Alice tackles two giants of British figure painting: Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. This lecture is a celebration of the chaotic and the carnal, evoking the spirit of 1960s Soho nightlife. 

Fleshy models, furious drinking habits, fractious tempers and fabulous fame combine in the story of these artists, whose life-long competition had lasting impact on each other and the art world. 

If you like paint, passion and personality, this talk is for you.

Image © National Portrait Gallery, London / Francis Bacon; Lucian Freud © Harry Diamond 1974

Biography

Alice White is a contemporary oil-painter, and a Tutor at the University of the Arts London and University College London. She has provided Guest Lectures at King's College London, The Art Workers' Guild, the Courtauld Institute of Art. 

Her essay 'A Painter's Perspective' is published in Alfred Cohen: An American Artist in Europe (Alfred Cohen Art Foundation and Ben Uri Gallery 2020). Her article ‘How to Look at Painting’ was printed in The Art Society Magazine (July 2020).  

Alice’s solo show 'A New Wave' documented her year’s residency as Artist for Animals at ZSL London Zoo. Recent projects include 'The Art of Science' (Scott Polar Institute, University of Cambridge 2021). She regularly exhibits at the Mall Galleries in London.  

The Alhambra of Granada, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of Seville are the three most impressive monuments to the architectural creativity of the Moors in Spain, but there are many other examples worthy of mention too. The classical origins that influenced the Moorish style are less well-known, but fascinating to explore, as too is the unique interior decorative style developed by the Moors, which gives their architecture its beauty and exotic appeal – an appeal so strong that the Christians sometimes copied it, even as they slowly reconquered the territory from its Islamic rulers. This lecture provides a comprehensive introduction to the peninsula’s Moorish architecture.

Biography 

Art historian with a BA (Birkbeck College) in art history and an MA (Courtauld Institute of Art) in medieval Spanish art history. Specialist in the nearly 800 years of Moorish occupation and Christian reconquest of medieval Iberia.  Founder and director of an art tours company, specialising in guided cultural tours in Spain and other areas in Europe, and lectures for The Arts Society, plus occasional lectures at institutions such as the V&A, SOAS, Christies Education, and the London Art History Society. Formerly a Chartered Accountant and senior manager in multi-national IT companies, with extensive public-speaking experience.

For a great many members of The Arts Society, the cartoonist Carl Giles was as much a part of the festive season as the Christmas tree, crackers and the Queen's Speech. So popular were the Giles annuals as Christmas presents that they helped to make him Britain's best loved, most successful and wealthiest cartoonist. The talk looks at Giles's life and work with a particular emphasis on his seasonal cartoons, particularly those featuring Grandma and the Giles family. They include some of his funniest cartoons but, as the art historian William Feaver pointed out, they also demonstrate that he had few equals when it came to representing Britain in Winter. 

Biography 

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and abc Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate. 

Rembrandt (1606-1669), was the renowned Master of the Amsterdam School. It was at the cosmopolitan centre of a network of amazing international trading connections. Through looking at the circles of patronage of his art, we see the complex, fluid society of this commercial and cultural centre in its Golden Age. We see why his famous Night Watch was and is so much more than just a group portrait, as magnificent as it is: why has it become an icon of The Netherlands? Medics, lawyers, the powerful new bourgeoisie, burghers and men of religion were all Rembrandt’s subjects, as were his family. Works in drawing, etching and painting are included. We see how Rembrandt offers a brilliant window onto a spectacular age.

Biography

Formerly a curator and Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, now Art History Education Officer in the Department of Learning & National Partnerships at the Museum. Lectures for BM and Wallace Collection. Founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. Specialist in 17th century art and has published on Rembrandt. Hilary has vast experience of giving gallery talks, of lecturing and of leading art history tours in UK, Europe, New York and Boston. For the Royal Collection Trust, she has guided Special Interest Private Tours of the State Apartments at Buckingham Palace.

One of our greatest composers, Edward Elgar was an extraordinary man.  Brought up in a provincial town, his father a piano tuner and the owner of a music shop, Elgar was completely self-taught as a musician, evidence of the strong determination behind his original and unique genius. His path to recognition was hard and bitter.  He had to contend with the prejudices of the British musical establishment, religious bigotry (he was a Roman Catholic) and with the entrenched class-consciousness of late Victorian provincial society.  However, with his wife Alice as his staunchest supporter, from a hesitant start with pieces written for his local music societies, to cantatas celebrating Britain’s history, “King Olaf” and “Caractacus”, he finally achieved national and international success with his “Variations on an original theme (Enigma)” of 1899.  This work demonstrates remarkable technical mastery of form and orchestration and above all an individual and forceful personality.  He went on to create two of the greatest of the 20th century's symphonies, the magnificent oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius” and two concertos, for violin and cello, among the finest ever written. And of course, he expresses a vigorous patriotism in his “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”. This lecture, illustrated with many notable musical examples, explores the development of this contradictory musician, always wracked with self-doubt, and explains how his music expresses a quintessential Englishness.

Biography 

Roger was a chorister at Wells Cathedral School and a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with an honours degree in English. He combined a teaching career with professional singing in London, and after obtaining a further degree in Music became Director of Music at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College in Edinburgh. After retiring in 2003 he returned to the south of England. He is President Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society.

Just why did Scandinavian Modern design become so popular in the mid-century and how did it turn from a revolutionary movement into just another style? And was there a dark side to it? Because lurking in the shadows was a Nordic project to change consumer taste and shape the model citizen using scientific experimentation and social engineering. 

This lecture concentrates on the height of Scandinavian Modern design in the 1950s, when it took America and Europe by storm. It unpicks the machinations behind the scenes which led to the creation of modern classics.  It examines 19th century design reform, leading to the functionalist and ideological roots of Scandinavian Modern in the 1920s and 1930s.  It shows how design became a key propaganda tool of the Nordic social democratic project until well into the 1960s. 

It also explains how Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway broke away from Bauhaus and International Style to create softer, more organic furniture and graceful ceramics, glassware and textiles. But, using IKEA catalogues from the period, it shows just how resistant consumers were to the new, state-sanctioned, clean lines.  

Featuring designers such as Bruno Mathsson, Josef Frank, Astrid Sampe, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, Tapio Wirkkala and Alvar Aalto, the talk explores just how ‘democratic’ Scandinavian design really was and asks whether our conception of it is based on a marketing myth, concealing hidden treasures, appalling copies and regional variations. 

The presentation revolves around three ground-breaking exhibitions: The Stockholm Exhibition (1930), Design in Scandinavia (1954-1957) and H55, Helsingborg (1955) to show how global conceptions of Scandinavian Modern became so completely different. And finally there are tips for how to survive an afternoon in IKEA, by learning to identify what really is Scandinavian Modern and what isn't.

Biography 

James Vaux is a researcher and lecturer specialising in Nordic arts, culture, design and history. He has presented extensively on diverse topics throughout his career to demanding audiences across the globe, including CEOs and government ministers. His talks now focus on understanding art through its historic, cultural and political context.  

James aims to question conventional art world narratives about painters, designers and movements, to unveil the hidden forces that lie beneath great art.

James took a law degree at Oxford with First Class Honours and qualified as a solicitor before switching career. As a managing director of the international bank Rothschild, he advised governments and corporates worldwide. He set up and ran the bank’s Nordic operations, living and working in Scandinavia and immersing himself in the countries’ arts, culture and history. James then gained an MA (Distinction) at UCL in Language, Culture and History (Scandinavian Studies). His dissertation was on Swedish design, and he specialised in landscapes, the Viking Age, politics and literature. 

He studied interior design and art history at the Inchbald School, Mid-Century Modern at Sotheby’s Institute and electronic music at Point Blank. He has also been a DJ, promoter, record label owner, hosted a local radio show for four years and ran a pop-up community cinema. He is currently chairman of the Oxford University Society of West Sussex.