Category: Past Lectures

The GPO Film Unit by Howard Smith This is the entertaining story of how documentary films started from the French[…]

The Queen of Instruments: The Lute within Old Masters by Adam Busiakiewicz The lute holds a special place in the[…]

Three Exceptional Female Artists: Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Dame Laura Knight by Bernard Allan Nearly 300 years[…]

New Advances in Ice Age Art by Paul Bahn Dating from c.40.000 to 12,000 years ago, Ice Age Art continues[…]

The Forensic Eye: Find your Inner Connoisseur by Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe How do dealers, auctioneers and museum staff determine whether a[…]

The Healing Power of Plants by Timothy Walker Despite being used for thousands of years, the role of plants in[…]

Archaeological Adventures in Albania by Louise Schofield This lecture explores the archaeology and history of Albania.  A country in the[…]

“Turner v Constable: The Great British Paint-Off” by Nicola Moorby This is the story of the epic rivalry between the[…]

By Tony Rawlins Fine art has provided advertisers and their agencies with a great deal of material to use in[…]

By Julia Musgrave Caravaggio’s paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more, from[…]

By Ian Swankie. Widely known for his appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire, Grayson Perry RA is now a[…]

By Julian Richards. The first pots appeared in Britain about 6000 years ago and this lecture will chart the ways[…]

By Brian Stater. British photography enjoyed a golden age in the 1960s. Young, talented newcomers broke out of the conventional[…]

By Tim Redmond. Big Ben is one of the most iconic buildings in the world – it identifies the UK[…]

By Sandy Burnett. One hundred years ago a group of American musicians docked in London, bringing with them for the[…]

By Sarah Lenton. How do we cope with Christmas in the Royal Opera House? – 12 Bohèmes, 15 Hansel and Gretels and[…]

By Paula Nutall. Leonardo da Vinci is the author of iconic paintings such as the Virgin of the Rocks, the[…]

By Roger Rosewell. Stained glass was one of the most important arts of the Middle Ages, combining monumental painting with[…]

Before this month’s meeting, many of us thought of Titian as Venice’s great Renaissance painter but, the revelatory insight into[…]

By Linda Smith. This lecture traces the development of sculpture in the twentieth century, from large lumps of marble at[…]