Ancient rock paintings deep in the Sahara show the artistic skills of semi-nomadic traders 10,000 years ago. It was under the powerful Roman Empire that Leptis Magna was the greatest city in Africa, when local leader Septimius Severus became emperor. Many private villas have only recently been uncovered, showing that the 3rd century AD was the golden age of the finest examples of Roman mosaics and art. The arrival of Islam brought new forms of mosaics, Ottoman-influenced mosques and ornate houses inside the old city of Tripoli.

'The Night Watch' of 1642 is Rembrandt's greatest painting and the most famous painting in the Netherlands. But why is it so special? It has become an icon of the Golden Age and of the modern Dutch Nation. Why? How was it commissioned and constructed?  How did Rembrandt paint it and where has it been hung throughout its life? Who are the characters represented? Why is there a lone woman and what is meant by the dead chicken trussed up in her waistband? What does this all tell us about changing Dutch society? This work redirected how group portraits were conceived.

The Nazis looted over 20% of Western Art during World War II, confiscating art from Jewish families and emptying museums throughout Europe. This lecture will provide an overview of Nazi looting by setting the scene in Nazi Germany, discussing Hitler’s obsession with art and how the Monuments Men recovered art after the war. Several landmark cases will be discussed in detail, including Gustav Klimt’s celebrated Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer and the stash of over 1200 artworks found in possession of the son of a notorious Nazi dealer.

The Impressionists were an innovative and radical group of artists whose work took Paris by storm in the 1870s. Using new colours and techniques, they created paintings of modern life which shocked and horrified the art establishment. From the start the group included women artists but their contribution to Impressionism has often been overshadowed by their male contemporaries. Marie Bracquemond, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt all exhibited regularly at the Impressionist exhibitions alongside artists such as Monet, Renoir and Degas.

In this lecture we trace the story of Covent Garden as the entertainment centre of London. We examine  the origins of two legendary theatres that gave birth to modern West End theatre and meet the stars that shaped the buildings and starred at the theatres: David Garrick, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Augustus Harris. We travel the centuries to encounter the trailblazing women who took Covent Garden by storm including Nell Gwynne, Mrs Siddons and Adelina Patti. We also look at how street entertainment has played a vital part in keeping Covent Garden alive & how despite frequent fires, riots and financial ruin, time and again, the show MUST go on!

This lecture provides a colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular. Features range from sweeping aqueducts to tiny bollards; from colourful historic narrowboats to 'Roses and Castles' artwork; from grand World Heritage Sites to quirky listed buildings. A well-known architectural historian once described our canals as a 'poor man's art gallery'.  

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. The largely forgotten Georgian period of church architecture is examined as church architecture that the Victorians forgot. In turn the great period of church building and gothic revival of the Victorians and the associated innovations of the Oxford and Cambridge movements are examined in detail. Finally, there is a brief look at contemporary changes that have influenced and altered church buildings as the English country church continues to reflect the passing of the ages

The seventeenth century English garden was a highly formal creation, based on the very latest fashions coming out of France, spiced with some Dutch plantsmanship under the influence of William of Orange. Eighteenth century architecture and gardening was a complete reaction to Baroque formalism and symmetry. Vanbrugh, a thorough baroque, if maverick genius, foresaw the rise of the Romanticism, while Repton, at the end of the century, tamed the excesses of the Picturesque. As the century progressed, the trend towards naturalism intensified; the Arcadian landscapes of William Kent, inspired by the Grand Tour and created by, and for, the classically-educated dilettante, were transformed into Elysian visions by Capability Brown. The absolute monarchs who promenaded the formal parterres in 1700, were replaced in Kent’s gardens by the gods and goddesses of classical Rome.By mid century the nymphs and dryads were chased away by swains and shepherdess and, by the end of the century, even they were gone, replaced by Picturesque ruggedness and Gothick horror. Reading list: William Kent by Timothy Mowl. Jonathan Cape 2006 The Omnipotent Magician by Jane Brown, Chatto and Windus 2011 A Little History of British Gardening by Jenny Uglow, Chatto and Windus 2004  

H G Murphy’s greatest misfortune was to die just before the start of the Second World War. The designs and inspirations of the pre-war era were simply seen as passé and totally out of keeping with the new spirit of modernism which quickly grew after the Festival of Britain in 1951. Harry Murphy served his apprenticeship under Henry Wilson, probably Britain’s greatest designer goldsmith of the Arts and Crafts era. Here he learnt a wide range of skills and techniques including enamelling, gem-setting and polishing, niello, engraving and hammering. From 1928 until his death in 1939 he worked from retail premises in Marylebone, London, known as the Falcon Studio where he designed and created a prodigious amount of silverware for the corporate, civic and private sectors as well as some truly startling gold, silver and enamel jewellery inspired by nature, architecture, the Ballet Russes and the vibrancy of the Jazz Age.   

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth. Yet beneath the dazzling veneer of works such as Madame X, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw lurks a much rawer world by far. Sargent certainly scandalised Parisian society and the city’s Salon with his frank depictions of human sexuality, yet he was even more modern than they might have feared. This talk charts the artist’s life and his prolific output, showing that, like the era he came to represent, Sargent was always on the cusp of seismic change.

Pioneer of Pop Art, his New York studio, The Factory, was the place to be in the 1960s and ‘70s. Illustrator, printer, filmmaker, manager of rock band The Velvet Underground, founder of Interview magazine, author of numerous books, creator of iconic pop images of Marilyn, Jackie and Elvis, soup can and coke bottle, and coiner of the expression ‘15 minutes of fame’ Warhol’s own fame continues long after his death, as Prince of Pop Art. 

Follow the struggles to clear Victorian London of its most notorious slums like the Devil’s Acre. Sitting on land mostly owned by nearby Westminster Abbey Charles Dickens fulminated that this slum ‘rolled its filthy wavelets up to the very walls’. The lecture tracks its formation, its conditions, and its people – hawkers and beggars who had been drawn to the city from the impoverished countryside. What was the solution? Smashing a road through it didn’t work, nor did vociferous campaigning or the charity of wealthy philanthropists. The eventual demolition and rebuilding of the area in the 1880s is a fascinating story – housing built then by the Peabody Trust’s renowned architect Henry Derbyshire still stands today. But those beggars and hawkers were replaced by ‘deserving’ tenants. The reformer Octavia Hill championed an alternative approach to the poor which this talk also covers. Often criticised as ‘maternalistic’ this overlooks her prescient understanding of neighbourhood regeneration and her part in founding the National Trust.

Most people love watching and listening to birds, from colourful jays to squawking parakeets, and this lecture enables us to look at them in all their glory. From Aboriginal rock decorations, millennia ago, to the present day, birds appear in many different guises: as hunters and hunted, doves as symbols of peace or the holy spirit.  Or we find them as attributes or the alter ego of gods: for example Juno’s peacocks, Jupiter’s eagle or Minerva’s wise owl. This lecture not only celebrates the beauty of these wonderful wild creatures, but also shows the huge variety of ways in which artists have painted or sculpted them over the years.  As Sir David Attenborough said: “Everyone likes birds.  What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” 

This lecture celebrates the 400th Anniversary of Charles I’s accession to the throne in 1625. Charles I’s obsession for collecting works of art began when as a 22-year-old prince he travelled to Spain and saw the magnificent collection of the Spanish king, Philip IV.  On becoming King in 1625 Charles purchased the fabulous collection of the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua which included works by Titian, Raphael and Andrea Mantegna’s astonishing series of paintings “The Triumphs of Caesar”.  

Charles engaged Peter Paul Rubens to paint the ceiling of the Banqueting House in Whitehall and he appointed Anthony van Dyck as his Court Artist.  By the end of his reign Charles had amassed over 2000 works of art but in doing so he had bankrupted England and alienated his people.  His life ended on the scaffold in 1649 and most of the collection was sold in what was known as “The Commonwealth Sale” in 1650. While many works were retrieved by Charles 2nd during the Restoration others now hang in the great Art Galleries of Europe.

Harry Venning has been a professional cartoonist for thirty years, during which time he has provided cartoons for several high profile UK publications (The Guardian, Radio Times) as well as for countless more obscure titles (British Journal Of Wound Care). He was awarded UK Strip Cartoonist Of The Year for his Guardian strip Clare In The Community, which he adapted into a Radio 4 sitcom. In 'The Art Of The Cartoonist'

Harry will be tracing the history of his profession with examples from early practitioners like Cruickshank and Hogarth, to more contemporary artists such as Giles and Schulz, bringing events right up to date with cartoons produced fresh on the page that day! Yes, Harry will be drawing live. Prepare to hear some tricks of his trade, learn where to put eyebrows for maximum effect and discover exactly what the eskimo brothers said in The Funniest Joke Ever (possibly).

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. Established in 1740 as a pioneering venture within the old royal Château de Vincennes on the eastern side of Paris, far from the radiance of Versailles, the first steps were a struggle against financial collapse and involved a difficult quest to develop a suitable porcelain paste which could tolerate the intense heat of the kiln. The aim was to match the allure of desirable Oriental porcelain and to compete with the pioneering factory at Meissen near Dresden. These early endeavours at Vincennes, encouraged by the patronage of Madame de Pompadour and King Louis XV, witnessed the invention of a fine white soft-paste material, a tactile glaze, exquisite gilding and brilliant jewel-like background colours such as bleu lapis, which emulated lapis lazuli and the vibrant bleu céleste, a turquoise pigment which would become one of Sèvres's signature colours. Vincennes is particularly famous for the making of delicate naturalistic flowers made up into bouquets which adorned vases and clocks or hung from chandeliers. Decorative patterns of  flowers and flying birds were painted with a lightness of touch. After those early years at Vincennes, by 1756 the workshops moved to Sèvres and so began a new golden age for what would become a royal enterprise. 

Anne Haworth was a senior ceramics specialist at Christie's London with more than 20 years experience of working within some of the world's greatest museums and most prestigious art collections.  She works as an independent scholar and historian.

From diplomatic gifts to tokens of love, between the 16th-19th centuries miniatures were commissioned as small portraits which could be held in the hand or placed inside lockets creating an intimate relationship between the owner and sitter.I look at the history of these tiny treasures of art.

The story of two remarkable Victorians and the birth of British Comic Opera.

Their quarter century long partnership began in 1871, when the pair were brought together by the remarkably entrepreneurial theatre manager, Richard D'Oyly-Carte, with whom they collaborated on fourteen unique comic operas.

Enjoy the bouquets, brickbats and their extraordinary popularity and fame. Their success was unprecedented in the history of musical theatre and inspired the likes of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.

A chance discovery of a group of unsigned watercolours of exotic birds and flowers became one of the greatest finds of early Australian paintings ever made. George Roper was a young midshipman on H.M.S. Sirius with connections to Joseph Banks, the great Botanist. Roper’s exquisite watercolours have survived in the most extraordinary condition.

This talk examines the whole voyage, including shipwreck on Norfolk Island.

Clive Stewart-Lockhart attended the Sotheby’s Works of Art Course in London, and began his career with Sotheby’s in Bond Street where he worked in the Valuations Department.

For 38 years he held senior management positions with the two leading UK regional auction houses and was integral to their success. 

As well as being a familiar face on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow for 23 years, he was Chairman of the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers (SOFAA). He is a Founder Liveryman of the Company of Art Scholars and is an accredited lecturer with the Arts Society (formerly NADFAS). Clive speaks regularly on a variety of art related topics, both in the UK and abroad.

He has a broad depth of knowledge acquired through nearly 50 years in the business, and has trusted specialist contacts to enable him to cover most collecting areas. 

Clive is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), a globally recognised professional body.

A fascinating look at how wallpaper developed from the 16th Century, encompassing a huge range of beautiful patterns, created both by anonymous hands and some of the best known designers of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

From the first black and white patterns, to the fashion for all things Chinese and the designs of William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement, to the taste for modernist and contemporary design.

Jo Banham is a freelance curator, lecturer and writer. From 2006-2016 she was Head of Adult Learning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and before that Head of Learning and Access at the National Portrait Gallery, and Head of Public Programmes at Tate Britain. She has also been Curator of Leighton House and Assistant Keeper at the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has published on many aspects of Victorian and early 20th century decoration and interiors. She is currently curating an exhibition on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the Juan March Fundacion in Madrid and the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona. She is also Director of the Victorian Society Summer School.

Between 1874 and 1914 no less than 454 American heiresses exchanged their crisp American dollars for musty, old European titles. Their money was primarily used to restore their husbands’ ancestral piles, many of which today we count amongst our best loved National Treasures. We look at some of these dollar fairy godmothers and the frequently eye opening stories of how couples were matched.

How different artists portrayed the British Countryside. Idyllic views of the landscape, cottages and comely, happy workers, like Foster’s pretty milkmaid, are shown alongside basic interiors of workers’ dwellings and the poor, hardworking labourers. Works by many artists illustrate this lecture on contrasting views.

Some of the most iconic images of the 20th Century were created not for galleries or private patrons but for record sleeves. The zebra-crossing immortalised on the cover of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album has become a place of pilgrimage.

Album covers have been designed by artists such as Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Yoko Ono and a host of other artists and designers.

Charting the history of one of the world's largest museums, from its foundation in 1761 through to the 21st Century. From Catherine the Great and other Russian Czars’ voracious appetite for collecting, plus the addition of priceless collections acquired after the 1917 October Revolution, its eventful history provides a revealing window into the peculiarities of Imperial and Soviet Russia.

In 2006 Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloche-Bauer sold for $135 million, the highest price paid for a painting in the market place. Klimt, leader of the fin-de-siecle Vienna Secession movement, changed the face of painting in the Imperial city of
Vienna, and produced some of the most remarkable works of the Art Nouveau era.