When Augustus John died in 1961 he was described in The New York Times as ‘the grand old man of British painting and one of the greatest in British history.’ He was only in his mid twenties when, in the early 1900s, he was widely acknowledged as one of the most talented and promising young British artists – a Welsh rival, perhaps, to Gauguin or Picasso. This lecture explores John’s extraordinary life, including his early achievements, his position as one of the most exciting and outrageous young British artists before the Great War, his slow decline after it, and his troubled status as ‘the last Bohemian’.

Please click here for the Booking Form

Information from David Haycock

Augustus John was one of the most exciting and influential, but also most controversial, British artists of the first half of the 20th century. This Study Day will explore his career, placing him in his cultural context alongside his peers - in particular his sister, Gwen John, whose fame in recent years has eclipsed his own.

Lecture 1. Beginnings:

The Study Day begins by looking at the state of British art when Augustus John arrived at the Slade School of Art at the age of 16 in 1894. It looks at the work and influence of his teachers – in particular Henry Tonks and Philip Wilson Steer – and his fellow students, among them William Orpen, Ambrose McEvoy, Percy Wyndham Lewis and Gwen John. I will examine the artistic and cultural influences that played upon them as they emerged as young artists in London, and why John would be so important.

Lecture 2. Young Bohemians:

The second lecture looks at the great period of John’s youth, when he quickly became one of the most exciting and outrageous British artists of the early 20th century – the possible equivalent of Gauguin, or Picasso. It follows his glittering career as an influential proto–Post-Impressionist up to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Lecture 3. Where did it all go Wrong?

The final lecture explores why Augustus John’s work faltered during the First World War, how he managed to reinvent himself as British high society’s leading portraitist, and whether this was the best road he might have followed. It also compares his career and work with that of Gwen John: his influence upon her, and their respective legacies.

 Dr David Boyd Haycock is an established freelance art historian and curator. He is best known for his 2009 book, A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War, and the subsequent exhibition he curated at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Educated at the University of Oxford, and a former curator at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, he is a specialist in British art and culture in the period 1860 to 1940. His latest books include a new biography of the young Augustus John, and a new biography of the equestrian painter Lucy Kemp-Welch. An Arts Society lecturer since 2011, he is based in Oxford. 

This study day looks at how the European art market evolved from a structure of commissioning and elite patronage by the wealthy princes of the Italian Renaissance, From there we examine the commercial instincts of the merchant classes of Holland's Golden Age and on to the impact of the Grand Tour on British tastes in the eighteenth century. We then explore the gradual appearance of a professional ‘dealer’ class in France and England in the nineteenth century before focusing on the speculative activities at work in the twentieth century art market. 

It's a fascinating story of capitalist self-interest, connoisseurship, commercial acumen, occasional bad behaviour and frequent sleight of hand. The lecture touches on the emergence of an entrepreneurial middle class in the mid-nineteenth century whose members sought to emulate the aristocracy through their consumer choices, leisure activities and aesthetic tastes. Conspicuous consumption — the eternal desire of successful people to display their success through the works of art they acquire — remains as powerful a driver of the global art market today as it was in Renaissance Florence.

Cost: £45.00 per person

Information from Dr Flynn

Session 1: Art Markets from the Renaissance to the late 19th century

This session introduces the early art markets of Italy, Antwerp and the Netherlands and discusses their evolution, the emergence of auctions and art dealers in the 19th century, the role of women, etc.

Session 2: The Art Market in the Post-War Era

This session deals with the booming art market after the Second World War and the rise of Impressionism as an investable asset prior to the bubble bursting in 1990

LUNCH

Session 3: The 21st Century Art Market

This session ends with the madness into which the art market has descended following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It explains the $450 million paid for the Salvator Mundi, golden toilets, Banksy’s shredding in plain sight, bananas taped to walls... and much more.

Click here for Booking Form

This event is now fully booked.

If required we will start a waiting list.

The Huguenots came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century, bringing a wide variety of skills - as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers and horticulturists. Names such as Paul de Lamerie, Samuel Courtauld and Jean Tijou spring to mind. In virtually all areas, they were innovators and were more advanced than the English who were forced to improve their own skills or go out of business. Although the majority settled in London, others found their way to East Anglia, Macclesfield and Canterbury. We will examine their lasting legacy.  

Welcomed at first with open arms and bringing luxury skills, the Huguenots’ fortunes fluctuated wildly. I talk about their early 18th-century houses that still stand, how they were decorated and lived in; I discuss the fashionable patterned silk dresses – who designed and made them. And how, finally the trade died out, with some weavers literally dying in poverty at their looms. One of the weavers’ houses can still be visited today.  

This study day comprises three lectures:

• The first encompasses the many ways in which the Huguenots (craftsmen and businessmen) enhanced the culture and standing of this country, leaving a lasting legacy.
• The second looks in detail at one of the most notable areas in which they both initiated and enhanced: the silk weaving industry, both technically and in terms of court fashion.  We look at the lives of the weavers, how they lived, how their fortunes fluctuated and how influential their skills and artistry were both here and in north America.
• And the last lecture focusses on the serendipity of the arrival of fashionable hot drinks and skilled silversmiths, again raising the status of the nobility.  It is no accident that we now see hundreds of small domestic portraits of families dressed in the latest silks surrounded by the latest Huguenot silverware.   It was all about appearance …..!

Cost and Booking

The cost is £45.00 per person which covers three one-hour lecture sessions, coffee and lunch. To book your place(s) please complete and return the booking form.

Sue Jackson

Originally in academic art and design publishing, Sue is also a Fellow of the Huguenot Society, a Freeman of the City of London, a tutor at the City Literary Institute and a Blue Badge guide, conducting a variety of walks and visits.  I am also happy to offer virtual tours.

Unfortunately this event has been cancelled

Session one: Georgian glass. English lead crystal was developed in the late 1600s. Its special qualities led to the creation of a completely new kind of table and decorative glass, noted for its strength, crystal-clear clarity, lustre and ability to reflect and refract light. By 1780s simple facet-cut decoration became fashionable and, in the Regency period, English cut-lead crystal dominated world markets and set the classic standard.

Session two:  The Victorian era is often called the Golden Age of British Glass. Huge quantities in the widest range of quality and style were made.  We will look at the three great Stourbridge manufacturers, the Richardson Brothers, Thomas Webb, and Stevens and Williams. We will also include some of the pressed glass manufacturers, ending with the Arts and Crafts designs produced by James Powell and Sons at the Whitefriars Glasshouse in London; Powell’s enterprise and very collectible glass takes us through to the 20th century.

Session three:  Hands on. We will look at glass owned by members, who are invited to bring pieces mainly which you think could be 18th or 19th century glass, but 20th century pieces of great interest too. During the 19th century enormous quantities of glass were made, some fine, some quirky, all of interest: the more distinctive it is, the easier it is to identify. Decanters, wine glasses, bowls, jugs, dishes, luminaria, novelties: nothing so insignificant as not to be of interest! The aim is to discuss the items, and no valuations will be given.

Please note:  due to time constraints it is not always possible to comment on every item of glass brought in by members.

Cost Per Person and Booking Form

The cost perperson is £45 which includes the three one-hour lecture sessions, coffee and lunch.

Caroline Macdonald-Haig

Caroline is a Design and Decorative Arts journalist and author. She is a London Blue Badge Guide, specialising in themed tours for American Museums and Art Galleries. Her specialist subjects include the history of glass and London's history, galleries, museums and architecture. She is also a freelance lecturer for Adult Education Groups, and enjoys devising tours, lecturing and study days based in and around London.

Event Details

The day will comprise three lecture sessions, plus coffee and lunch:

• 10.30 The Conservation of Paintings - a step-by-step guide on how paintings are conserved in the workshop.
• 11.30 Coffee
• 12.00 The History of Frames - which looks at how frames evolved through history to the present day.
• 13.00 Lunch
• 14.30 A Demonstration of the Cleaning Process - ‘A demonstration of the cleaning process’  The lecturer will bring a painting with her to start the cleaning process going, in front of the audience
• 15.30 End

Julia Korner

Julia Korner is a specialist and lecturer in fine art conservation and the restoration of paintings, sculptures and frames. She is also a valuer, passionate collector, advisor and curator of paintings and works of art. Julia trained in art history and conservation, Cambridge, England. Then, for twenty years, she worked for Christie's as a paintings’ specialist, building extensive knowledge of Old Masters, and of British, European and American paintings from the 1700s onwards. She set up Christie's Maritime Department in 1986, followed by the Frame sales, the Aeronautical, Exploration & Travel and the Polar sales. Julia was elected Huntington Fellow of the Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia, USA, in 1997. A seven-year commitment there saw her catalogue this collection and that of its sister organisation, the South Street Seaport Museum, New York.

Julia has worked independently in her own studio in West London since 1997. Here, she and her small team give specialist conservation work personal and expert attention through restoration, scientific analysis and research. Damaged paintings, polychrome statues, over-mantles, traditional gold leaf & gesso frames, along with unusual and exquisite handmade cabinets all emerge transformed by the conservation work, or created from scratch, under her expertise, knowledge and care.

Julia acts as an advisor, valuer and exhibition curator for public and private collections, in the UK and abroad. She also gives illustrated talks and lectures. She is an elected member of The British Antique Dealers' Association, The British Association of Paintings Conservator Restorers, The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, and The International Institute for Conservation.  In addition to her role as a lecturer for The Arts Society, Julia also lectures for Sotheby’s Institute, Christie’s and Fine Art Societies at home and abroad.

Booking

To book your place on this day please complete and return the attached form.

To see some of the photographs taken at the Study Day click here

Session 1 - Early Days of the Bloomsbury Group

The first session will introduce the three main artists in the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry, as well as their partners and other fascinating characters such as Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes, and will compare the artists’ works with those of their UK contemporaries.  We will also look at the Grafton Gallery exhibition, Manet and the Post-Impressionists, which was masterminded by Roger Fry and became known as ‘The art-quake of 1910’. Young artists were advised not to visit the exhibition for fear of contamination.

Session 2 - Modernism and the Omega Workshop

In the years which followed Manet and the Post-Impressionists there were several other avant-garde exhibitions which served to bring art in Britain closer to European modernism.  Also, the Omega Workshop was established in 1913, on the lines of William Morris’s Arts and Crafts movement, to produce artist-designed furniture, rugs, ceramics and fabrics.  Bell, Grant and Fry changed their artistic style to reflect the works they had seen by Gauguin, van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso and other European avant-garde artists.

Session 3 - The 1930s and Beyond

In 1916, Vanessa Bell, her husband Clive and Duncan Grant moved into Charleston farmhouse in Sussex, where she and Duncan remained for the rest of their lives.  Later, the three main artists reverted to painting more conventional portraits and landscapes.  The deaths of Roger Fry and one of Vanessa’s sons, and the suicide of her sister, Virginia Woolf, cast a pall over the 1930s, although she, her other son and Duncan Grant worked together to decorate the church at Berwick, near Charleston, during World War II.  Duncan Grant outlived his fellow-Bloomsburys, dying in 1978 at the age of 93.

Frank Woodgate

Frank is a lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, for the Art Fund, the National Trust, U3A and other organisations. He was formerly a Guide at both of London’s Tate galleries and has lectured for Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pallant House Gallery in Chichester and on cruises on behalf of Tate. He was previously a script writer for The Living Paintings Trust which provides art for the visually-impaired.

Cost and Booking

The cost of £42 per person covers three one-hour lecture sessions plus coffee and lunch. 

The History of Collection, and Great Collectors through History, provides a fascinating time-line talk focusing on why we collect and how our predilection for collecting has evolved through history. This is illustrated with examples from the great historical collectors and illuminated with objects from Marc’s own eclectic collection.

10:30 Lecture 1 - A look at the origins and pyschology of collecting

11.30 Coffee

12:00 Lecture 3 - Great collectors through history

13:00 Lunch

14:30 Fakes and forgeries. followed by Evaluation session

15:30 End

Marc Allum

Marc is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Wiltshire. He is shortly to begin his 23rd year as a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow and has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes. Marc regularly writes for mainstream magazines and is an author, antiques consultant and lecturer. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc has his own unique style with interests ranging from pre-history to modern design and is a self-confessed collectaholic. He has a passion and reputation for divining the unusual through ‘a desire to connect with history through the interpretation and pursuit of objects and their origins’. Marc has lectured widely for many years to a number of different organisations in both the public and charity sector, including travel companies, The National Trust, The WI and many literary festivals including Cheltenham, Bath, Wells and Petworth. Marc is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Cost

£42 per person, which covers lectures, coffee and lunch. Payment is by bank transfer or cheque at time of booking. Click here for the booking form.

This event is fully booked, with a waiting list.

The religious buildings of the world include many of the greatest achievements of architectural art. These three lectures will provide a chronological overview of these extraordinary structures, demonstrating how they are shaped by the tenets of the world's great faiths.

Lecture one: introduction; origins
A brief overview of the subject draws out several specific qualities shared by many ambitious religious buildings, and traces their story in the ancient world, from prehistory to the end of Antiquity.

Lecture two: the western tradition
The architecture of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: explaining and exploring churches, temples and mosques

Lecture three: the eastern tradition; conclusion
The architecture of Buddhism and Hinduism; the religious architecture of China and east Asia; followed by a brief ‘bucket list’ of great religious buildings worldwide. Summing up with a reflective overview of the role the architecture of faith plays in the modern world.

Jon Cannon

Jon wrote Cathedral: the Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made Them, and presented BBC television's How to Build a Cathedral. He has also written The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Decoding Temples, Mosques, Churches and other Places of Worship around the World, published in 2013, and the Shire book of Medieval Architectural Style the following year.  

He is currently working on a major book on geology and place in the British landscape. Other publications include numerous works for English Heritage and academic volumes on West Country churches. 

Jon is a part-time lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Bristol; he holds a degree in the History of Art from the University of Sussex. He lectures, gives study days and leads tours on medieval church art, architecture and history. He is a Lay canon (Keeper of the Fabric) at Bristol Cathedral. 

Cost and Booking Form

The cost, which includes lunch, is £42.

This event is fully booked, with a waiting list.

Unfortunately we have had to cancel this event.

Brian MacDonald will take you on a journey beginning in Outer Mongolia in the 5th century BC, where the earliest complete rug in the world was discovered in 1947, and then following the eleventh century migrations from Turkmenistan, the cradle of weaving, into the Caucasus, Persia, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. He will introduce the nomadic tribes of these countries with emphasis on their pre-1900 knotted and woven rugs, carpets and dowry bags. These tribal weavings illustrate the skill of these hardy women who produced exquisite works of woven art, using vegetable dyes and age-old symbolic representation whilst living and travelling in primitive conditions and hostile landscapes

With the advent of commercialism and chemical dyes, tribal weaving began a swift decline from the 1930s when it virtually ceased to exist in its spontaneous form. The tribal weavings of the 19th century and earlier represent the pinnacle of achievement and wonderful free expression of the art of the nomadic weaver. Today, these weavings are highly desirable and collectable works of woven art.

Brian MacDonald

During the 1970s, whist carrying out reconnaissance work for two archaeological expeditions in southern Iran, Brian travelled extensively throughout that country as well as in Afghanistan and Turkey. In 1972, he lived and worked amongst two tribal groups in southern Iran – the Afshar nomads of Kerman and the Darrehshuri Qashqa’i nomads of Fars – making him one of the few world carpet dealers to have actually spent time ‘in the field’. From 1973 onwards, he worked in Kerman until just before the Iranian Revolution when he was forced to leave.

In 1990, Brian was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for his work amongst these nomadic peoples. Brian has returned to Iran several times in recent years, travelling and searching out pre-1900 rugs and weavings amongst tribes like the Bakhtiari, Qashqa’i and Shahsevan. Since the early 1980s, he has been dealing in the most exquisite pre-1900 tribal rugs, carpets and dowry weavings and from his base in the Cotswolds, he still acts as a dealer, consultant and lecturer today.

Brian’s book Tribal Rugs – Treasures of the Black Tent was first published in 1997 and received a warm reception from collectors, dealers and enthusiasts worldwide. Ghereh International Carpet & Textile Review (Spring 1998) described it as ‘one of the finest books written on tribal rugs’.

Cost

The cost of this Special Interest Day is £42.00 per head.  

To apply please click here and then complete and return the booking form together with payment. If you have a laptop you should be able to complete the form online, and then either save it so that you can email it, or print and post it. If you have an iPad you should print the form, complete it and post it, as the software used for creating the form is for laptops.

You are invited to join us for a fascinating special interest day about the history of the art and colours of garden design, to be held at Crudwell Village Hall.

An activity that we would recognise as gardening has its origins 10,500 years ago in the transition from nomadic hunting and gathering to a sedentary life-style that culminated in the dominance of an agricultural society. Before this our ancestors had already begun creating art in the rocks and in caves. The point at which gardening-to-stay alive was joined by gardening-as-art is unclear. Theophrastus cultivated plants more than 2,300 years ago so that he could study them more conveniently. Sri Lankans created gardens in honour of the god of water 1,500 years ago. It is probable that it was within this religious paradigm that the layout of gardens, and the selection and juxtaposition of the plants, was first considered to be important. 

At some point considerations already familiar to fine artists, such as harmony and contrast, started to come into play, but Nature is a fickle palette. These are not “lifeless pools of paint on a palette” (Jekyll 1888) but living organisms with their own agendas, with the result that a garden can be ephemeral and uncontrolled. The creation and use of new pigments, dyes, and media is analogous to the introduction and cultivation of new plants. While the utility of gardening persists, gardens are also created to reflect philosophical ideas and provoke emotional responses.  As we enter the period known now as the anthropocene, do gardens have a new role to play in addition to their utility and their art?

This study day will try to answer some overlapping questions.

• What is a garden?
• What influences garden design?
• Is garden design art?
• Do gardens and art both reflect the society in which they are rooted?
• What role does colour play in the design of gardens?
• In what ways are the principles of garden design different from those of fine art?
• Are there any parallels between the motivations for creating gardens and creating works of art?

The lens through which the discussion is focused will be the 400-year-old Oxford Botanic Gardens and gardens created by the lecturer and his wife. However, other examples of gardens from around Britain and other parts of the world will be included to illustrate the answers to the questions.

Agenda

• 10:30    Broadening the Palette
• 11:30    Coffee
• 12:00    Seeing the Light
• 13:00    Lunch
• 14:30    Planting the Picture
• 15:30    End

Cost

The cost person is £42 per person which covers coffee and a delicious lunch as well as the three lectures. To book a place on this Special Interest Day please download, complete and return the booking form.

Timothy Walker

Since 1986 Timothy has given 1,500 public lectures. This was originally part of his work as director of the Oxford University Botanic Garden from 1988 to 2014. Botanic gardens are often described as living museums, and garden curators lecture about them in the same way as museum curators talk about their collections. Since 2014 he has been a college lecturer and tutor at Somerville College Oxford. Gardens are often thought of a place where science and art meet on equal terms. His lectures investigate this relationship.

Please join us for this fascinating day of three lectures given by Sophie Oosterwijk (who will be taking us to Holland in April).  We will give you a coffee/cake, a delicious lunch and a wonderful day amongst friends.  The first lecture is at 10.30 hrs and the day will end around 15.30 hrs.

Lecture 1.  Merchants, Matrons and Mites – a behind the scenes guide to Genre paintings that on first viewing seem to portray everyday life but which have much more depth to them than that.

Lecture 2.  Wine, Women and Song – At first glance, Vermeer’s scenes seem above reproach but look closer at the detail in the background and surroundings and all is not at it seems.

Lecture 3. Home Sweet Home – Do the paintings really portray realistic scenes of Dutch middle-class interiors of the period?  Or are they an artistic illusion?  How true to life are they?

Cost: £42 per person to include lunch and coffee.

Click here for a booking form which must be completed and returned, and payment must be received, before a place will be confirmed.

Sophie Oosterwijk

Born in Gouda (Netherlands), Sophie has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester). She has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester, Nottingham and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and has organised many study days, tours and visits. Sophie is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University and Martin Randall Travel, and is an Honorary Research Fellow with the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews. She has produced numerous publications. 

Would you like to develop your confidence in looking at Art? Do you want to discuss your opinions with insight? Put away the headphones, take your nose out of the catalogue and discover a strategy for looking at Art.

The strategy is a flexible approach to interpreting any piece of artwork, giving you the confidence to become an active, rather than a passive, viewer. It is a tool for life: simple and effective.

We will put it into practice by looking at a range of works from across the history of Western Art. Through small group work, you will be encouraged to share your ideas and discuss individual works.

This study day is a must for anyone interested in visiting galleries, exhibitions and art museums. It will, quite simply, help you to ‘see’ more! Learn to trust your own eyes and enjoy Art to the full.

Lynne Gibson

Lynne is a Freelance lecturer in the History of Art, Critical and Contextual Studies, as well as in practical Drawing, Painting and Printmaking. She has held posts at the Universities of Sussex and Bristol, where she introduced 'Understanding Art' to the Lifelong Learning programme. She gives talks, lectures, courses and guided tours for a wide range of organisations including ARCA colleges, Art Galleries and Museums, The Art Fund, The National Trust and The Arts Society. She has worked as a professional artist specializing in oil painting and etching, and her work has been exhibited widely and used in a range of publications.

Programme

10:00 – 10:30 Meet at The Village Hall in Crudwell

10:30 – 11:30 Small group and whole group discussion, brainstorming a wide range of artworks from post cards and projected images

11:30 – 12:00  Coffee and biscuits                             

12.00 – 13.00   Whole-group analysis and critique of two paintings using the strategy.

13.00 – 14.15   Lunch – Soup, bread, fruit and a glass of wine. Coffee and cake

14.15 –.15.30   Putting the strategy into practice: whole group analysis and critique of two paintings using the strategy.

Cost

£37 pp to include coffee, cakes and lunch with wine.

NOTE  This cost can only be refunded if there is a waiting list for the event and your place can be taken by another member.

To book your place on this exciting Special Interest Day click here for an application form.

For more information contact Anne Montague Jones on 01666 238658.

From the ‘Little Black Dress’ created by Chanel to the ‘Chain Mail’ fabrics of Mary Quant and the colour explosions of Versace, fashion has had an exciting journey through the 20th Century.  Throughout these lectures, we will discover how jewellery design incorporated the fashions of the decades to produce a truly unforgettable period of jewellery design: beginning with the delicacy of the Edwardian period to the dramatic contrasts of the Art Deco period, from the sculptural creations of the 1930’s to the cocktail style of the 40’s and 50’s, the new age influence of the 60’s and 70’s and the ‘bling’ culture of the 1980’s.

Susan Rumfitt

Susan is an independent jewellery advisor, auction consultant and lecturer.  She studied for a post graduate degree at Glasgow University before becoming an international jewellery specialist for Phillips Auctioneers in 1996 where she was Head of Department from 1999-2002.  Susan has lectured extensively and is a specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Road Show.

Venue

British Schoolroom, Sherston Congregational Church, Cliff Road, Sherston SN16 0LN. Please park in the High Street if possible.

Programme for the Day

10.30 – 11.00  First lecture

11.30 – 12.00  Coffee and biscuits

12.00 – 13.00  Second lecture

13.00 – 14.15  Lunch - soup, cheese, ham. Wine/elderflower, coffee and cake

14.15 – 15.15  An opportunity to bring along an item of your choice for discussion.

Booking Form

To book a place on this Special Interest Day you must download and complete the attached booking form.

The Arts and Music between 1800 and 1850

The day covers the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars in music, art and literature and the ensuing development of “Romanticism”, a surge of movement against the neo-classicism of the late eighteenth century in Europe and Britain.  These oeuvres will be blended together to show the overall impact of them in the first half of the nineteenth century. 

Romanticism emphasised the individual, the irrational, the spontaneous, the visionary and the transcendental.  Seen in the music of Chopin for example, the artists Friedrich, Turner, Goya, Delacroix, and the poetry of Wordsworth and Byron to name just two.

The event willl be held at The Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham Ladies College, starting at 10:30 and ending at approximately 3:00. Coffee and a finger buffet lunch will be provided.

The event costs £40 which includes coffee and lunch.

For an Application Form: click here.

For General Information: click here.

For more information contact: Alexandra Davies,   The Arts Society West Mercia by email -theartssociety.westmercia@gmail.com

This February’s Special Interest Day will be devoted to our island’s unique architectural heritage: the architectural styles with regard to the buildings’ exteriors and their interior layout and decoration as well as the changing use of rooms over the centuries. And of course these grand houses reflected social needs and customs.

Programme

10:30-11:30 The Elizabethan and Jacobean House (1550-1630)

11:30-12:00 Coffee and refreshments

12:00-1:00   The Baroque House (1660-1714)

1:00-2:00     Lunch

2:00-3:00     The Georgian House (1715-1830)

Philippa Barton is a freelance lecturer in decorative and fine arts to The Arts Society, V&A and others, specialising in English architecture, interiors and furniture from the 16th to the 19th centuries.  

Cost

The cost for the lectures plus coffee and lunch is £30 per member.

You may book and pay for your place either at one of the prior lecture days, or by bank transfer to the MDFAS bank account: sort code 40-31-07, account 51507745, reference Study Day.

For further information click here.

This is the second of two Study Days being held by West Mercia Arts Society at Cheltenham College, and is open to all members of MDFAS.

500 years ago Martin Luther pinned his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany which lead to religious upheaval in Europe. The power of the Renaissance families, together with the actions of avaricious, ambitious Popes lead Luther to make his statements. The warring factions of Protestant Germany, Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor, the Italian Principalities and Francois, King of France were creating tumult in Europe – a momentous period in Europe’s history.

The two days (the first being 26th October) will look at many of the works of the period including Titian, Cranach, Raphael, Holbein, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer. A feast indeed.  

The cost, which includes coffee/biscuits and lunch is £38. For further information, including a booking form, click here.

This is the first of two Study Days being held by West Mercia Arts Society at Cheltenham College, and is open to all members of MDFAS.

500 years ago Martin Luther pinned his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany which lead to religious upheaval in Europe. The power of the Renaissance families, together with the actions of avaricious, ambitious Popes lead Luther to make his statements. The warring factions of Protestant Germany, Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor, the Italian Principalities and Francois, King of France were creating tumult in Europe – a momentous period in Europe’s history.

The two days (the second being 2nd November) will look at many of the works of the period including Titian, Cranach, Raphael, Holbein, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer. A feast indeed.  

The cost, which includes coffee/biscuits and lunch is £38. For further information, including a booking form, click here.

Although MDFAS has left the NADFAS Wessex Area, some of our members live within the Wessex catchment area and may therefore be interested in this series of Study Days to be held during the autumn/winter of 2017/18 in Market Lavington Community Hall.   The Study Days are open to anyone at a cost of £28 per day to include three lectures, lunch, a glass of wine and tea/coffee. 

Wednesday, 25th October 2017 - Ian Beckett

• Images of the American Frontier in two parts 
• Images from the Civil War

Wednesday, 8th November 2017 - Roger Mitchell

• Building America: 18th C New England
• Plantation houses from the Deep South
• Not just log cabins—historic architecture of the West

Wednesday, 24th January 2018 - John Ericson

• The Shakers 

Friday, 23rd February 2018 - Peter Medhurst

• American music: Stephen Foster, Charles Ives, Samuel Barber and many others

Wednesday, 28th March 2018 - Mary Alexander

• A celebration of New York: The city as a fulcrum of creativity and innovation.

For further details please click here.

For an application form click here.

The Study Day will take place in the Parkinson Lecture Theate of the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.

The day will comprise lectures on the history of the Abbey from its founding in 1117 to its dissolution in 1539, and what life was like for the canons and lay helpers. There will be an opportunity to visit the Corinium Museum to see four of the 12th century illustrated manuscripts which are being loaned to the Museum by Oxford colleges and the Bodleian library, and which will be on display in Cirencester for the first time since 1539.

For the detailed Programme please click here

For an Booking Form please click here

Eveline Eaton, a lecturer in Fine Arts as well as a Tour Guide in Berlin, Munich and Dresden, will be giving us a special Study Day on two German cities: Bavaria’s fascinating capital, Munich, and Dresden. 

For details of this Study Day please click here.

To read the report on the Study Day please click here.

To view some of the photographs taken click here.

Click here for a report on this very successful Special Interest Day.