Lectures online
2020 - 21
the Link to follow will be sent by email
2 days before each lecture
October 14th
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: SHACKLETON'S ENDURANCE EXPEDITION CAPTURED ON CAMERA
Lecture by Mark Cottle
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: SHACKLETON'S ENDURANCE EXPEDITION CAPTURED ON CAMERA
Lecture by Mark Cottle
On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away. Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer. His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama is played out. The aim of the lecture is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.
Mark Cottle's career has been spent in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark's & St John's University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England.
November 11th
Through a Glass Darkly
Lecture by Jane Gardiner
Through a Glass Darkly
Lecture by Jane Gardiner
This lecture explores the way in which artists over the centuries have included transparent glass objects in their paintings, taking huge delight in capturing the shadows and reflections seen within the glass as well as displaying their skill in portraying what lies behind and beyond. It will include the remarkable depiction of glass objects in Roman wall-paintings, works by artists such as Titian, Veronese and Caravaggio - where both the Gods of Olympus and the disciples are seen drinking out of fragile Venetian cristallo - and the proliferation of glass drinking vessels in Dutch still-life paintings.
Jane Gardiner has an MA in History of Art, University of London. She trained at the V&A a continues to lecture there and at Sotheby’s Institute of Art where she was Senior Lecturer for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK.
Jane Gardiner has an MA in History of Art, University of London. She trained at the V&A a continues to lecture there and at Sotheby’s Institute of Art where she was Senior Lecturer for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK.
Before the Victorians reinvented it, the traditional Christmas was a very different affair. Devoid of Father Christmas, Christmas trees and commercialisation, the emphasis was on gentility, tradition and sociability. Jane Austen set many scenes from her novels during the Christmas period exactly because this was a time for social gatherings. We’ll look at the balls, parties, dinners, games, traditions and celebrations that filled the festive season. Novels, letters, paintings and engravings are used to bring the Georgian Christmas to life.
Dr Walsh previously worked at the Victoria & Albert Museum and lectured for the University of Warwick. She now teaches at the Open University and lectures throughout the country.
This lecture explores the partnership between Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens, which thrived in the brash, new-moneyed Edwardian era. A house designed by Lutyens with a garden by Jekyll became an Edwardian ideal. Together they designed gardens with a strong architectural background, softened by luxuriant planting.
James Bolton was the Faculty Director for Design History at the Inchbald School of Design and has lectured extensively, specialising in English gardens from 1600 and the history of French and Italian gardens.
James Bolton was the Faculty Director for Design History at the Inchbald School of Design and has lectured extensively, specialising in English gardens from 1600 and the history of French and Italian gardens.
“Antiques. I don’t understand them and they’re beyond my budget. Nobody even collects anymore. They’re not for me.” A persuasive introduction to buying antiques and integrating and using them in today’s homes. The state of the antiques market and the different meanings of the word value are considered, and we take a look at what current and future generations of collectors are buying, why they are buying it and how they are displaying it.
Mark Hill studied History of Art & Architecture and began his career as a porter and junior cataloguer at Bonhams, before moving to Sotheby's as a specialist in the Collectors department. In 2005, Mark founded his own publishing company and has since published extensively on 20th century design and decorative arts.
Mark Hill studied History of Art & Architecture and began his career as a porter and junior cataloguer at Bonhams, before moving to Sotheby's as a specialist in the Collectors department. In 2005, Mark founded his own publishing company and has since published extensively on 20th century design and decorative arts.
March 10th
The Queen of Instruments
Lecture by Adam Busiakiewicz Lutist
The Queen of Instruments
Lecture by Adam Busiakiewicz Lutist
The lute holds a special place in the history of art: painters of the Italian Renaissance depicted golden-haired angels plucking its delicate strings, evoking celestial harmony; in the sixteenth century, during the rise of humanism, the lute was a becoming pastime of educated courtiers, as depicted by the likes of Holbein and Titian; throughout the seventeenth century, the instrument continued to play a key role in emphasising the intimate, debauched and transient pleasures of interior scenes by Jan Steen and portraits by Frans Hals. This lecture looks at the lute, and other musical instruments, as devices to express various aspects of the human character throughout the ages.
Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, lutenist and lecturer. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in History at UCL in 2010 he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Art History at Warwick University after winning a CADRE Postgraduate Scholarship in 2017.
Adam Busiakiewicz is an Art Historian, lutenist and lecturer. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in History at UCL in 2010 he held the position of Head of Historical Interpretation (curator) at Warwick Castle. He left the castle in 2013 after winning a full AHRC studentship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Fine and Decorative Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in Art History at Warwick University after winning a CADRE Postgraduate Scholarship in 2017.
In June 1520 Henry VIII and Francis I met in the Pale of Calais for 18 days of various entertainments staged to display the skill and splendour of each King and country. The English logistics for this spectacular event are staggering, and the adornment of the Field, the temporary palace and everyone present is equally fascinating. How was it all achieved?
2020 is the 500th Anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold.
Jo is a decorative artist who hand-gilds antique and vintage lace and crochet working to commission, selling through galleries and exhibitions and collaborating with other designers. She divides her time as a designer/maker, lecturer and tutor running specialist workshops.
A Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, Jo also serves on a number of cross-Livery organisations and was recently awarded Honorary Membership of City & Guilds for services to education and training.
2020 is the 500th Anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold.
Jo is a decorative artist who hand-gilds antique and vintage lace and crochet working to commission, selling through galleries and exhibitions and collaborating with other designers. She divides her time as a designer/maker, lecturer and tutor running specialist workshops.
A Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, Jo also serves on a number of cross-Livery organisations and was recently awarded Honorary Membership of City & Guilds for services to education and training.
This colourful lecture explores the relationship between an extraordinary American painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) and an equally remarkable place: the picturesque state of New Mexico. Having visited the mountain art colony of Taos for the first time in 1929, she moved permanently to New Mexico after World War II. Fascinated by the mountains and desert, adobe churches and sun-bleached bones, and above all by the brilliant light and vast skies of the state they call the Land of Enchantment, O’Keeffe painted constantly.
James Russell is a historian and a curator, with current exhibitions at the Hastings Contemporary.
James Russell is a historian and a curator, with current exhibitions at the Hastings Contemporary.
Drawing on new insights from the archaeology of cinema, this lecture will use the films of renowned British director David Lean to explore the art of cinema. How do the ‘artists’ – in this case, formed of large collaborative teams (directors, screenwriters, production designers, costume designers, camera crews, fixers, etc) – choose locations, construct sets, dress actors, and, more generally, ‘imagine’ the world they seek to represent? How much is authentic, and how much preconception and prejudice? What are the influences on the way the cinema depicts the world?
Neil Faulkner works as lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster. He is a research Fellow at the University of Bristol and editor of Military History Monthly. Major TV appearances include Channel 4's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, Channel Five's Boudica Revealed and Sky Atlantic's The British.
Neil Faulkner works as lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster. He is a research Fellow at the University of Bristol and editor of Military History Monthly. Major TV appearances include Channel 4's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, Channel Five's Boudica Revealed and Sky Atlantic's The British.
If you have suggestions for lectures in future years please let us know via the Contact page or speak to Celia Dickinson or Dorothy Thomas at the meetings.