LECTURE PROGRAMME - 2021
NOTE: As of September 2020 until further notice lectures will be delivered live over the internet using the video-conferencing tool Zoom, and not in the traditional face-to-face format in the Guildhall. This is further to government rules regarding COVI-19. Full details for joining will be sent to members a few days before each lecture. Where the original lecturer is unable to deliver over the internet, you Programme Secretary has chosen alternates. These have been marked "Changed" The dates and times remain the same. Non-members are welcome to join the lecture. Please send a request to ’see’ the lecture by contacting us via info@tass.org.uk. A donation of £5.0 would be very welcome
Please note the new lecture starting time of 7:00 pm.
4th January 2021
Peggy Guggenheim
Alexander Epps explores how the 'Poor little rich girl' helped change the face of twentieth century art. Helping define the time, Peggy Guggenheim discovered and nurtured a new generation of twentieth century artists and art
1st February 2021
Caravaggio: the Master of Light and Shadow
Shirley Smith: studies the dramatic personal life and revolutionary style of painting of this enigmatic man and of his influence on later artists
1st March 2021
Lawrence of Arabia: Excavating a Legend
Neil Faulkner, revisits Lawrence of Arabia looking at sensational new evidence from archaeological fieldwork which contrasts the legend with the true story of what happened in the famous desert war of 1916 to 1918.
12th April 2021
Anna Jackson: Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
Anna Jackson, Victoria and Albert Museum. The Kimono is an iconic garment. A symbol of Japanese national culture and sensibility it is generally perceived as a traditional, unchanging costume. This talk counters that conception, revealing that the Kimono has always been a highly dynamic, fashionable garment. She also explores the major impact the kimono has exerted on global dress styles since the 17th century.
10th May 2021
Turner vs Constable - The Great British Paint Off
Nichola Moorby tells the story of the epic rivalry between the two giants of British art, JMW Turner and John Constable. The subject too provides an enjoyable overview of the British art world during the 19th Century.
7th June 2021
Urbino: The Palace of the Courtier (replacement)
Paula Nuttall, A tour of the ducal palace of Ubino the most perfect of Italian Renaissance palaces.
5th July 2021
SUPPER EVENING, replaced with a zoom lecture, due to circumstances beyond our control.
The Genius of Beethoven
Peter Medhurst will give an excellent lecture on Beethoven's life and his key works, his composing and styles and illustrate throughout with live examples.
6th September 2021
The Cathars
Imogen Corrigan: Crusaded against by the church and the subjects of the first Inquisition, Imogen questions who they were, their beliefs and whether they were the dangerous sect sweeping through Europe or merely a growing group of people trying to find God.
4th October 2021
A Window on Russia: The History of the Hermitage
Rosamund Bartlett This lecture charts the history of one of the world's largest museums, from its foundation in 1764 through to the 21st century. The Hermitage's eventful history provides a revealing window into the peculiarities and paradoxes of imperial and Soviet Russia.
1st November 2021
Faber and Faber
Tony Faber Tony Faber traces the history of Faber and Faber through its illustrations, covers and designs. As the grandson of the founder he grew up steeped in its books and is passionate about the firm's success.
6th December 2021
Restoring the Arte of Kent: The Conservation of Paintings from Kentish Collections
Sarah Cove as an Accredited Paintings Conservator, Sarah has worked on painting from Kentish Art Collections for over 25 years. This lecture discusses their conservation and restoration and is illustrated with paintings that Sarah has treated from public and private collections in Kent
LECTURE PROGRAMME - 2020
NOTE: As of September 2020 until further notice lectures will be delivered live over the internet using the video-conferencing tool Zoom, and not in the traditional face-to-face format in the Guildhall. This is further to government rules regarding COVI-19. Full details for joining will be sent to members a few days before each lecture. Where the original lecturer is unable to deliver over the internet, you Programme Secretary has chosen alternates. These have been marked "Changed" The dates and times remain the same. Non-members are welcome to join the lecture. Please send a request to ’see’ the lecture by contacting us via info@tass.org.uk. A donation of £5.0 would be very welcome
Please note the new lecture starting time of 7:00 pm.
6th January 2020
GPO – The Night Train
Howard Smith describes the birth of documentary films in the 1930s with clips from Victorian and Edwardian films, through the experimental Soviet era to the 129 films produced by the GPO Film Unit in seven years, including “Night Mail” with poetry by W H Auden and music by Benjamin Britten.
3rd February 2020
Pearls, Pomegranates, Peacocks and Pipes – The Hidden Language of Renaissance Art
Shirley Smith: With a wealth of hidden symbolism, this lecture aims to peel back the layers of Renaissance art by deciphering the meaning of some of these symbols – spiritual and secular, virginal and vulgar - enabling us to read the paintings as they were intended.
2nd March 2020
It’s Not Just Tchaikovsky.
Nigel Bates, Musical Administrator of the Royal Ballet, explores the music chosen by choreographers through the years, proving that the right piece with the right moves and design can create modern masterpieces and timeless classics, from the grandness of Imperial Russia with Swan Lake, to the current modern repertoire of the Royal Ballet.
6th April 2020 - Postponed until March 2021
John Ruskin - Impact, Achievement & Legacy
David Cross describes one of the greatest Victorian polymaths, as a painter, a significant collector of paintings and a perceptive critic. A scholar of Northern Gothic and a supporter of the education of women, he endowed a museum for working men at Sheffield and, in the Arts & Crafts movement, he advocated high quality workmanship
11th May 2020 - Postponed until May 2021
Turner vs Constable - The Great British Paint Off
Nichola Moorby tells the story of the epic rivalry between the two giants of British art, JMW Turner and John Constable. These two geniuses transformed the art of landscape - but who will ultimately be crowned star painter?.
1st June 2020 - Postponed until June 2021
Medieval Illuminated Books of Hours
Christopher de Hamel looks at what a Book of Hours comprises, who commissioned them and how they were used. They are the most famous late medieval illuminated manuscripts, full of enchanting illustrations and decorated borders showing scenes of daily life in the late Middle Ages.
Friday 3rd July 2020 - Postponed until July 2021
SUPPER EVENING (for members only and guests)
The Good Gnus
Three musical humourists including Dr David Flood, Organist and Master of Canterbury Cathedral Choir Boys, provide an evening of fun, quick fire wit and gentle satire, all wrapped in songs in the manner of “Flanders & Swan”. Enjoy tales of warthogs and gnus and the sad tale of the honeysuckle and the bindweed.
7th September 2020 (ZOOM)
The Subtle Science & Exact Art of Colour in English Garden Design
Timothy Walker: In 1888 Gertrude Jekyll wrote in The Garden that readers “should remember that in a garden we are painting a picture”. This talk looks at how to apply these principles in designing a border and shows how the contemporary works of Turner, Monet and Hockney evolved with ideas of what a garden should look like.
5th October 2020 (ZOOM)
The Material Culture of Al-Andalus
Ian Cockburn tells the story of the Moorish invasion and the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, through an introduction to the surviving architecture and other areas of material culture such as silk textiles, carved ivory caskets, bronzed sculptures and refined ceramics.
2nd November 2020 (ZOOM)
Poets, Painters & Private Lives in 19th century Venice
Douglas Skeggs delivers a personal tour of 19th century Venice in search of painters, poets and authors and the strange and often bizarre lives they led in the city; the customs and rituals they found and the rich and varied succession of images they created that ultimately transformed the hard city of the Venetian Republic into the romantic legend it is today.
9th November 2020 – AGM (ZOOM)
There will be no lecture. The AGM is for members only. Papers will be sent in advance with opportunity for voting, and it will be held via a special AGM Committee meeting. They will include the Agenda, the Chair's Report, the Annual Accounts, and any resolutions from members for voting.
7th December 2020 (Changed, ZOOM)
“Celebrate, Rejoice, Rise Up!”: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Glorious Christmas Oratorio.
In this illustrated talk Sandy Burnett explores how Bach brings the Christmas story alive. An overview of Bach’s life and achievement precedes a close look at the forms of music which this work draws on..
4th January 2021 (Changed, ZOOM)
Peggy Guggenheim
Alexandra Epps explores how the ‘Poor little rich girl’ helped change the face of twentieth century art. Helping define the time, Peggy Guggenheim discovered and nurtured a new generation of twentieth century artists and art.
LECTURE PROGRAMME - 2019
7th January 2019
Thomas Heatherwick
Anthea Streeter talks about this important British designer. His Olympic Cauldron with its giant ring of fire was a memorable sight at the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012, and his innovative approach is now in demand all over the world.
4th February 2019
The Chair – 2000 Years of Sitting Down!
Marc Allum, Antiques Roadshow specialist, takes a look at the history and evolution of the chair. From the ancient humble forest-turners’ chair to the fantastical designs of the 1960s, Marc explores why the design of the chair continues to absorb some of the greatest minds in history.
4th March 2019
Empress Cixi (1835-1908) Behind the Yellow Silk Screen
David Rosier provides an insight into the achievements of one of the most important women in Chinese Imperial history. Looking beyond Cixi’s desire to force China into the modern world we look into her life within her beloved Summer Palace with a focus on her passion for painting, embroidery, fashion design and the extensive gardens, where she forged some close relationships with leading western women.
1st April 2019
The Glamour Years – Jewellery & Fashion from 1929 to 1959
Andrew Prince shows how the rise of cinema and Hollywood had such an important impact on fashion and jewellery design. From Dietrich to Grace Kelly, he guides us through the Screen Goddesses and how they were portrayed.
13th May 2019
Sunken Treasure – Tales of Oriental Shipwreck Porcelain
Mary Conte-Helm traces the history of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain and the export trade along the Silk Roads. She recounts tales of shipwrecks, lost cargoes and recovery of sunken treasures that have increased our understanding of this porcelain and its wider commercial impact on trade between East and West.
3rd June 2019
A Brief Story of Wine
David Wright takes us on a journey through the many deep and diverse roles wine has played in society over the last 7000 years, illuminating the story with drawings, paintings, engravings, buildings, pottery and wine labels themselves.
Friday 5th July 2019
SUPPER EVENING
Giles: His Life, Times & Cartoons
Barry Venning discusses the cartoonist, Carl Giles, and his much-loved creation, Grandma Giles – that fearsome, black-clad, gambling, drinking, battle-axe – because she allowed him to voice through his cartoons what he was too polite to say in person. However, this likeable and humane satirist was also a war correspondent who witnessed the horrors of Belsen, where he found that the camp commandant was also a great fan of his work
2nd September 2019
John Singer Sargeant – Prince of Portraits and More
Clyde Binfield discusses the artist who was a paid-up member of the cosmopolitan elite: Born in Italy, educated in France, looks like a German, speaks like an Englishman and paints like a Spaniard. His portraits made him, and his landscapes rejuvenated him.
7th October 2019
Vincent van Gogh – His Life & Letters
Lucrezia Walker asks the question about why van Gogh is so famous. We know the Sunflowers, Starry Night, his self-portraits, the bright prismatic colour applied with energetic strokes of the brush. We know his life was not an easy one. What makes his paintings instantly recognizable? What happened during his short life, and afterwards to transform him into the world’s best-loved artist?
4th November 2019 – AGM 7.30pm
Velasquez – The Great Magician of Art
Douglas Skeggs describes this 17C Spanish artist as one of the most influential painters in the history of art. By the age of twenty-four, he was the only artist permitted to paint the King of Spain. His breathtaking and daring use of paint has been admired by generations of artists from Whistler to Picasso, who famously described him as The Great Magician of Art.
2nd December 2019
Wonder Workers and the Art of Illusion
Bertie Pearce takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the history of mystery from 3000BC to the 21C. From the beginning of time the fascination with magic and the impossible has been widespread throughout the world, where sleight of hand proves that the hand is quicker than the eye.