Programme Membership year 2025/26 The lecture programme is subject to change so keep checking back to the website for the latest information about lectures. The meetings start at 7.30pm. The new Membership Year 2025/26 22nd October 25 James Wright Historic Buildings Myths Busting - Leicestershire In his book Historic Building Myth Busting the archaeologist James Wright has used many case studies from the county to articulate some of the tales which are told about ancient architecture. This talk will offer the opportunity to investigate a collection of legends which are routinely believed and repeated about historic buildings. The stories will be discussed in detail and their underlying truths revealed. Why is secret passage folklore so popular? Are there timbers reused from maritime vessels in the county? Why are there such weird carvings in churches? The earliest known picture of the Humber Stone, date unknown. For centuries the stone has been at the centre of Leicestershire myth and legend. 26th November 25 Peter Swallow Influence of Egyptian Architecture on Art Deco Further details later. Temple Works, Holbeck, Leeds Former flax mill, designed by Joseph Bonomi the Younger and built by John Marshall between 1836 -1840, based on the Temple of Horus at Edfu in Egypt. Now undergoing restoration. Photo: Tim Green from Bradford. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 28th January 26 Astrid Bolodis Vija Celmins Fixes the Image in Memory Question: What’s the connection between a bowl of soup, a comb, the ocean, and the night sky? Answer: Vija Celmins. Learning her craft while Abstract Expressionism was giving way to Pop Art, Celmins’ oeuvre nonetheless defies categorisation. Her work, held in all major collections worldwide, including the Tate, encompasses painting, drawing, printing, and sculpture: each piece executed with astonishing precision and attention to detail. Find out what lies behind her meticulous practice. 25th February 26 Raymond Holden Gilding the Stage, a brief history of the Modern Opera House The modern opera house is often the beating cultural heart of many cities around the world. It is both a centre of musical excellence and a barometer for cultural change. Throughout its long history, the opera house has not simply been a place of lyrical excellence, but a venue where the great and good have come to meet and where music lovers have come to be uplifted, educated and enthralled. Singers dazzled, directors outraged and conductors often cut their musical teeth in theatres that were as awe inspiring as they were daunting. The Copenhagen Opera House (Operaen) in Copenhagen Holmen, Denmark. Julian Herzog (Website) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 25th March 26 Carol Wilhide Justin The Influence Japanese Wood Cuts in Western Art When Japan's borders were opened to the West in 1868 there was a huge surge of interest in all things Japanese in the West, particularly in Paris. Ukiyo-e prints were collected avidly by the leading Impressionist painters of the day who 'borrowed' wholesale from their asymmetric compositions, flowing lines, bright colours and subject matter. In this lecture I explore how the Japanese aesthetic revolutionised Western art in the late 19th century, and how a new wave of artists today have brought a deeper understanding of the mokuhanga technique into Contemporary Art. Cuckoo & Azaleas 1828 Katsushika Hokusai Ukio-e Woodblock print. Public Domain 22nd April 26 Nick Salmond 18th Century England through the eyes of Canaletto The great Venetian artist Canaletto spent ten years living in London producing wonderful landscapes of the city and its surrounds. In this lecture, we explore his time in the capital and look at how his style changed during his long visit. We look at some of the work he produced and explore how the views he captured have changed over the centuries. Canaletto Ranelegh 1754 Public domain. 20th May 26 ( note date) Chloe Sayer The Maya Heritage: Ancient and Modern Mayan Culture The civilisation of the ancient Maya reached its peak between AD 300-900. Across much of present-day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, dozens of great cities have been located, many still buried in remote parts of the jungle. Maya achievements in art and architecture were matched by a knowledge of maths, astrology, calendrics and hieroglyphic writing. Mural paintings, ceramic figurines and intricately carved stone panels provide an insight into the religious rituals, music, warfare, textiles and courtly life of the Maya. Today some six million Maya carry on many of the traditions of their ancestors. Sculpture of a Maya Warrior crawling. The Original reddish colours are still visible. The statue is from San Migueal La Palotada, Guatemala made somewhere between 250-600 AD. GorissM - https://www.flickr.com/photos/71963413@N06/25067577544/. CC BY-SA 2.0 24th June 26 Justine Hopkins Cornard Wood to Fangorn Forest, British Trees in Art and Literature If you go down in the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise [Jimmy Kennedy, Teddy Bears’ Picnic] Trees have always caught the human imagination and nowhere more strongly than in England. In forests reality and dream meet and mingle in strange and unexpected ways: with no horizon or distance vision everything has to be taken on trust and shadows play tricks. Poets have always known this, so have artists, and trees form one of the most diverse and constantly recurring themes of both art and literature. Study for ‘Cornard Wood’ Thomas Gainsborough circa 1748. Original in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Public Domain September Date TBC Brian Stater When Britain Clicked: Photography of the Swinging Sixties. British photography enjoyed a golden age in the 1960s. Young, talented newcomers broke out of the conventional studio to revolutionise perceptions of fashion, portraiture and popular culture. This lecture looks at a range of superb images from photographers such as David Bailey, Terence Donovan, Lewis Morley, Tony Ray­Jones and Jane Bown.  Brian Slater