03
March 2026

TASKL Lecture: 'Romancing the King: Arthurian Legend in the Victorian and Edwardian Imagination' This is a hybrid lecture so all are welcome

Welcome to The Arts Society Kington Langley
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 - 11:00
Kington Langley Village Hall
Church Street Kington Langley, Chippenham SN15 5NJ
Online Event

Join us in our cafe for coffee and biscuits before the lecture.

What did the stories of King Arthur and his knights and ladies mean to Victorian and Edwardian artists and their audiences? From tragic romance to political statement, we’ll be examining how Arthurian legend was portrayed in the arts from William Dyce’s virtuous paintings in Parliament’s Robing Room to Aubrey Beardsley’s darker take on the legends in his illustrations to the Morte d’Arthur and beyond to revivals of Celtic legend in the Edwardian period

 

'Morgan le Fay' By Fredick Sandys, 1864 Birmingham Museums Trust CCO

There will be a 24 hour protected recording of this lecture

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Ms Kirsty Hartsiotis

Kirsty Hartsiotis has been the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham since 2008, and prior to that was the curator and manager of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. At Cheltenham she looks after the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection, which includes the important private press archive, the Emery Walker Library. She’s curated many exhibitions on the Arts and Crafts and Private Press Movements, most recently Ernest Gimson: Observation, Imagination & Making

Passionate about sharing her deep love for and knowledge of the arts, she’s also a freelance researcher, currently researching Arts and Crafts war memorials and the work of Arts and Crafts designers in churches in the South West. She’s also been an oral storyteller for over 20 years, and has published a number of collections of stories. She’s the newsletter editor for Society of Decorative Art Collections, a regular columnist for Cotswold Life, and writes for diverse other publications on art history and folklore.