Nothing in art is by accident. Everything you see has been left for us to see by the artist. Some of the objects are unusual, some rare and some strange. This lecture will explore works of art from a variety of periods and styles and examine the devil in the detail!

Opera is an elaborate, even extravagant, art form. It requires the work of composers, librettists, conductors, directors, designers, wardrobe, wig and prop technicians, as well as orchestra, chorus, soloists, stage crew and an audience in front of which to perform. Simon Rees has been given access by his former company, Welsh National Opera, to use photographs of every step of the production. This lecture will explain set models, costume designs, making workshops, wardrobe and wigs, rehearsals with orchestra, soloists and chorus, and the run-up to the dress-rehearsal and the first night.

In Britain, little is known about Germany’s unique post-WW2 process of remembrance and the efforts undertaken to find art forms that honour the victims of one of history’s darkest periods.

With all traditional forms of memorial deemed irrelevant and inappropriate, German artists were faced with questions of apology and atonement. But how do you express national guilt and shame rather than pride and patriotism? How do you remember what you would rather forget?

The ensuing culture of ‘counter memorials’ with their aim to keep the memories and lessons of the past alive in the individual psyches of the people, is extraordinary, brave, and inspiring. With her Anglo-German roots and personal connection to the subject, Angela is ideally placed to give insights into this hugely interesting and topical subject.

Although his name is generally thrown in with the Impressionists, Manet is a quite independent artist whose reputation stands alone.  Elegant, well mannered and fashionable, this sophisticated Parisian absorbed the ideas of the old masters and redefined them in the language of the real world around him: the cafes, the dance halls and cabarets of the city. Crackling with light and energy, and the incomparable brilliance of his brushwork, these paintings shocked and appalled the public at the time but have earned him the unrivalled status in history of being the first painter of the modern world.

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was the favourite of King James I - who addressed him as ‘my sweet child and wife’ - and subsequently chief minister to King Charles I. Buckingham was a beauty, and he surrounded himself with beautiful things. He enjoyed exquisite clothes, like the fabulous white silk suit encrusted with diamonds that he wore to visit the Queen of France. He was a superb dancer. When he cut capers during a court masque, King James startled visiting ambassadors by shouting out ‘By God, George, I love you!’ Buckingham was a discerning patron. Inigo Jones renovated his houses. John Tradescant was his garden designer.  In his great house on the Strand he put together a collection of art works as fine as King Charles’s

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away.  Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. 

Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer.  His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey, which capture with great artistry, new and amazing landscapes, within which a remarkable human drama is played out. The aim of the lecture is to record Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.

We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, carol singing, present giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times. This lecture is based on Siobhain’s book with Alison Weir 'A Tudor Christmas'. It was a twelve day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway; so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in an age of tumultuous religious upheaval.

This lecture will consider the importance of Dutch and English delftware for the history of European pottery and how these wares dominated seventeenth century ceramic production. It will begin with a brief history of tin-glazed earthenware, concentrating on the material and techniques employed, and go on to discuss the emergence of the town of Delft as a major production centre. It will demonstrate the impact of Chinese blue and white porcelain on the wares of both countries, along with other stylistic developments such as the great ‘flower pyramids’ made for the court of William and Mary, the importance of delftware for the pharmacy, commemorative wares and the development of the ‘blue-dash’ charger.

In June 1520 Henry VIII and Francis 1 of France met in a field south of Calais for 18 days of various events and entertainments staged to display the skill and splendour of each King and country. The English logistics for this spectacular event are staggering, and the adornment of the Field, the temporary palace and everyone present is equally fascinating. How was it all achieved?

2020 was the 500th Anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold.

Tyntesfield, one of the last great Victorian country houses still intact with its original contents, was to be broken up until being saved for the Nation at the eleventh hour a few years ago.  Now owned by The National Trust, the story of the house, the family who created it and its dramatic rescue make this an entertaining, informative and very popular lecture.

Why were they created and what and who did they represent?  In the 19th century sailing ships with their colourful figureheads were a regular sight but now just a few figureheads survive.

The 'poor little rich girl' who changed the face of twentieth century art.  Not only was Peggy Guggenheim ahead of her time, she was the woman who helped define it.  She discovered and nurtured a new generation of artists producing a new kind of art.  Through collecting not only art but the artists themselves, her life was as radical as her collection.

This lecture explores the history of chairs and seating solutions from the ancient right up to the modern day.  Often taken for granted, chairs have preoccupied the minds of some of the greatest thinkers and designers in history.  As both symbols of power and humble vernacular fireside seats, this talk will take you on a historic trip through the development of the chair.

From the wax seal to the microchip, man has exploited the skill of the artist and artisan in his attempt to manufacture a forgery-proof document.  Taking you through three centuries of passport design, this lecture explains the overt and uncovers the covert to illustrate the defences built into the passport and the tricks the forger uses to defeat them

Murder, poison, corruption and incest: all perfect ingredients for sensational popular culture.  But in an age known for its brutality and church corruption, were the Borgias so bad?  The lecture reveals the real family that dominated the Papacy and Italian politics during the last decade of the 15th century.  Sometimes truth is more intoxicating than myth!

The UK provides some of the most impressive ceremonial events in the world. But why is that? How do the military prepare for major events such as the State Opening of Parliament, State visits, National Day of Remembrance, Royal weddings or even a State funeral ?

The Impressionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries produced some of the finest snow paintings in the history of art.  Although the 17th century Dutch masters had painted snow, it was not a common subject amongst landscape painters until its rediscovery by the Impressionists.  Monet, Pissarro and Sisley all painted snow but they were by no means the only Impressionists to have painted snow and ice.  The Norwegian artist, Frits Thurlow, was a master of depicting snow but, perhaps, the most impressive snow paintings were done by the American Impressionists capturing the silence, beauty and grandeur of an American winter.

The lecture explores the history of Persian tilework primarily through the monuments of the most beautiful of all Persian cities, Isfahan, although it will also refer to buildings elsewhere in Iran.  From simple monochrome, turquoise inlays in the 12th century, tilework in Iran developed in both polychromality and decorative complexity until, by the 17th century, enormous architectural surfaces were covered with brilliant ornament.  But then comes the surprise, for in the 19th century, tiles are used for the first time to tell a story.

The discovery of the grave of Richard 111 in Leicester raised an army of new and fascinating questions.The severe scoliosis exhibited by the skeleton revealed that the twisted physique of Shakespeare’s “lack Legend” was based in fact. How could a diminutive person with a significant spinal condition have become a skilled practitioner of the knightly fighting arts? What would his armour have looked like and how might it have disguised the King’s condition, presenting him as a powerful warrior?