21st January
Calcutta
The second city of the British Empire in the 19th & 20th century it was India’s capital until 1911. This lecture provides an overview of its arts and architecture and the central role it played in shaping the arts and culture of modern India
John Alexander Stevens
18th February
The Art of the Space Race
Most revolutions in philosophy, science or technology like the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution have an impact upon art. Our lecturer suggests why the Space race and discoveries in the cosmos has so little effect upon 20th century art.
Steve Carroll
Followed by
GET TOGETHER FOR RECENT MEMBERS
18th March
The Life and Work of Textile Designer Marion Dorn
The artistic output of one of the leading textile designers of the 20th century. This lecture will reveal Dorn’s various commissions which included designs for the Savoy Hotel, Eltham Palace, the London Underground and the White House.
Pamela Campbell Johnston
26th March
DAY OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Laughter and Loss, British Artists in WW11
The remarkable achievements of Britain’s official war artists.
A very enjoyable social occasion. 3 lectures and a lunch with wine.
James Russell
15th April
The Mosaics of Ravenna
In 402 AD Ravenna became the capital of the western Roman Empire and continued to prosper under Ostrogoth and then Byzantine rule. This past eminence left Ravenna with a legacy of richly decorated early Christian buildings, which has earned it UNESCO World Heritage site status.
Helen Rufus-Ward
20th May
Undressing Antiques
A persuasive introduction to buying antiques and integrating and using them in today’s homes. The state of the antiques market and the different meanings of the word value are considered.
Mark Hill
17th June
A Brief History of the Piano and Mozart
This lecture/recital will trace the beginnings of the piano and its development into one of the most popular home instruments. We will also look at the piano duet music of Mozart and how, in a very short space of time, the piano took a quantum leap forward.
Stephen Baron
15th July
London’s Lost Department Stores
London’s sumptuous Victorian and Edwardian department stores changed the capital and changed its women. Shoppers of every rank were often undone by the temptations laid out before them in these new ‘cathedrals of desire’.
Tessa Boase
16th September
Creating an Imaginary World
The lecture looks at the relationships between actor and audience. From the Greeks, through pageants, masques, liturgical drama, to court theatre. Then a quick glance at Commedia dell’arte before entering the Elizabethan stage of the Globe and the Fortune and arriving at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane.
Bertie Pearce
21st October
AGM at 10am; followed by
The Golden Age of British Comedy
It ran from the 1970s to the 1980s as we started to drift away from theatres and radios and found ourselves living through a wonderfully rich period of television comedy. Some say this period has never been bettered.
Tyler Butterworth
18th November
The Three Kings – The Real Story
A light-hearted seasonal lecture for Christmas describing what we actually know or rather what we don’t know. We assume they were 3 because they brought 3 gifts. But why gold, frankincense and myrrh?
Tony Rawlings
Followed by:
FESTIVE DRINKS AND MINCE PIES