Lectures

March 17 2026 – The World’s Greatest Paintings: 200 years of the National Gallery

The lecture tells the story of the establishment of the National Gallery collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s government purchased 38 paintings for £57,000. 

Simon Whitehouse has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion and art.

April 21 2026 – Dame Laura Knight: The first woman to be elected as a full member of the Royal Academy

In 1936 Dame Laura Knight became the first woman to be elected as a full member of the Royal Academy in London, 168 years after its establishment. She was the only woman to be given War Commissions in both the First and Second World Wars and the only British artist to cover the Nuremberg Trials of 1946

Rosalind Whyte is an experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich.

May 19 2026 – Murano Glass: The Jewel of Venice

We explore how Murano became the epicentre of excellence for glassmaking across the world.

Laurie Wickwire has over 35 years in the diamond industry and is the on-air diamond expert for the international television shopping channel QVC.

June 16 2026 – 1968: The Year that Changed the Direction of Art?

In 1968 a series of major events shook the world and artists responded to the changing times by making work that challenged the traditional assumptions of art. 

Anna Moszynska is a London-based lecturer and writer specialising in contemporary art. During the 1990s, she oversaw the development of the subject as the first Master’s Degree at Sotheby’s Institute