Lectures 2020/2021 Membership Year Due to the latest Government advice regarding the Covid-19 virus the June and July lectures are now cancelled. The April, May, June and July lectures have now been rearranged and included in the 2021/2022 programme. However, these lectures are not allocated to the same months. The cancelled Day of Special Interest (Study Day) on May 26th 2020 has been rearranged and will now take place on Tuesday August 17th 2021. Details will be announced nearer the time. The proposed visit to Althrop on Wednesday 5th August 2020 is cancelled and will be rearranged at a later date. October 7th 2020 1st lecture of the new membership year. “Flowers of Impressionist Youth. WW1 and their Remembrance” Lecturer: Caroline Holmes Following the end of the First World War in 1918, Monet’s great friend Georges Clemenceau, much to Winston Churchill’s disgust, at the Treaty of Versailles insisted on retribution for the ignominy of the 1870/71 Franco-Prussian War. These two wars frame the dissemination of Impressionism from Paris to its blossoming across the world and the flower of its youth from coming to die on the battlefields of the second. Through paintings and writings we trace the reactions of Monet and Renoir in France and actions of Australian Impressionists such as McCubbin, Streeton and Russell. The buoyant field poppies of Monet’s youth matured into his greatest decoration – Les Nymphéas. Frederick McCubbin Lost 1907 November 4th 2020 “Pompeii and Herculaneum. Their Life and Death”. Lecturer: Dr P. Roberts We go back in time to learn about the art, people and daily life of the amazing buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In AD 79 an eruption of Mt Vesuvius destroyed two cities - Pompeii with its industry and urban grid, Herculaneum, smaller and more genteel. They are an archaeologist’s dream, a time capsule of artefacts, buildings and people. December 2nd 2020 “A Day in the Life of a Picture Restorer”. Lecturer: Sarah Cove This lecture discuss the nature of oil painting materials, from the Middle Ages to the present day, and common problems associated with the ageing and deterioration of, and damage to, easel paintings. These can be on canvas, panel, board or paper in a range of mediums: oil, acrylic, egg tempera, or mixed media. Problems can involve natural deterioration and neglect, accidental damage, vandalism and even war – the most surprising event being a large hole caused by a Turkish cannon ball going through a picture in the 18th century!! Click here to read more about restoration. January 6th 2021 “A 21st Century Renaissance Chatsworth and the Devonshire Collection in the Modern Age” Lecturer: Simon Seligman Since the 1950s, Chatsworth and its collections have undergone a renaissance under the leadership of first the 11th, and now the 12th, Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. This lecture paints a portrait of Devonshire’s treasure house in the modern age, illustrating the extensive recent decorative and furnishing renovations in the house and the restoration of historic interiors, stone work and works of art. The lecture also includes work by modern and contemporary artists in the collection at Chatsworth including Lucian Freud, Elisabeth Frink, David Hockney and David Nash, to Richard Long, Allen Jones, Michael Craig-Martin and Edmund de Waal. Click here for the Chatsworth web site. February 3rd 2021 “Émile Gallé and René Lalique: Masters of Art Nouveau and Art Deco Glass”. Lecturer: Charles Hajdamach Exquisitely illustrated, this talk contrasts the achievements of the two great French glass masters against a backdrop of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The cameo vases of Gallé were the highlight of European glass epitomising the Symbolist movement in France. Lalique had started his career as a jeweller at the time of Gallé’s success but moved into the production of glass by 1910. He used many of the same images as his countryman but transformed them into stylish graphic designs which continue today to maintain the Lalique name in the forefront of desirable glass. Learn more about Galle Engraved crystal vase by Gallé, circa 1900 March 3rd 2021 “Now You See It, Now You Don’t”. (Illusion) Lecturer: Bertie Pearce This is one of the quirkiest lectures you will ever hear. There is a universal delight in being deceived and in this lecture Bertie Pearce takes his audience on a whistle stop tour of art which fools, surprises and amuses the viewer. Beginning and ending with the Belgian surrealist, René Magritte, it encompasses Trompe L’eoil, Banksy, Bridget Riley, Arcimboldo and Escher to name a few. Hold on to your seats and get ready to be visually fried. Click here to see some of Rene Magritte’s artwork April 7th 2021 Lost on the Titanic. The Story of the Great Omar Binding Lecturer: Dominic Riley The Great Omar was the most fabulous, elaborate and opulent binding ever created. It was embellished with over one thousand jewels, five thousand leather onlays and a hundred square feet of gold leaf, and took a team of craftsmen over two and a half years to make. It went down with the Titanic. This lecture tells the story of the making of the fabulous Great Omar. It is also the story of the renowned bookbinding firm of Sangorski and Sutcliffe - who were known for their elaborate jewelled bindings - and the men that made this extraordinary book. It also tells the moving story of life after the tragedy, and of one young man in particular, who decided against the odds to recreate the binding, a venture which itself is mired in tragedy and which occupied him for the rest of his life. May 5th 2021 World Famous Photographs; Images that shaped our future Lecturer: Brian Stater This lecture examines a series of iconic photographs that are embedded in our collective memory. They range from records of historic events, to fabulous portraits and scenes of emotional release and joy. The talk analyses the power of these images, traces the fascinating stories of how they came to be produced, and places them in the context of our appreciation of art. June 2nd 2021 JW Turner and the Day Parliament Burned Down Lecturer: Caroline Shenton In the early evening of 16 October 1834, to the horror of bystanders, a huge ball of fire exploded through the roof of the Houses of Parliament, creating a blaze so enormous that it could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor and from stagecoaches on top of the South Downs. In front of hundreds of thousands of witnesses, the great conflagration destroyed Parliament's glorious old buildings and their contents. No one who witnessed the disaster would ever forget it. Based on the acclaimed book of the same name, this talk takes the audience through the gripping hour- by-hour story of the fire with a particular focus on the oils and watercolours produced by Turner. The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 July 7th 2021 Is it worth it? Fakes, Forgeries and fashion at the Art Market Lecturer: David Haycock In February 2015 Paul Gauguin’s 1892 painting, Nafea Faa Ipoipo, or When Will You Marry? set a new world record when it sold for nearly £200 million. In this new lecture I explore the dynamics and economics of the art market through history, looking at what sells (and what doesn’t), and why, and how fakes, forgeries and fashion have helped to shape our attitudes to the perennial question of what is art, and who (exactly) is an artist. It covers a broad historical range, from the early Renaissance to the world of twenty-first century contemporary art. Paul Gauguin, Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry )1892.