Stratford-upon-Avon
Decorative and Fine Arts Society

Highlights of 2011

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• Thursday 20 January 2011 – Lecture “Libya uncovered: the magnificence of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Cyrene”. Christopher Bradley gave a fascinating lecture that was both educational and entertaining, concentrating on the wonderful archaeological remains of Leptis Magna and Sabratha.

• Thursday 17 February 2011 – Lecture “Art and the English Bible 1611 to 2011”. Professor Michael Wheeler followed the developments of the King James Bible that was printed exactly four hundred years ago in 1611. This newly translated version, which was encouraged by James I, was written to be read aloud in church and remained the standard version for every household until the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century.

• Thursday 17 March 2011 – Lecture “How to look at Art: a Strategy for Interpretation”. Lyne Gibson introduced SADFAS members to her strategy for looking at Art. Using a wide spectrum of paintings and objects, she invited us not to rely only on audio–guides and written descriptions, but to use our eyes and look carefully at the painting, print, sculpture or installation and ask ourselves various questions

• Thursday 21 April 2011 – Lecture “Italian Gardens: their Beauty, Meaning and Relevance Today”. Laura de Beden treated members to a visual tour of Italian Gardens of the Renaissance, explaining that they were the first Western gardens created solely for pleasure.

• Thursday/Friday 12/13 May 2011 – an overnight coach trip for 35 of our members to Cambridge, visiting Kettles Yard, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Ely Cathedral and Anglesey Abbey. This trip was so popular that an overnight trip to Bath and Wells is being organised for 2012.

• Thursday 19 May 2011 – Lecture “The Two Faces of Russia: Moscow and St Petersburg”. Dr Rosamund Bartlett gave us a comprehensive overview of Russian history, religion and culture over the last millennium. Beautiful images of Russian landscapes and architecture were complemented by diverse extracts of Russian music from chanting monks to ringing bells to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.

• Thursday 16 June 2011 – Lecture “Giotto: Founder of Modern Art”. Alice Foster gave us a fascinating lecture in which she explained why Giotto could be considered as the founder of modern art. Giotto's figures were anatomically accurate with recognisable facial emotions. She persuaded us that if we read each early painting slowly, we will appreciate the naturalness of the people, the intensity of their emotions and the realism of their settings.

• Thursday 7 July 2011 – Coach trip to Burghley House. Our 53 members first stopped at the George, an old coaching inn in Stamford for coffee and hand–made biscuits. We then travelled on to Burghley House, built by Lord Burghley during his long career at the court of Elizabeth I. As well as the house, Burghley has a fabulous sculpture garden which many of our members enjoyed.

• Thursday 1 September to Tuesday 6 September 2011 – Visit to St Petersburg. Twenty–eight members of SADFAS enjoyed a 6 day/5 night visit to St Petersburg. Included were visits to the church of the Saviour on Spilt Blood which is one of the classic vistas of St Petersburg with its colourful Muscovite cupolas, the Hermitage Museum with more than two million works of art and over one thousand rooms, the Catherine Palace at Pushkin and its famous Amber Room, the Russian Museum housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace, St Isaac's Cathedral, the Yusupov Palace where the murder of Grigory Rasputin took place and Peterhof, the summer home of Peter the Great, the founder of St Petersburg in 1703. There was also the chance to see a performance of the ballet Swan Lake. Everyone agreed what a great trip it had been and how much had been fitted into such a short time. St Petersburg certainly exceeded all expectations.

• Thursday 15 September 2011 – Lecture “Aboriginal Art and Culture”. Rebecca Hossack, a London art gallery owner and great champion of Aboriginal culture, gave a fascinating lecture on one of the oldest visual traditions in the world, being over 50,000 years old. She explained that the work is easier to ‘read’ if we appreciate that all the paintings are visualised from a bird's–eye viewpoint. The Aboriginal people revere their ancestors as well as their land and everything relating to it. Consequently, much of their art is concerned with these themes.

• Thursday 29 September 2011 – Visit to Six Gloucestershire churches with Tim Bridges. Fifty–three members were guided around six churches by our favourite expert on church architecture. The trip coincided with the hottest day of the Indian summer enabling members to really enjoy their day. We visited: Highnam – a splendid Victorian church by Henry Woodyer, Deerhurst – a famous Saxon church and chapel, Stoke Orchard – a tiny Norman church with wall paintings of the life of St James, Tirley – an attractive medieval church on a floodplain with post medieval wall paintings, Staunton – a medieval church with spire and 20th century glass and Forthampton – a medieval church with rare altar and Norman doorway. Lunch was taken at the historic Gupshill Manor near Tewkesbury.

• Tuesday 4 October 2011 – Study Day – “A Family Affair; Florence and the House of Medici”. In this study day we explored the history of the Medici family with particular emphasis on the lives of Cosimo il Vecchio and Lorenzo the Magnificent and discovered how the city coped with the cut and thrust of Renaissance politics and its effect upon the artists and architects who lived there.

• Thursday 20 October 2011 – Lecture “Venice and London: Venetian Influences on English Culture”. The multi–talented Peter Medhurst entranced our members with his singing and piano playing which accompanied a fascinating lecture explaining how 18th century Venice had influenced English painting and music.

• Thursday 17 November 2011 – Lecture “The Fine Art of Crime: Case Studies of the Trail and Repatriation of Stolen Art”. Malcolm Kenwood, a retired policeman, who specialised in the recovery of stolen art, gave a vibrant, informative and sometimes comic account of his work.

• Thursday 15 December 2011 – Lecture – “Deck the Halls – Yuletide Customs and Traditions”. This amusing lecture certainly got our members into the Christmas spirit. Dr David Bostwick explained that many of the customs we regard as traditional come, in fact, from the combination of different beliefs and customs.

For more current information about the society, please contact chairman@sadfas.org.uk

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