Stratford-upon-Avon
Decorative and Fine Arts Society

Thursday 21 January 2010
Opera, the melting pot of culture
SARAH LENTON

This lecture charts the cross currents between opera and its cultural milieu – the grand gesture, classical plots, court manners, enormous costumes, nationalism and (as we enter the nineteenth century) dead heroines.

Sarah Lenton read theology at Kings College London and has spent most of her working life in the theatre. She writes programme articles and gives pre-performance talks, tours and study days for the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum.

Thursday 11 February 2010
Annual General Meeting
The Civic Hall, Rother Street

The AGM will start at 11 am and is followed by the lecture and a buffet lunch.

The Development of the St. Ives Art Colony (1885-1914)
DAVID TOVEY

Richard Hayley Lever. Landing Fish, St.Ives
Courtesy of David Tovey

Artists have always been attracted to St. Ives because of the unique light. A number of Art Schools were established there prior to the First World War and the town became a centre for the teaching of marine and landscape painting. It has an international reputation and this talk explores the artists and art lovers who established the early period of the Colony.

David Tovey is a freelance historian who writes, lectures and curates exhibitions concerning Cornish art. He has curated ‘Pioneers of St Ives Art’ for the Penlee House Gallery and assisted with the exhibition ‘Pre Colony St Ives Art’ at the Tate Gallery, St. Ives.

Thursday 18 February 2010
Deadly Rivals: The Earl of Arundel, the Duke of Buckingham and Charles 1 as Patrons of the Arts
TOM DUNCAN

Anthony van Dyck.
Charles I of England
Source: Wikipedia

Charles 1 set out to rival the great courts of Europe, attracting the finest artists and designers to London. Architecture, painting and the visual arts received unprecedented encouragement from the King. Also striving to create great art collections were Thomas Howard and George Villiers. All three men died tragically. This lecture unfolds a fascinating period of English history and the rivalry which helped to create these great collections..

Tom Duncan has retired from University life to concentrate on lecturing to a wider public. He leads tours to his major areas of interest: the architecture and archaeology of Ireland, and the Mediterranean basin.

Thursday 18 March 2010
Berthe Morisot and Edouard Manet: an Extraordinary Relationship
MICHAEL HOWARD

Edouard Manet. Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets. 1872
Source: Wikipedia

Berthe Morisot was a wonderful and powerful painter who chose to associate herself with the Impressionists as a means of expressing her own feminine vision of the world. Her relationship with Edouard Manet has caused much speculation; he encouraged her and painted her many times. These paintings are documents of the intensity and mystery of their relationship.

Michael Howard is a lecturer, writer, practising artist and printmaker. He is the author of books on Lowry, Goya, Whistler, the Impressionists, Monet, and Cezanne among others. He has also exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Thursday 15 April 2010
Bess and her descendants: the Cavendishes at Hardwick, Bolsover and Chatsworth
Roger Mitchell

Hardwick Hall
Courtesy of Roger Mitchell

The 400th anniversary of Bess of Hardwick’s death was in 2008, but her presence is still greatly felt, especially in Derbyshire where three important houses associated with her are situated. Bess is remembered for her marriages as well as her houses, and it is the descendants of her marriage to Sir William Cavendish who feature in this lecture, especially the Earls and Dukes of Devonshire, still resident at Chatsworth. Hardwick Hall survives today in a form that Bess would recognise, while Bolsover Castle, build by Bess’s grandson, is less known but unforgettable.

Roger Mitchell studied History at Oxford and Fine Art at Leeds. A former College Vice-Principal who now lectures for the University of Liverpool among others, he also leads country house tours and is involved in research at Chatsworth.

Thursday 20 May 2010
Pearls before swine: the long history of a Royal necklace
Jane Kelsall

Anna of Denmark
and her pearls
Courtesy of Woburn Abbey

We follow the long journey of a magnificent collection of pearls from their beginning as a wedding present in the sixteenth century from Pope Clement VII to Catherine de Medici, later Queen of France. She bequeathed them to her daughter–in–law Mary, Queen of Scots , and then they were acquired by Queen Elizabeth I. Always remaining in the Royal Family, they were the subject of a lengthy legal battle in Victorian times. Now Queen Elizabeth II wears some of the so-called “Hanover Pearls” – but where are the others?

Jane Kelsall studied English and History at University, and Art at St. Albans School of Art. She is a guidebook author and has been a lecturer and Cathedral Guide at St. Albans since 1977.

Thursday 17 June 2010
How to enjoy sculpture: a brief guide to art in three dimensions
Angela Cox

Michelangelo’s David
Source: Wikipedia

With examples from classical antiquity to contemporary works, this lecture explores the range of possibilities that can be defined as sculpture. We start by looking at solid objects that are of a constant shape and size, which may be carved or modelled, and which do not move. Then we examine objects constructed in all manner of materials, which may move and may even disappear and yet still take the form of sculpture.

Angela Cox was Head of Education at the National Portrait Gallery for ten years. More recently she has lectured widely at Museums and Galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery, the Tate and the V & A. For many years, she has run courses at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Thursday 16 September 2010
Tibet – the roof of the world
Zara Fleming

Kailash Gate Chorten, Tibet
Courtesy of Zara Fleming

Despite its geographical inaccessibility, Tibet has developed a rich and vibrant Buddhist culture and artistic tradition, where every aspect of Tibetan life is permeated by the people’s faith and their respect for the harsh mountainous environment in which they live. An overview of Tibetan history from the great Tibetan Empire (6th to 9th century) to the present day will be presented, and we will explore the fascinating art and culture of this tiny country, as well as gaining an insight into the current social and political situation.

Zara Fleming is an independent art consultant and lecturer with specialist knowledge of Buddhist art, the art and culture of Tibet, the Himalayan areas and Mongolia. Initially based at the V & A Museum, she has also worked with the Orient Foundation, the Royal Academy and many other Museums. As well as lecturing, Zara Fleming guides overseas tours to the Himalayan region.

Thursday 21 October 2010
David Hockney – the Old Master of the Modern World
Douglas Skeggs

David Hockney

Over the last decades Hockney has consolidated his position as perhaps the best-known and most highly-regarded British artist of his generation. He is considered one of the main contributors to the British Pop Art movement of the 1960’s, although his work includes expressionist elements too. As well as painting, his work includes photography and theatre set design. Born in Bradford, Hockney now divides his time between Yorkshire and California, where he has found inspiration for some of his best know paintings.

Douglas Skeggs studied Fine Arts at Cambridge and has lectured at many London art courses. He is the Director of the New Academy of Arts. He has collaborated and presented various TV documentaries notably on Whistler and William Morris. As well as being an artist with three solo shows, he is the author of six novels, and an acclaimed book on Monet entitled “River of Light”.

Thursday 18 November 2010
In the bleak midwinter: artists’ responses to snow
Ann Clements

G Caillebotte - Vue de toits effet de neige
Source: Wikipedia

Beginning with a page from an illuminated manuscript, we explore early European winter landscapes, including the first time that winter became a sustained pictorial topic in 17th century Holland. The next great blossoming of snow subjects occurred in mid-19th century France with the Impressionists. There are also some surprising images by artists not normally associated with winter subjects.

After reading History of Art and English at Manchester University, Ann Clements worked for the Whitworth Art Gallery and then the Paul Mellon Foundation for British Art. She has been an associate lecturer for Surrey University and has taught at the V & A Museum and at the National Trust. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Thursday 20 January 2011
Libya uncovered: the magnificence of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Cyrene
Christopher Bradley

Leptis Magna
Courtesy of Christopher Bradley

Closed for many years, Libya is slowly exposing its ancient Phoenician, Greek and Roman cultures. The 3rd century AD was the golden age of the finest examples of Roman mosaics and art, as Leptis Magna became the greatest city in Africa under the powerful Roman Empire. During Byzantine control, a unique Berber culture developed in the mountains, while the arrival of Islam brought new forms of mosaics, Ottoman-influenced mosques and ornate houses in Tripoli’s old city.

With a background in civil engineering, Christopher Bradley has spent a number of years working in the Middle East, and now leads specialist tours to this area and to North Africa. He has written many guide books, and also works as a lecturer to Universities and Societies, as a photographer, and as a TV documentary maker.

Thursday 10 February 2011
Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held in the Civic Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon at 11.00. It will be followed by a lecture and a buffet lunch (by ticket only)

Silver in Birmingham since 1773
Martin Ellis

Birmingham Silver
Courtesy of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Birmingham has a reputation as one of the world’s great producers of small, decorative silverwares but it is less well-recognised as an influential centre for the development of European silverware. This lecture hopes to redress the balance by looking at the history of silver in the city since the foundation of its Assay Office in 1773, from neo-classicism of Matthew Bolton through the gothic revival of John Hardman, the Arts and Crafts Movement to industrial modernism and contemporary craft.

After studying at Edinburgh and Manchester Universities, Martin Ellis worked an as archaeologist before becoming a Museum Curator. In the last 25 years, he has curated major collections and Decorative and Fine Art in Blackburn and Birmingham, and has been involved in a wide range of exhibitions. As well as lecturing, he has commissioned and edited many books and catalogues.

Thursday 17 February 2011
Art and the English Bible: 1611-2011
Michael Wheeler

“Jewish Captives at Babylon”
Eadie's National Comprehensive Family Bible, 1860
Courtesy of Michael Wheeler.

This year the nation celebrated the 400th anniversary of the most important and influential printed book in the English language – the King James Bible, or “Authorized Version”, first published in May 1611. The Bible has inspired artists and illustrators throughout the centuries, and while the Puritans destroyed many religious images, Bibles were being illustrated by the 18th century, while in the 19th century Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites were among those producing religious works. The 20th century has witnessed a rich revival of the art of book illustration, inspired by the King James Bible.

Michael Wheeler studied at Cambridge and London Universities, and enjoyed a long career as an academic lecturer, where he masterminded the project to build the Ruskin Library. In Hampshire he was co-Director of Chawton House Library and he is now a free-lance writer and lecturer, as well as being a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Lancaster and Southampton.

Thursday 17 March 2011
How to look at Art: a strategy for interpretation
Lynne Gibson

This lecture demonstrates a flexible approach to interpreting any piece of art work, from the ancient to the modern. Lynne Gibson will show a range of works from across the history of Western Art, which will assist the gallery, exhibition or museum visitor to understand the meaning of our masterpieces, and become an active rather than a passive viewer.

Lynne Gibson is a freelance lecturer, specialising in Critical Studies in Art. She has lectured for many years to Sussex and Bristol Universities, as well as to various Societies and to Art Galleries. Her own artwork has been exhibited widely and is in private and public collections.