Andy Warhol is remembered as the king of pop art who embraced celebrity and consumerism, and would become an American icon. Yet there is a lesser-known side to him: the shy, gay son of immigrants whose prolific, experimental and inclusive artistic practice enabled a counterculture that would play a part in transforming modern art.

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Bill's working career was in finance, firstly as an accountant with BT. He joined St Michael's Financial Services (now M&S Money) shortly after they were established in the mid-1980s as Head of Customer Service. He then became the UK Chairman of the Consumer Credit Trade Association.  He took early retirement and embarked on a completely different career as a tour manager, escorting groups of people to various destinations around the world. During this time he was able to indulge his love of Modern Art, visiting galleries across the globe. He started lecturing on cruise ships in 2013, talking about Modern Art and his other great passion, Rock and Roll music.

It is possible to ‘read’ the passage of time, movements, cultures and peoples in the architecture and art forms evident in many of our English country churches. These lectures take us through four overarching eras from the pre-Christian era, through the arrival of the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Normans and onwards to the sixteenth century and the epoch changing Tudors. Beyond the Tudors we move into the establishment of a new Protestant England. Later the profoundly destructive changes of the seventeenth century Commonwealth era are followed by restoration and liturgical change.

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A graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge, Nicholas trained for the Anglican ministry at Ripon Hall, Oxford. Inspired by a period working on the staff of Coventry Cathedral he has gained a wide experience of international matters. He was formerly Bishop-elect for the Diocese of Lake Malawi in Central Africa (2005-2009) and undertook his doctorate on Lay Anglican Ecclesiology - a study in five countries, with the University of Wales. Nicholas has a particular interest in the period of the English Reformation and the associated cultural, architectural and social changes it has produced. He lectures regularly and assists as a priest in London.

In 1936 Dame Laura Knight became the first woman to be elected as a full member of the Royal Academy in London, 168 years after its establishment. In her extraordinary career she painted landscapes, portraits and seascapes, as well as scenes from the circus, the ballet and the theatre. She was the only woman to be given War Commissions in both the First and Second World Wars and the only British artist to cover the Nuremberg Trials of 1946. This lecture provides an overview of her fascinating career and some of the remarkable achievements of her long life. 

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Rosalind has a BA and MA from Goldsmith’s College, and an MA (distinction) from Birkbeck College. Experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. Lectures at Tate, to independent art societies and on cruises.

Sèvres was the most illustrious and innovative porcelain factory in 18th Century France, employing brilliant artisans as painters, modellers, gilders and technicians. Spectacular vases and finely decorated dining services made at Sèvres added lustre and glamour to the grandest of state rooms and the most intimate of boudoirs in the nearby Palace of Versailles. These objects of desire were sought after by the nobility during Europe's Ancien Régime, by English collectors such as the Prince Regent and, generations later, by a new moneyed aristocracy in America's 'Gilded Age'. However, the origins of this most fashionable porcelain factory were very different.

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Anne has been a lecturer and guide at the Victoria and Albert Museum for more than 20 years and has given regular gallery talks at the British Museum. She was a lecturer for the Royal Collection Trust for 14 years, including 10 years guiding private tours of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. She is a visiting lecturer for Sotheby's Institute and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Since 2008, she has been a member of the London faculty of Eckerd College, Florida, teaching Art History. She lectures extensively for private groups, including the Arts Society and has lectured on William Morris for the British Council and British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow. After studying Modern History at Durham University, she trained and became a senior specialist in ceramics at the head offices in London of Bonhams (1981-1986) and Christie's (1987-1995). From 1995 to 2002, she was resident in Shanghai, China and gave lectures on the history of the China trade and European Chinoiserie to the international community of diplomats and expatriates in Shanghai and Beijing. On returning to London in 2002, she worked on a short project cataloguing Chinese ceramics at Kensington Palace and became Hon Membership Secretary and Treasurer of the French Porcelain Society.

From the time we were in the cradle we have been learning to make sense of what we see. As our brains develop so does our ability to interpret the increasingly sophisticated world we experience. 

We live in an increasingly visual environment. Images are all around us, not just in art galleries and museums but from the media and the world in general. But how well and how accurately do we interpret our visual world. 

A fundamental part of becoming visually literate is the skill of ‘reading pictures’ and like any other skill it needs to be learned and practised.

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John was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world. Over the last decade he has been a popular speaker on the Arts Society circuit in the UK and Europe as well as a frequent visitor to the societies in Australia and New Zealand. 

It seems to us, living in the 21st century, inconceivable that, on your travels you would purchase a one ton statue of a Mother and Daughter dating from c.96 AD, such as is to be found in the Entrance Hall at Chatsworth. Yet this is exactly what the English Milords were doing in 18th century Italy as they conducted their Grand Tour round Italy. Their enthusiasm for ancient sculpture was fostered by their education, heavily weighted towards the study of the classics. The classics were a measure of their refinement, their position in society and more broadly an awareness of the relevance of the culture of Greece and Rome to the conduct of modern (18th century) society. To possess a physical piece of that ancient world in the shape of a piece of sculpture, marked you not only, at least, as a man of fashion but more importantly as a man of culture and learning. A “virtuoso”.

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Nicholas's career has mirrored his abiding interest in antiques. He has worked for some of the major auction houses in London as well as running his own book business devoted to the decorative and fine arts. His particular interest is English 18th century furniture and country houses; he enjoys discussing objects, particularly in their historical context. He lectures extensively in the USA, South Africa, Europe and UK, including the V&A, as well as for the principal cruise lines. Former Chairman of the West Yorkshire Art Fund. He arranges specialist short breaks for collectors and a range of prestigious clients including groups of The Arts Society who enjoy visiting the treasures of the UK.   

In 1660 Samuel Pepys made a diary entry ‘I did send for a cup of tea – a China drink – of which I had never drunk before’. But the story of tea drinking had started  in China over a thousand years earlier, and by the 13th century the famous rituals of tea, ‘cha no yu’ were established in Japan. By the 18th century tea was the fashionable drink throughout Europe – subject to crippling taxes and still only available from China, frequently adulterated along the way. Differences between green and black teas, blends, additions of sugar, milk or lemon, smuggling, British rituals – even opium - all form background to the great British Cuppa. Tea tastings can complete the event.

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Amanda read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge University. 1978-1988 Curator at Museum of London specialising in the decorative arts 1714 to present day, exhibitions, lectures, booklets, broadcasts. 1988-1995 moved with family to Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. 1995 returned to UK, fundraising for arts companies, writing, lecturing and guiding tours to Japan and of gardens and general history in Scotland. Curated exhibition on Japanese plants and gardens in London and Edinburgh as part of Japan/British celebrations in 2001. Catalogued over 2500 oil paintings for Southern Scotland for the ArtUK project for entry.

In 1951, up and down the country, the nation celebrated. It celebrated with events from the lavish displays on the South Bank of the Thames and at Battersea to the events held on village greens and in village halls across the land.  A nation still recovering from the physical, financial and mental struggles of the recent World War decided to hold a party for the country. This talk will consider the reasons why the Festival was held, some of the characters involved, what motivated them and the resulting events and the wonderful design, art and architecture that flourished during the Festival year.

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I have worked with the fine and decorative arts all my life. I have worked as an auctioneer and valuer with a number of firms. I am currently a senior valuer and head of department at Lawrences in Crewkerne, one of the country's leading provincial auctioneers. I have also worked in Higher Education as Course Leader and a Senior Lecturer on the no longer extant Fine Arts Valuation Degree at Southampton Solent University. I taught on a range of subjects including furniture, silver art and design history. I completed a PhD in the Arts and Crafts Movement and have written on design history for a number of publications. I have current research interests in ‘Great Exhibitions’, ‘Post War Design and Architecture’ and ‘The Crafts in Post War Britain’.  I love to give talks to all sorts of different groups on the fine and decorative arts, my interests in the various Great Exhibitions since 1851 and Post War architecture and design are amongst my current favourite talks

The past decade has seen the meteoric rise of this extraordinarily versatile British designer with his acclaimed Olympic cauldron, the iconic new London bus and designs for a spectacular new HQ building in King's Cross for Google. Over the last thirty years the Heatherwick Studio has used an intriguing combination of curiosity and experimentation to produce a vast range of solutions to design challenges around the world. This talk looks at the problems presented, and the wonderfully creative ways in which Heatherwick and his team have responded. Lecture only – but see study day: Brilliance of British Architects and Designers

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A Londoner with a contagious enthusiasm for art and architecture, Ian is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral. He is also a freelance London tour guide. Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in West London. He is an Accredited Lecturer of The Arts Society and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

The story of the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to the Virgin Mary as told in St Luke’s gospel, has inspired some of the most beautiful images in Western Art. These include Simone Martini’s altarpiece for Siena Cathedral, now in the Uffizi Gallery and Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. The earliest depiction of the Annunciation is thought to date back to the 2nd century AD. Since then, the narrative has been reimagined by numerous artists including Van Eyck, Botticelli, Dürer and Rossetti. This lecture will take you on a journey through a range of different depictions of the Annunciation and explore the ways in which artists have captured this pivotal moment of the Christian story. A perfect subject for the Christmas season or to mark the Feast of the Annunciation on 25th March.

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Sarah Burles studied History of Art at Cambridge University before doing a master’s degree at University College London. She went on to have a career in museum and gallery education, establishing new services in three different museums before working at the Fitzwilliam Museum for many years. Sarah is the founder of Cambridge Art Tours, which runs tours and courses in and around East Anglia, as well as online. She is a Tour Director for an award winning travel company and has led tours to Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and America. Sarah became an Arts Society accredited lecturer in 2021 and, since then, has given lectures and run study days for Arts Societies throughout the UK, as well as in Germany, Holland and New Zealand.

Manchester Art Gallery has a rich history and a fine collection of works of local, national and international significance. This lecture focuses on some of the best-loved works, from Dutch Golden Age genre scenes, to the outstanding examples of Pre-Raphaelite works, to contemporary works of sculpture.

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Julia has loved looking at art since discovering the work of Gustav Klimt while teaching English in Austria as part of her German degree course at the University of Durham. She spent the first part of her career teaching German, then did a Master’s in Teaching English at the University of Manchester, and went on to teach international students in the city. She became a tour guide at Manchester Art Gallery in 2015 and after leaving language teaching in 2018 she has loved spending all her time sharing her passion for art as a speaker to many different groups - apart from when she is wild swimming or learning Scottish Gaelic!  She became an Accredited Lecturer of The Arts Society in 2020, specialising in Scottish art from 1880 and the art of Manchester. She and her astronomer husband love to travel around Europe and take every opportunity to visit art galleries wherever they go, but Scotland has always been their favourite destination!

During this lecture we will look at the work of André le Nôtre, royal gardener to Louis XIV and the magnificent gardens he created for the ‘Sun King ’ at Versailles. We will examine the laying out of the formal terraces, the great tree-lined walks and the vast expanses of water. We will discuss the glorification of the King through the iconography of the statues and great fountain groups; and the importance of playing water to make the gardens come alive. We will also look at the extravagant entertainments that took place within the grounds; and the summer houses and pleasure pavilions where the King was able to escape from the thronging crowds.

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Jane holds an MA in the History of Art from the University of London. She trained at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where she continues to lecture. She spent 17 years as a Senior Lecturer at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, ultimately becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby’s UK.

Her extensive lecturing experience includes engagements with the National Trust, the Art Fund, the University of London, Buckingham University, and l’Institut d’Études Supérieures des Arts in Paris. She has also taught at a private women’s college in Saudi Arabia, delivered lectures on cruise ships, and spoken at antiques fairs and interior design conferences across the United States.

In the 1880s, the fishing village of Newlyn in the far West of Cornwall became a mecca for rural realist painters, who documented the lives of the local community in their beautiful and moving paintings. This talk will outline the key characteristics of this famous art movement, introducing the ‘father of the Newlyn School’ Stanhope Forbes and his talented wife Elizabeth (nee Armstrong), along with a host of their fellow artists, including Frank Bramley, Walter Langley, Albert Chevallier Tayler and Henry Scott Tuke tales, as well as some of the real-life characters they depicted.

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Since graduating in History of Art from Nottingham University in 1986, Alison Bevan (née Lloyd) has spent her entire career working in public art galleries. Starting out at the Graham Sutherland Gallery in her home county of Pembrokeshire, she then spent ten years organising and curating exhibitions at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea, where she honed her broadcast media skills, including presenting a weekly Arts News feature on BBC Radio Wales, 1995-6.

In 1999, Alison took up the role of Director of Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance. Here she became an acknowledged expert on the Newlyn, Lamorna and St Ives artists colonies (1880-1940), a subject on which has lectured in the UK, USA and France. She raised the profile of this area of art through initiating national and international touring exhibitions, and contributing to numerous publications and television programmes, and in 2013 was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Cultural Heritage in Cornwall.

From 2013-2024, Alison was Director of the RWA (Royal West of England Academy) – Britain’s only regional Royal Academy of Art: an extraordinary historic institution whose Academicians have included leading figures of the Newlyn School and Bloomsbury Group, and today include Sir Peter Blake, Sir Frank Bowling and Eileen Cooper.

Now based in Chepstow and working as a freelance lecturer, curator and consultant, she is also Chair of Bristol Museums’ Oversight Board; a Fellow of the Museums Association, and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Bristol.