Haute Couture is an art form, inseparable from fashion, that achieved some of its finest momentsduring the years following World War II. During this period, Paris reaffirmed its position as theCapital of Fashion and...
The British Crown Jewels are an unchanging jewelled anchor, whilst all around us changes.Delve into the history & beauty of the Crowns, Sceptre, Orb and other royal jewels used duringthe coronation ceremony. Diamond industry...
Ancient Greek painted pottery is greatly admired, and with good reason. This talk, lavishly illustrated with both slides and video, will attempt to make the beauty of Greek ceramics more readily accessible and comprehensible....
Portraiture is a quintessentially renaissance art form which evolved in response to new ideas about realism, likeness and posterity. This lecture looks at its development in Italy and the north, across a variety of...
Loaded with symbolism, the colour blue creates meaning, provokes emotion and ignites memory on a personal, and a cultural level, throughout the world. From the scared shade of Ultramarine, to the ancient roots of...
What is the Bayeux Tapestry really all about? A power struggle, dynastic rivalries, broken promises, diplomatic relations in peril, military prowess and the building of a super power? How was this amazing document in...
In 1943, the German SS officers in charge of Auschwitz-Birkenau ordered that an orchestra should be formed among the female prisoners. Forty-seven women and girls were drafted into a hurriedly-assembled band that would play...
Before he was a famous artist - or indeed an artist at all - Vincent Van Gogh was a disgruntled art salesman, a failed suitor, and a would-be teacher. We glimpse Vincent's life through...
It’s hard to laugh at something too immediate. The surest sign that something serious has finished is when you can laugh at it. The end of the British Empire, which started with the partition...
E H Shepard loved Christmas, and this lecture describes, including his own words much of the magic and joy of successive festive seasons, from those of his own childhood to others throughout his long...