Dame Agatha Christie has been dead for more than forty years but remains a household name and is still the bestselling author of all time. Fellow crime writer Diane Janes…

Churchill came to fine art in middle age. This lecture explains why the great man began to paint, the subjects he chose and the style he adopted. All-comers welcome. Includes…

This lecture will appeal to those with an interest in art and cultural history. This talk will explain the significance of this extraordinary work painted at a time when Europe…

To complement the exhibition Rossetti’s Portraits at the Holburne Museum, Bath, this lecture will not only expand upon the foundation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, its original membership and philosophy within…

The Wilton Diptych is one of the treasures of the National Gallery in London.  The diptych commemorates King Richard II and is a rarity being one of very few medieval…

The twentieth century’s single greatest contribution to the Arts – namely film- also saw the birth of curse of the Mummy in films. Indeed Hollywood and Ancient Egypt have been…

This lecture will look at and assess the rise of and demands for lifelike portraiture amongst the growing wealthy elites of Northern Europe. In turn the employment of new materials…

This lecture will look at and assess the rise of and demands for lifelike portraiture amongst the growing wealthy elites of Northern Europe. In turn the employment of new materials…

Since Le Corbusier’s famous quote in 1923 (Toward an Architecture) Modernist architects have grappled with the seemingly impossible conundrum of creating an efficient and beautiful yet warm and inviting home.…

This lecture will examine the lengthy and often chequered history of the provision of housing and specialist developments, both rural and urban, from estate cottages to Port Sunlight to Portmeirion,…

Alexander II was grandfather to Nicholas II, the last of Russia’s Tsars.  He introduced the first Glasnost or thawing of Russian absolutism, but rather than making things better it made…

The coastal town of Honfleur in Normandy was a popular destination for artists in the early 19th century.  It was also home to Eugene Boudin who was one of the…