Stratford-upon-Avon
Decorative and Fine Arts Society

The Sadfas lecture programme comprises ten lectures a year, one of which follows the Annual General Meeting. Lectures cover the fine and decorative arts in their widest sense and are given by knowledgeable and enthusiastic lecturers.

Meetings are held in The Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6QW. See map

Morning: Coffee is available from 1015 h and the lecture starts at 1045 h.

Afternoon: Coffee is available from 1300 h and the lecture starts at 1330 h Each session lasts approximately one and a quarter hours.

We welcome comments from Members on any aspect of the lecture programme:- lectures@sadfas.org.uk

Lectures February 2008 to March 2009

Edwin Smith. Didmarton Church
Courtesy of Rory Young

Thursday 14 February 2008
Annual General Meeting

The Levi Fox Hall, King Edward School, Chapel Lane.

The AGM will start at 1100 h and is followed by the lecture and a buffet lunch costing £7.50.

A View of the Cotswolds: Fifty years since the record made by the photographer Edwin Smith
RORY YOUNG

Revisiting the villages and houses of the Costwolds which were photographed and published by Edwin Smith in the 1960s and 70s.

Rory Young is a Cotswold-based designer, stonecarver and conservator. He is a graduate and is also a member of the Art Worker's Guild, the Georgian Group and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Thursday 21 February 2008
Romans, Moors and Christians: Andalucia and its Golden Age
TOM DUNCAN

This lecture will unfold the many layers that make up the complex building and artistic history of Spain from the earliest settlements to the fall of Granada. Focusing on Andalucia, the buildings and art of Roman Italica and Merida, Cordoba, Seville and Granada demonstrate a remarkable fusion of cultures and styles.

Dr Duncan has retired from University life to concentrate on lecturing and leading tours to his major areas of interest: the architecture and archaeology of Ireland, and the Mediterranean basin.

Thursday 20 March 2008
Masters of the Sea: Highlights of Maritime Art from the Seventeenth Century to the Present
JAMES TAYLOR

An insight into maritime life with depictions of sea battles, life below decks and in port. The lives of great sailors, the work of war artists, clipper ships, royal yachts and ocean liners are all featured, as are the historic buildings at Greenwich.

James Taylor is a former Curator of Paintings, Drawings and Prints at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Thursday 17 April 2008
The Scottish Colourists: Style and Sophistication from the Jazz Age.
VIVIEN HEFFERNAN

Painting mainly in Edinburgh, Peploe, Cadell, Fergusson and Hunter were an exciting and inventive group. They produced some of the most dramatically colourful, progressive and admired work of the twentieth century. This lecture explores their work, paying particular attention to the vibrant colour, expressive brushwork and stunning sense of rhythm and design.

Vivien Heffernan has been a teacher and lecturer in Art and Art history since 1976. She has taught in the continuing education departments of Essex and Cambridge Universities and is a long-standing lecturer with The Open University. She has been a free-lance lecturer since 1988 and is also a practising artist.

Thursday 15 May 2008
Miniature Adults? Images of Childhood in Western Art
SOPHIE OOSTERWIJK

An examination of what we see when we look at images of children in western art and what these portraits can tell us about children in the past. Were they treated very differently from children nowadays? Images from antiquity to the present may provide answers which are very different from expectations.

Dr Oosterwijk was born in the Netherlands and studied at Leiden,York and Leicester Universities. She is a free-lance lecturer and researcher. Her interests include the child in art, medieval, Early Netherlandish and Dutch seventeenth century art.

Thursday 19 June 2008
Taking a Line for a Walk: Why we need to draw
RICHARD BOX

Are you terrified of drawing? This lecture explains the purpose of drawing for children and adults alike, with examples by artists of all kinds throughout history.

Richard Box is a freelance artist who draws, paints and embroiders. Previously Head of Art at Avery Hill College, he now teaches, lectures and writes.

This lecture is in celebration of the Fortieth Anniversary of the founding of NADFAS.

Thursday 18 September 2008
Victorian Art pottery: From De Morgan to Doulton
ANNE ANDERSON

Art Pottery was a phenomenon of the last 30 years of the nineteenth century. De Morgan, with his close association with William Morris, is perhaps the best known artist potter. Small workshops and major manufacturers like Minton and Doulton added art pottery to their production lines. The vogue continued into the twentieth century with Minton and Moorcroft. This lecture looks at individual manufacturers and the role of art pottery in the Aesthetic 'House Beautiful'.

Anne Anderson is a lecturer, writer, tour guide and broadcaster. Dr Anderson studied Archaeology and the History of Art and specialises in Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts.

Thursday 16 October 2008
Has Listing gone Too Far? The Rise and Rise of Historic Building Preservation
NICOLA SMITH

An exploration into the origins and development of historic building preservation. The high level of protection of England's historic buildings through listing can be considered a thoroughly good thing or a necessary evil.

This lecture addresses the future for heritage protection in England.

Dr Smith was involved in conservation and heritage management as an Historic Buildings Inspector for the Department of the Environment. She works as a listing consultant for English Heritage and is a lecturer and writer.

Thursday 20 November 2008
The Turner Prize Explained
FRANK WOODGATE

Judged in December each year since 1984, this timely lecture looks at great winners and losers of the Turner Prize and clarifies the ideas behind the competition. Always controversial, the Turner is considered by some to be a showcase for British avant-garde art and by others to be conceptualist rubbish.

Frank Woodgate is a lecturer and guide at the Tate Britain, a scriptwriter for the Living Paintings Trust and a lecturer at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

Thursday 15 January 2009
The Great Cellini: A Window onto the World of Renaissance Decorative and Fine Arts
HELEN CLIFFORD

Cellini was a celebrated sixteenth century Florentine goldsmith, sculptor and engraver. He worked for emperors, popes and princes and recorded his tempestuous life in his autobiography. This lecture has been written especially for SADFAS by Helen Clifford.

Dr Clifford is a freelance researcher, writer and curator specialising in seventeenth century and eighteenth century decorative and contemporary silver. She is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and Curator of the Swaledale Museum.

Thursday 12 February 2009
Annual General Meeting

The AGM will start at 1100 h and is followed by the lecture.

Grace and Favour: The History and Architecture of Almshouses
ANNA HALLETT

There are around 2,500 groups of almshouse in Great Britain, most founded centuries ago. Initiated by religious institutions or individuals they are often picturesque with a range of architectural styles and details. This lecture includes special references to the almshouses of Stratford-upon-Avon and surrounding areas.

Anna Hallett was born in the Netherlands and is a lecturer and writer. She has published a book on Almshouses and has made a special study of tile-making in the Ironbridge Gorge.

Thursday 19 February 2009
Three Romantics: Chopin, Delacroix and George Sand
ELIZABETH RUMBELOW

Chopin and George Sand were close friends of Delacroix and all three were part of the Romantic Movement which swept the arts in Europe from the late eighteenth century to the mid nineteenth century. The intertwining of their lives, music, painting and literature at a time of great change is the subject of this lecture.

Elizabeth Rumbelow has an honours degree in both English and Music and has studied Old Icelandic at Copenhagen University. She is a lecturer whose speciality is the inter-relationship of the arts, especially painting, music and literature.

19 March 2009
Leptis Magna and Cyrene: Cities of the Sands
PAUL ROBERTS

Lost under the sands for centuries, Leptis Magna and Cyrene were two of the mightiest cities of Roman Africa. Cyrene was founded by Greek settlers and Leptis Magna by Punic settlers - the ancestors of Hannibal. Boasting a staggering array of beautiful remains, these sites are in Libya and have been relatively difficult to visit in the recent past.

Dr Roberts is the Curator of Roman Archaeology in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum. He has excavated sites in Britain, Libya, Turkey, Greece and Italy. He is currently writing books on the Eternal City and Roman emperors.