations, covers and designs. It has employed some of the most celebrated artists as cover illustrators. The talk includes personal insight and anecdote.

The History and Culture of Chairs

Sitting down is such an integral and utilitarian part of our lives that one would think that there is a basic type chair, of which ‘finely designed’ chairs are but a variation. The fact is however that there no such thing as a ‘standard’ chair, and even the convention of sitting on chairs is not universally established. This lecture is about the cultural significance of sitting, and of the chairs on which we sit – from benches (from which the words ‘bank’ and ‘banquet’ come) to bishops’ thrones (from which the word ‘cathedral’ comes).

The Road is Wider than Long is a love poem created as a photo-book of a journey through the Balkans in 1938 by the lecturer`s father, Roland Penrose, a surrealist artist and the passionate new love of his life, the American photographer, Lee Miller. He presented her with the first copy and she subsequently left her husband and became his wife.