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 membership year ends with the September meeting below. From the October meeting we will have a new venue and a new meeting time in the day. Click here to find out more. There are no meetings in July or August 23 September 2026 at the Sue Townsend Theatre 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 New Membership year 2026-27 October 28th 2026 Julia Musgrave Bauhaus Design: Modern Design in the 1930s Staatliches Bauhaus was an art school founded under the Weimar Republic by the architect Walter Gropius. From 1919 to 1933 its tutors combined crafts and the fine arts in a radical new approach to design education. German design education had been influenced by British ideas in the late nineteenth century, but after the economic ‘Slump’ of c.1929–34 hit British manufacturing sales, many took the view that Britain’s struggling industrial base could be improved if British design was better. We look at how Modernist ideas of colour, simple geometric forms and modern materials were promoted by groups such as Unit One (whose members included Paul Nash and Henry Moore and the critic Herbert Read) and by manufacturers such as Isokon (whose plywood furniture was designed by Marcel Breuer of the Bauhaus). Their approach was not without its detractors, and so his lecture also touches on works by artists such as Vanessa Bell, Eric Ravilious and others which continued a tradition of figurative motifs in posters and in interior design. Above; Anonymous photograph of Bauhaus masters on the roof of the studio building, Bauhaus Dessau, 1926, from left: Marcel Breuer, Gunta Stölzl, Oskar Schlemmer, Wassily Kandinsky and Walter Gropius, Bauhaus Arcive, Berlin November 25th Anne Anderson Nordic Vision: Scandinavian Art and Design c. 1880-1960 Following in the footsteps of the French avant-garde, Danish, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian painters embraced Realism, Naturalism, and Impressionism. Many studied in Paris, but they invariably came home establishing rural colonies in Skagen and Funen, Denmark to paint en plein air or directly from nature outdoors. On the tip of Jutland, the Skagen colony, which attracted Peder Kroyer and Michael Ancher, has been likened to Cornwall’s ‘Newlyn School’. In both cases the artists depicted the toil of the fisherfolk. During the 1890s many artists responded to Symbolism, turning inward both physically and mentally. Painting by Johannes Wilhjelm titled Skagens gamle kirke. Nat, Sand-Covered Church from 1910, Skagens Museum. Jan 27th Barry Venning Paintbrushes at Dawn: the World's Greatest Artistic Feuds, Rows and Quarrels The late Christopher Hitchens, who knew a thing or two about feuds, once wrote that a really first rate bust up requires one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the great early Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader, Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo, who painted out and amended each other’s works. There are many more. Photo: Banksy vs Robbo. The original Banksy read "I don't believe in global warming", with the bottom words halfway below the waterline. ©paul nine-o from London, England Rachel Church Jewellery of the Jazz age The years between the world wars saw an explosion of creativity across all the arts. So, how did jewellery respond to the fashions and colours of the 1920s and 30? This talk looks at the glamour, invention and style of the Art Deco period through the creations of the great jewellery houses of Cartier, Lacloche, Chaumet and modernist jewellers like Alexandre Marchak and Raymond Templier. We will also look at some of the fabulous lives and jewels of heiresses like Daisy Fellowes and the stars of the silver screen. Marchak Templier March 24th Lynne Gibson Women in art, Gentileschi to Emmin Until the 1970’s an Art History student could well believe there were no women artists in the entire history of Western Art. None appeared in key texts H.W. Janson’s The History of Art (1963) nor Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art (original ed. 1950). Is this because there were none? Some brave Feminist Art Historians attempted to rewrite the ‘canon’. It was not an easy task! Were there any great women artists? If so, where was the evidence? Where were the art works? Were they correctly attributed? Did they even utilize techniques, or depict subjects, acceptable as Fine Art? Judith and Her Maidservant. Alternative title: Judith with the Head of Holophernes April 28th Christopher Budd The Art of the Movie Poster Movie posters have helped us decide how to spend our hard- earned cinema money for over a century, from the art deco attractions of Metropolis, though the widescreen promises of the mid-century, all the way to the formulaic multiplex offerings of today. Some are timeless works of art, some are downright deceptive, some are startlingly original. And today, some change hands for half a million pounds. Join lecturer Christopher Budd to find out what we can learn from a hundred years of movie posters. The record for the most expensive movie poster ever sold belongs to Metropolis (1927). An extremely rare Art Deco international version designed by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm achieved $1.2 million at auction. May 26th Connie Gray The Golden Age of Fashion Illustration As a recognised art form, it was not until the early 20th century that fashion illustration became a defined artistic medium with its own visual language. Pioneered by a group of artists largely forgotten today, the Golden Age of Fashion Illustration looks at this period when art and fashion merged for the first time to produce spellbinding artistic renditions that combined visual storytelling with sublime draftsmanship, elegance and style. Journal of Ladies Fashions, Parisian Outfits. Gray taffeta dress with linon collar and cuffs and satin waistcoat with enamel buttons. Fashion illustration George Barbier. Original from The Rijksmuseum. George Barbier (1882–1932) became one of the most renowned French Art Deco illustrators. June23rd Timothy Walker Paradise Lost & Restored - 400 years of garden design in Oxfordshire (The history of garden design through the lens of the Oxford Botanic Garden) The history of English garden design can be told in different ways, but rarely can it be told "through the lens" of one garden. The Botanical Gardens, Oxford, 1675 September 22nd Pepe Martinez Banksy Fraud or Genius The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world. We will examine the reasons behind his incredible rise, looking at some of his famous stunts and discuss what his influence has been on the art market today and look at what his legacy, if any, might be. Judo. Ukraine postage stamp showing Banksy art on a war damaged wall. Ukraine 2023