Douglas is one of our regular lecturers and many members had the pleasure of hearing him on the Medici in a study day in April. He read Fine Art at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He has been a lecturer on painting since 1980 and has taken tours around Europe. He has written and presented TV documentaries, has presented one-man exhibitions of his own work and published five novels.  

Monet was the driving force of Impressionism. Ambitious, determined and stubborn, he was gifted with extraordinary technical ability and precision. Fame and success finally found him in his later years at Giverny. This promises to be an exciting and informative lecture.  

Members will recognise Marc from his regular appearances on the Antiques Roadshow and will also recall his fascinating talk to us last year on The Festival of Britain. He also regularly writes for magazines and has authored or contributed towards numerous books. He has wide and eclectic interests ranging from pre-history to modern design. We are fortunate to have secured such a busy man. 

This talk has the additional title “and how they fooled the Art World“. Marc has long been a collector of interesting and historical fakes, and this talk deals with some of the greatest exponents of the craft of fakes and forgery. Be warned – you are never going to look at art works in the same way again after hearing this talk. 

Aaron is a professional scientist and researcher with the University of Cambridge. He is a prize-winning London Blue Badge Guide, a Green Badge Guide for the City of London and Oxford, and a City of Bath Mayor’s Guide. He is an expert on fossils and prehistoric life from the first animals to appear on earth. He has a passion for archaeology, history, architecture and history of art. 

This talk deals with the first dinosaur models hidden in a south London park. It will look into the history and science of these Grade 1 listed architectural structures and discover how contemporary scientists thought these creatures looked. We will see how present day scientists think they actually looked – though we are still not sure!

To avoid clashing with Christmas and other events at the venue, this talk is on a Wednesday and on an earlier date than usual 

Nick is a London Blue Badge Guide and a lecturer in History and The Arts. He qualified as a Guide in 2019, winning the award as Guide of the Year. In 2021 he gave the annual Katrine Prince Lecture to members of the Institute of Tourist Guiding. Before guiding, he joined the BBC, where he worked for over 30 years in both television and radio. He helped cover some of the great events in history, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the terrible events of 9/11, from the fall of the Thatcher government to the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  

This talk is about 18th century England through the eyes of Canaletto. The great Venetian artist spent ten years in London producing wonderful landscapes of the City and its surroundings. In this lecture we explore his time in the capital and look at how his style changed during his long visit. We look at some of the work he produced and explore how the views he captured have changed over the centuries.  

John needs no introduction as he is one of our regular lecturers, who never fails to give us a fascinating and informative talk on a variety of subjects. He was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was the Director of Studies in the School of Education. He has worked extensively overseas and undertaken lecture tours in Australia and New Zealand. 

This lecture is an update of a talk John gave us some years ago. It has the addition to the title above “and how we see it“ and is dedicated to an exploration of colour. It is built on the premise that our appreciation of colour, and how we see it, is at the very core of our common interest in art and the arts. What is a colour scheme and why do some colours go well together and others not? 

Eileen has an MA from the Department of Archaeology of the University of London. She is a published author and an authority on the ancient culture of the world, specialising in the ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean and South America. She has written two books on ancient Egypt. 

The most famous of the pre-Columbian cultures, the Inca Empire built a vast empire in less than 200 years. This talk will explain how they did it and will show us examples of their talent for making adornments of gold and other precious materials.

Please note that members are invited to bring guests to this meetng

FREE OF CHARGE 

Aliki was born in Paris and studied at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, the Slade School of Fine Art, London, and the Courtauld Institute, where she was awarded a distinction for her Masters in 17th century painting . She now teaches and is a practising artist, who regularly exhibits her photographic works. 

From the beginning of the Renaissance, in 13th century Italy, to the birth of abstraction, in the 20th century, this lecture charts the main developments in Western European painting, focusing on a selection of acclaimed masterpieces. A truly vast and gripping subject. 

Members will recall Nicholas delivering Part 1 of this fascinating talk in 2025. He is now welcomed back to give us the remaining part. He is a graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge and studied for the Anglican Ministry at Ripon Hall, Oxford. He now lectures regularly and assists as a priest in London. 

This lecture takes us from the Tudor era into the establishment of a new Protestant England, visible in church structures. There followed upheaval with the Commonwealth, and in due course the Gothic revival under the Victorians. Finally, Nicholas will take a brief look at contemporary changes in church buildings.

Please note that this meeting will start at 2.00pm to allow time for a short AGM before the lecture 

For the past 47 years Antony has conserved and disseminated the work of his parents Lee Miller and Roland Penrose. He is the co director (with his daughter Ami) of the Lee Miller Archives and the Penrose Collection at Farley Farm House in Sussex, and has seen his parents’ work featured in many major exhibitions. He has lectured widely, including in Wimborne some time ago, and we are delighted to welcome him back.   

This lecture covers the life of Lee Miller, told with reference to those with whom she exchanged creative inspiration, including Pablo Picasso and Man Ray. This is a definitive view presented by her son and biographer, Antony, and has been widely acclaimed as an accurate portrait of a talented and courageous woman who was a free spirit and a trail blazer.

Warning: This lecture contains war time images which some may find disturbing  

Emma is an Art Historian with a specialist interest in late 19th and early 20th century British art and visual culture. Her career began in the fine art auction world and she has since followed a successful academic career in lecturing, consultancy and advising on fine art valuation. 

The value of Art is something of a mystery, as viewers of programmes like “Fake or Fortune?“ will be aware. Why should a painting, bought for a few pounds in a junk shop, suddenly become worth thousands because it is identified as being by a famous artist? It is still the same painting; it has not undergone some physical change! And what is Art’s value to the human race? Hopefully, Emma will be able to supply some answers.