Study Days and Courses
Plan ahead and discover new things on an Arts Society special interest day or course
VIRTUAL Events
Some Study Days and Courses organised by The Arts Society centrally are now held online
THE ARTS SOCIETY ZOOM Guest SCHEME ALLOWS MEMBERS TO WATCH LECTURES FROM PARTICIPATING SOCIETIES ONLINE. All members recently received an email with details on the scheme and a link to subscribe.
No virtual events currently listed
IN-PERSON EVENTS
Please note that these events are subject to change
EAST SURREY AREA
The ART OF ILLUSION: NOW YOU SEE IT NOW YOU DON'T
Friday April 12th
Lecturer: Bertie Pearce
The well-loved speaker and magic maker Bertie Pearce, beguiles and fascinates us with an in depth look at the profound mystery of perception. There is a primal enjoyment in being deceived by optical illusions, as artists from the 16th century onwards including Hogarth, Holbein and Magritte have all shown us, through double imagery, trompe d’oeil, anamorphic art and other illusions. Come and see the extraordinary ways in which paintings have hidden secrets that can only be seen from a single angle or how a sitter looks at you, wherever you stand in the room.
The second talk takes us back even earlier to the days when sorcerer priests used scientific principles to create illusions to hold power over people. This is a whistle stop tour of the history of mystery from 3,000BC to the 21st century, taking in the earliest illusionists, through music hall, to Harry Potter and the magic of iPads. You might be amazed and bewitched.
Venue: Menuhin Hall, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3QQ
Price: £25.00 including coffee on arrival and between talks.
Contact: info@theartssocietyeastsurreyarea.org.uk
THE SITKOVESTSKY TRIO & FRIENDS
9 May 2024, 6 pm - 9 pm
With broadcaster Kate Kennedy
Once again, The Arts Society in Surrey (East and West Surrey Areas) are presenting The Sitkovetstky Trio and friends with renowned broadcaster Kate Kennedy at a concert & lecture in partnership with The Surrey Hills International Music Festival. The evening will feature an expert talk by Kate Kennedy, a performance by the award-winning Sitkovetsky Trio and Friends, plus a free Souvenir Programme Book and a glass of wine.
6pm Kate Kennedy discusses the historical context and musical detail of this evening’s programme, alongside composer Huw Watkins, enhancing your experience of the full performance to follow. Featuring live musical illustrations from the Sitkovetsky Trio & Friends.
6:45 - 7:30 pm Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine and a breath of fresh air inThe Menuhin Hall’s beautiful grounds.
7:30 pm Concert by Alexander Sitkovetsky, Isang Enders, Wu Qian,Sharon Kam, Annabelle Meare & Philip Dukes - Beethoven Trio No.4 in B flat major Op.11 ‘Gassenhauer’ Huw Watkins Piano Quartet (world premiere) Interval Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major K.581
Venue: The Menuhin Hall, Cobham Road, Stoke'D'Abernon, KT11 3QQ
Price: £40 - includes lecture, concert, Souvenir Programme and a glass of wine
Contact: The Menuhin Hall Tel: 01932 559400 Online: https://themenuhinhall.co.uk/
For queries and to claim your free programme book (including details of all the Festival’s 2024 events) please be in touch with the Festival at hello@shimf.co.uk
ESSEX AREA
ITALy AND THE ISLAMIC WORLD
22 April 2024, 10.00 - 14.30
Lecturer: Dr Antonia Gatward Cevizli
Over the course of three one hour lectures we will explore the interaction between Italian cities and the Islamic world: a story of taste and status, international trade and diplomacy between the 14th - 17th Centuries and a shared appreciation of the complex beauty of Islamic Art Dr Gatward Cevizli will begin the day with an overview of the different avenues of exchange and the different regions that were in contact. We will see depictions of Islamic metalwork finding their way into Italian altarpieces, sultans wearing Italian velvet and a surprising commission for the glassblowers of Murano. We will uncover the story behind the painting of Sultan Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini, looking at the project from an Ottoman perspective. Why did Mehmed commission this work from a Venetian? Also included is a discussion of the depiction of carpets from the East in European paintings, how they were used and regarded in Europe, and offering insights into the trade routes of the time, with carpets coming in from different regions of the East.
Venue: Little Baddow Memorial Hall, Little. Addow, Chelmsford CM3 4TA
Price: £38 to include morning coffee and a light lunch with wine and soft drinks Contact: meganbashir@gmail.com, 0127737431
GREATER LONDON AREA
THE WORLD'S GREATEST PAINTINGS: 200 YEARS OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Repeated due to popular request
16th April 2024,10.45hrs - 15.00hrs
Lecturer: Simon Whitehouse
2024 marks the bicentenary of the founding of the National Gallery. This study day tells the story of the establishment of the NG collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s government purchased 38 paintings for £57,000 from the collection of businessman and philanthropist John Julius Angerstein. The paintings were initially displayed at 100 Pall Mall, Angerstein’s townhouse and by 1838, it was decided that a purpose built building was required, giving us the William Wilkins designed building we know and love on Trafalgar Square. During the course of the day we examine some of the high (and low) points of the early years of the gallery including suffragette sabotage, bombs and theft. We also take a close up look at some of the original "Angerstein 38” paintings.
Venue: The Concert Artistes Association, 20 Bedford St., London WC2E 9HP
Price: 38.00 (no coffee or lunch)
Tickets via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
NORDIC ARTS: DENMARK, NORWAY AND FINLAND
Wednesday 17th April 2024,10:30 for 10:45 am – 3:30pm
Lecturer: Dr Rosamund Bartlett
This day of lectures will explore the distinctive artistic characters of three vibrant Nordic countries. We will range from the path breaking canvases of the Golden Age of Danish painting to the uniquely national sounds of Grieg and Sibelius, and the masterpieces of modern Danish, Norwegian and Finnish architecture and design.
Venue: Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BF
Price: £38
Contact: Tricia Savours: psavours@gmail.com
ANGELICA KAUFFMANN: CELEBRATED 18TH CENTURY ARTIST AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY
Wednesday 24th April 2024,10.30 for 10.45 - 15.30
Lecturer: Clare Ford-Wille
Angelica Kauffman was one of the most important artists of the 18th century, described by one of her contemporaries as 'the most celebrated woman in Europe'. The Royal Academy exhibition which opens in late February had been planned before the pandemic. It will be an exciting opportunity to view not only her portraits of the celebrities of her day from actors to queens, but also her varied self-portraits. London was where she rose to fame, before moving to Rome in later life. She revived mythological, as well as history subjects, in a most innovative way, often concentrating on fascinating women such as Circe or Cleopatra. It will also be an opportunity to focus on the exquisite roundels, which have recently returned to the ceiling of the entrance hall of the Royal Academy.
Venue: Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BF
Price: £38
Tickets from Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.
Contact: Jean Schooling - nadfasglacourses.js@gmail.com
ON THE TRAIL OF THE TUDOR MONARCHY: A DAY OF DISCOVERY AND ENCOUNTERS?
Friday, 17th May 2024, 10.45hrs - 15.00hrs
Lecturer: Jonathan Foyle
Did you think you knew all there was to know about the Tudors? Join us on 17th May to hear more about recent intriguing discoveries. A study day of 3 hour-long lectures revealing more about the Tudor Age:
1. The New Discoveries in Tudor Royal Furniture In 2010, the elaborately carved, incomplete oak bed frame was removed from the honeymoon suite of a hotel in Chester, to be auctioned as a Victorian relic. The speaker has spent six years studying and attributing it, now featured in press around the world. Featuring five royal arms, six single roses, and deeply esoteric symbols of fertility, it turns out to be covered in medieval paintwork, and its proportions respect the mural of the lost Painted Chamber of royal Westminster Palace abandoned in 1512. Scientific analyses, documentation and art history agree to demonstrate it is an astonishing national treasure: the marriage bed of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, made by 18 January 1486.
2. The True Meaning of the Tudor Rose This talk distills three years of original research on a much-overlooked aspect of royal iconography: the use of flowers as symbols in the late Middle Ages. The 'Tudor rose' has been one of Britain’s foremost emblems for half a millennium. But does the later name 'Wars of the Roses' truly reflect York and Lancaster's heraldry as white and red roses? And was the ‘Tudor rose' really a combination of these two heraldic devices to symbolize the united bloodlines of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York from 1486?
3. Finding Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, was divorced from him after just six months of marriage during 1540. After her death, she was dismissed as the 'Flanders Mare'. Yet she enjoyed the ultimate triumph of being laid to rest in a tomb by the Coronation Pavement of Westminster Abbey. This talk follows a trail of evidence spanning the centuries to find clues to what happened in the years following the divorce and discover the kind of residence she kept. It begins in a church in rural Bedfordshire...
Venue: The Concert Artistes Association, 20 Bedford St., London WC2E 9HP
Price: £38.00 (no coffee or lunch)
Book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
THE SPIRITUAL IN ART: KANDINSKY, EXPRESSIONISM AND THE BLUE RIDER
Wednesday 12th June 2024,10:30 for 10:45 am – 3:30pm
Lecturer: Dr Rosamund Bartlett
This day of lectures explores the path-breaking work of an international avant-garde group of artists in Munich, founded in 1911, which sought through experiments with colour and form to explore spiritual questions relating to all the arts. This Study Day is timed to coincide with the Tate Modern exhibition 'Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter And The Blue Rider' (25 April to 20 October 2024).
Venue: Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BF
Price: £38
Contact: Tricia Savours - psavours@gmail.com
MUSIC IN ART FROM THE 12TH to the 19th CENTURIES
Thursday 20th June 2024, 10.30 for 10.45am – 3.30 pm
Lecturer: Clare Ford-Wille
The study day will explore a wide variety of images of music-making in European architecture, sculpture, painting and the decorative arts from early medieval sculpture and manuscripts to the great variety of musicians, instruments, and listeners in the painting of later centuries. Music was an essential part of ecclesiastical, but also secular life, whether, as in the sculpture of Luca della Robbia, as a means of praising God or, as in the work of 17th century Dutch painters, such as Vermeer. Wonderful examples can be found on church portals, in medieval ivories and manuscript illumination and in the sculpture, tapestries, frescoes and paintings of later centuries.
Venue: Linnaean Society, Burlington House, London W1J 0BF
Price: £38 Tickets from Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/music-in-art-from-the-12th-to-the-19th-centuries-tickets-853676097187
Contact: Shahida Osman - shahida0450@yahoo.com
THE ART OF THE HORSE... BUT SO MUCH MORE
25th September 2024, 10.45hrs - 13.15hrs
Lecturer: Christopher Garibaldi
This two-session special interest day takes as its starting point the equestrian works of three extraordinary artists, it examines this aspect of their work in a much broader cultural context. George Stubbs (1724-1806), ‘The English Leonardo’ Many art historians and critics have compared the work of Stubbs to that of Leonardo da Vinci, one even christening him the ‘Leonardo of Liverpool’ to reflect his humble origins as the son of a Liverpool leatherworker. The comparison can seem hubristic until one considers the scientific method and investigation that lay behind the production by Stubbs of his world-famous Anatomy of the Horse published in 1766 – a work which revolutionised the understanding and depiction of equine subjects.
This lecture begins by looking at the equestrian subjects of Leonardo from his design for stables for the Sforza in Milan to his preparatory sketches for two great sculptural projects, the majority of which are preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. It then goes on to examine the life and work of this country’s greatest animal painter, George Stubbs, putting him in the context of British sporting artists of the eighteenth century but also comparing his interests to those of da Vinci. It focusses on his depiction of equestrian subjects such as the National Gallery’s Whistlejacket but also looks at the extraordinary comparative anatomy studies he undertook towards the end of his career which reflected his profound interest in science and medicine.
The is followed by: The Life and Work of Sir Alfred Munnings KCVO, PRA (1878 - 1959) Alfred Munnings, the son of a Suffolk miller, left school at the age of fourteen when he was apprenticed as a commercial artist. Attending evening classes at the Norwich School of Art, Munnings would go on to become one of the most successful English artists of the first half of the twentieth century, ending his long career as President of the Royal Academy. This lecture looks at his amazing and extensive artistic output, from his early life as a commercial artist, through the extraordinarily evocative and powerful depictions of Canadian soldiers during the First World War to his mature work as this country’s leading sporting and equestrian artist. It also touches on the controversy around his views on Picasso, Henry Moore and modern art in general – as such it acts as an accessible examination of the tensions between figurative painting and non-representational art during the early twentieth century.
Venue: 20 Bedford St., London WC2E 9HP
Price: £25.00 (coffee not included)
Tickets: via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/815634724417?aff=oddtdtcreator Contact: Amanda Howard amh@bandahoward.co.uk if any queries
THE FASHION FOR JAPAN IN EUROPE: FROM THE MAZARIN CHEST TO MADAM BUTTERFLY
Tuesday 1st October 2024, 10.30 for 10.45am – 3.30 pm
Lecturer: Anne Haworth
The study day will explore the impact in Europe of more than three centuries of commercial and cultural encounters between Japan and the West. The Mazarin chest is a prized and unique Japanese work of art made of black lacquer with gold decoration and other works of art were highly prized objects of desire sought after by wealthy European collectors. Commercial exchanges expanded in the late 19th Century, with a profusion of art objects destined for fashionable Victorian aesthetic interiors. Together with kimonos and woodblock prints, these finely crafted exotic objects were variously reinterpreted in Royal Worcester and Minton porcelain wares, in paintings by Whistler and in the tragic operatic story of Madame Butterfly
Venue: Linnaean Society, Burlington House, London W1J 0BF
Price: £38 Tickets from Eventbrite www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-fashion-for-japan-in-europe-from-the-mazarin-chest-to-madam-butterfly-tickets-838792901147
Contact: Shahida Osman Email: shahida0450@yahoo.com
COVENT GARDEN: PUNCH, PROSTITUTES & PYGMALION
Hampshire & isle of white
All the below events are available in venue (Winchester) and online via Zoom
Flowers in the art of the great masters
18th April, 10.30am - 3.30pm
Lecturer: Hilary Guise
Flowers comfort with their inexhaustible variety and beauty. From ancient times, empresses and kings decorated their palaces with Secret Gardens painted on their walls. The Egyptians painted gardens ‘in the afterlife’ with lily ponds and fish. In the Middle-Ages the concept of the Secret Garden was transformed into a person, a much revered woman. She, who is The Virgin, is the Mystic rose. The sacred geometry of the Gothic rose windows describes her character. The troubadours sang of courtly love in the Walled Garden around an over-flowing fountain. In the golden age of the 17th century Italian fruit baskets take on an allegorical rôle in the hands of Caravaggio, while the Dutch masters immortalise many species of flowers, all buzzing with insects. The Victorians adopted the language of flowers and Manet uses flowers to tell about the women of Paris. Van Gogh pours out his heart in his dying Sunflowers and is later treated with the poisonous foxglove. Monet’s purest joy was his garden at Giverny where he could drift away on the surface of his water lily pond. The Secret Garden - from ancient Rome to the Medieval Walled garden The Language of flowers - from the 17th century ‘Vanitas’ to the Victorians. Flowers for Healing, Consolation and Cure – from Manet’s courtesans, & Monet’s water-lily garden to Irma Stern’s Cape flower sellers.
Price:
£35 per session in person to include morning coffee and a light lunch.
£13 per session via Zoom
For more information: https://theartssocietyhantsiowarea.org.uk/Special/Special.aspx
Tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theartssocietyhampshireandisleofwightarea
Venue: St Peters' Pastoral Centre, St. Peter's Church, Jewry Street, Winchester, SO23 8RY
Contact: Lucy Tew tewlucymargaret@gmail.com
THE 2024 JEAN BOLTON MEMORIAL STUDY COURSE - THE ART OF TEXTILES
Thursday 31st October 2024, Friday 8th November 2024, Friday 15th November 2024, Friday 22nd November 2024, Thursday 28th November 2, 10.30am - 3.30pm
Lecturers: Dr Sally Dormer; Dr Paula Nuttall; Clare Ford-Wille; Dr Kathy McLauchlan; Dr Rosamund Bartlett
The Art of Textiles - Textiles are artistic forms in themselves but also often appear in other art forms including painting, sculpture and theatre setting the scene, suggesting values and beliefs and acting as symbols. Through this series of study day lectures we will explore the history and artistic value of a broad range of textiles from the Mediaeval period to the modern world.
SPECIFIC DAYS:
Dr Sally Dormer - PRECIOUS TREASURES: SACRED AND SECULAR TEXTILES IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Dr Paula Nuttall - WOVEN, STITCHED, WORN: LUXURY TEXTILES IN THE RENAISSANCE
Clare Ford-Wille – From Tapestry and Silk to Stumpwork and Embroidery: The Wonders of Textiles in 17th and 18th Century Art
Dr Kathy McLauchlan – Material Matters: The Role of Textiles in 19th and early 20th-Century Art
Dr Rosamund Bartlett - From Folk Embroidery and Imperial Dress to Avant-Garde Costume and Constructivist Fashion: Textiles in Ukraine and Russia
Venue: The Gurkha Museum, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Rd, Winchester SO23 8TH and online via Zoom
Price: £35 per day in venue, to include coffee/tea, light lunch with wine or soft drinks; £13 per session for online attendees
For more information go to: https://theartssocietyhantsiowarea.org.uk/Special/Special.aspx
Tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com
WESSEX
discoveR early 20th century german art
Thursday 25th April 2024, 10.30am - 3pm
Lecturer: Colin Pink
A day learning about art created during a period of great turbulence in German history
• The Rise of German Expressionism - will trace the development of modernist art during 1905-1914; especially the work of artists in the groups Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider).
• The Art of Weimar Germany - will focus on the emergence of new styles of art, including Dada, Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) and the Bauhaus. These were the years of social and political unrest, hyperinflation and global depression.
• The Fate of Art in the Nazi Period - will look at what happened during this time. Nordic Expressionism and Degenerate Art will be examined as well as the art promoted by the Nazi’s.
This is a great time to learn about German art. The Tate is holding an exhibition called Expressionists (25 April – 20 October 2024) which will show some important works from The Blue Rider group.
Venue: Kennet Valley Hall, Overton Road, Lockeridge, Marlborough, Wiltshire. SN8 4EL
Tickets: £35 with buffet, £20 online
Contact: Caroline Cobbing - wessexcoursesnorth@gmail.com
THE SILK ROAD - A MAGICAL JOURNEY THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA
15th October, 12th November, 14th January 2025, 18th February 2025, 18th March 2025, 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Lecturers: Dr. Susan Whitfield, Christopher Bradley, James Allen, Sue Rollin, Chris Aslan
Join us on this magical 5 day journey along The Silk Road in the Cerne Abbas Village Hall, DoJoin us on this superb study series covering the glorious art, architecture and people of central Asia. Running from October to March these study days offer three wonderful lectures each day. The series will cover the Art and History of central Asia, the Treasures from journeys along the Silk Road, the Islamic Art and Architecture and ‘travel’ from Samarkand to the Taj Mahal, Central Asia and the great Mughals.
Venue: Cerne Abbas Village Hall DT2 7GY and online
Price: £35 per day in venue. £20 per day online.
For more information and to book your tickets for the 5 day course or individual days: www.tickettailor.com/events/theartssocietywessexarea or email: wessexconnectedevents@gmail.com