Lectures

September 15, Caravaggio – Murderer or Genius

Julia Musgrave

Caravaggio’s paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more. His style spread across Europe and gave rise to the international movement known as ‘Caravaggism’. Yet for many, Caravaggio is famed as much for his art as for his criminal record. Was it the violence of his times or his own violent spirit that inspired the dramatic lighting and intense naturalism of his work? This lecture follows the dramatic incidents of the artist’s life and looks at why and how his influence spread so far.

Julia was awarded a Graduate Diploma in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. She gained her PhD at the University of York for her research into the Bloomsbury Group and the social networks of the British art world. She teaches Art History in London.

October 20, Gardens of the Restoration, garden design and garden-themed embroidery, 1660–1720 

Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Royalist landowners returning from exile after Charles II’s Restoration in 1660 brought with them new tastes in garden design and a flowering of Italianate garden design. Lucy will show us paintings and plans of new gardens created during the late Stuart period. Many of them by Dutch and Flemish artists, the paintings are as lovely now as these magnificent gardens once were. We will also see colourful 17th century embroidery and decode messages about politics, domestic harmony and humanity's place in the natural world.

Lucy’s most recent book on the 17th century Duke of Buckingham, The Scapegoat, won two awards. Her previous biography, The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio won several awards and was described in The Sunday Times as ‘the biography of the decade’. She also writes fiction. Her novel, Peculiar Ground, is set in the 17th century and received outstanding reviews. Lucy is a widely- respected critic who was Chair of the Judges for the 2021 International Booker Prize

November 17, Public Art

David Worthington

Public Art is a contentious subject. How does it come to appear in our public spaces? This lecture tracks the development of public art over the last century and looks at various examples to see why some are loved and others loathed. It explains the process of procurement from commission to installation. Drawing from his own experience, David takes the audience through this process and tries to show why we all benefit from the presence of art on the streets.

David was drawn to abstract sculpture when he saw a Barbara Hepworth as schoolboy. He graduated from Oxford University and then studied fine art in London, Barcelona and New York. He was shortlisted for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2009. David is a Fellow and former Vice President of The Royal Society of Sculptors. He has carried out public commissions across the world and has had numerous solo shows.

December 15, Harp and Holly, history, design and music with a seasonal flavour

Margaret Watson

We will be joining Margaret for a seasonal hour of Christmas bygones and entertainment as she brings to life the joy of Christmas music through the ages. She will be delving into the history of the harp and exploring traditional Christmas carols as well as playing a selection of festive favourites.

Margaret trained as a harpist and has performed before the royal family and in numerous prestigious venues. She is a member of the charity which provides bedside concerts for patients and disabled people in hospitals, hospices and care centres. With her varied repertoire and resplendent costumes, she has delighted audiences throughout the UK.

2027

January 19, In the Frosty Season: How the Romantics invented winter

Annalie Talent

“But when first the ice fell on the lake, and the whole lake was frozen…O my God! What sublime scenery have I beheld”. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1799 

During the Romantic period, there was a surge of artistic interest in the season of winter. Coleridge and Caspar David Friedrich were inspired by sublime winter landscapes; Wordsworth and Henry Raeburn created ice-skating scenes in verse and painting. This seasonal lecture will explore the interest in winter of the Romantic writers and artists and how their legacy has affected our own ideas.

Following a career in teaching, Annalie worked at museums across the UK, including the Wordsworth Trust and Wordsworth House in Cumbria, Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire (where she won the Sandford Award for Excellence in Heritage Education) and the Ashmolean in Oxford. She has a particular interest in promoting Austen’s work to young people. Annalie’s lectures focus on Romantic and Victorian literature, using her knowledge and personal experience of literary houses to offer a unique perspective on writers and their works.

February 16, The Genius of Beethoven

Peter Medhurst

Every morning of his adult life, Beethoven measured out exactly 60 coffee beans for his breakfast. The man capable of such discipline over a cup of coffee, applied this exactness to his music. The detail found in his music is often so subtle that people do not even know it’s there. This lecture explores Beethoven’s genius, setting his extraordinary story against the backdrop of 19th century politics and social change. Beethoven died nearly 200 years ago on 26 March 1827.

Peter appears in the UK and abroad as a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

March 16, Rome in the 1700s – The Grand Tour 

Stuart Harvey 

The Grand Tourists of the 1700s changed the art world. Rome was filled with wealthy travellers, many from Britain, not only visiting the great works of art and architecture but also looking for artefacts for their family collections. This lecture will highlight some of the most famous visitors to Rome and will introduce fascinating characters who assisted them in Rome in this lucrative new market.

Stuart is a lecturer and guide with 30 years’ experience. He is a qualified guide in London and Rome. He has worked in educational tourism since 1992, leading study tours all over Europe. Living in Rome since 2003, Stuart has a great love for the Eternal City and its many treasures. In addition to his primary career as full-time Rome tourist guide, Stuart’s lively lectures bring to life the rich artistic and historical wealth of Rome’s 28 centuries.

April 20, Princess Louise: an Aesthetic sculptor locked away in the Royal Archives, 

Lucinda Hawksley

When Lucinda was researching her biographies of Lizzie Siddal and Kate Perugini, she came across a mysterious princess who attended studio parties and was linked with several scandals. She was amazed to discover that Princess Louise was a daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a well-respected sculptor. Her fascinating life and legacy had been locked away in the Royal Archives since her death in 1939. Researching her biography was like being a detective, so she titled her book The Mystery of Princess Louise.

Lucinda is an author, broadcaster and lecturer who has worked on TV and radio worldwide. She has written three biographies of female artists: Kate Perugini (née Dickens), Princess Louise and Lizzie Siddal. Her other books are numerous, covering subjects as diverse as Dickens, railway stations and beards in art! Lucinda’s many TV credits include Miriam’s Dickensian Christmas, a show she created with Miriam Margolyes and Charles Dickens with Gyles Brandreth. She is a great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens and a Patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. In 2024 she became the President of the International Dickens Fellowship.

May 18, Gustav Klimt: Imperial Muralist turned Radical Painter

Gavin Plumley 

Klimt was one of the most prominent figures in the Viennese fin de siècle, creating paintings whose sexual themes and bold use of colour and gold shocked the public. Less is known about his early years as a muralist for the grand municipal buildings and royal and aristocratic palaces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This lecture looks at the many changes in Klimt's life and his rejection of public pomp.

Gavin is a writer and broadcaster who appears on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines and concert programmes worldwide as well as speaking at literary festivals and numerous eminent institutions. He lectures widely on the culture of Central Europe. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, was published in 2022; his second, The Gay Apocalypse: Queer Life and Culture in Vienna 1900 will be published next year.

June 15, She Loves You (The Music of the Sixties 1960–64)

Steve King

By 1960 interest in rock ‘n’ roll had started to fade, its biggest star was moving on and a new generation of teenagers were seeking something different. It came in the form of the Beatles, who broke all the rules and all the records. This is the story of the first five years of the 1960s, one of the most creative and innovative periods in the history of music, featuring all the major artists, important songs and principal musical genres.

Steve has spent 35 years working in the radio industry as a Broadcaster, Programmer and Events Director. He has managed some of the biggest radio brands in the UK and has interviewed and worked with many popular music artists. He has directed over 50 multi-artist events at major venues. Steve is an entertaining and experienced who has produced a series of lectures based on his extensive knowledge of popular music and experiences in radio.