NBAS LECTURE: 24 JUNE 2025 - Susan Kay-Williams – Tapestries: The ultimate wall decoration.
Image taken by Susan Kay-Williams. 'Lady and the Unicorn' tapestry Musée de Cluny in Paris.
NBAS LECTURE: 27 MAY 2025 - cArol wilhide-justin - Katsushika Hokusai and JMW Turner
Carol is a practising artist herself, specialising in Japanese Woodcut giving her a unique artist’s insight to the work. She also brings books, prints and her own printmaking tools to show at the beginning and end of the lecture. (Image: Katsushika Hokusai The Great Wave off Kanagawa 1830).
Both images public domain and kindly provided by Carol Wilhide Justin
NBAS LECTURE: 29 April 2025 – Paula Nuttall – Urbino, The Palace of the Courtier: ducal Treasures, the paintings by Piero della Francesca
The Ducal Palace of Urbino is the most perfect of Italian renaissance palaces and the creation of soldier-prince, Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, to showcase his prodigious wealth and impeccable taste. Paula’s lecture takes us on a tour of the palace, from the exquisitely proportioned courtyard and vast throne room, to the gemlike private study and functional apartments.
Paula Nuttall is a specialist in Renaissance art, both Italian and northern European, on which she has published widely, notably From Flanders to Florence: the Impact of Netherlandish Painting 1400-1500(Yale, 2004). She has collaborated on major exhibitions including Jan van Eyck: an Optical Revolution (Ghent, 2020). Before retiring in 2023, Paula was Director of the V&A Medieval but she now focuses on the Arts Society, her own online courses, and research.
NBAS LECTURE - 25 MARCH - MATTHEW WILSON: A HISTORY OF WORLD ART IN 5 SYMBOLS. Its complex language with intriguing backstories and influences
During our March lecture, Matthew will explain how the complex language of symbols in artwork such as plants, animals and objects have hidden meanings and how they have evolved. By examining the backstories of falcons, sunflowers, skulls, fountains and dogs in art, this lecture will provide a unique insight into artworks from around the world and through time. Matthew studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute and is an author, lecturer and educator. As a freelance journalist he writes for numerous publications, He has written two books on symbolism – ‘Symbols in Art’ (Thames & Hudson, 2020) and ‘The Hidden Language of Symbols’ (Thames & Hudson 2022).
nbas 25 FEBRUARY lecture: James Allan ‘Calligeofiguresques: How to get a handle on Islamic art’
This lecture introduces Islamic art through its three most widely appreciated non-representational strands, Arabic calligraphy (the Islamic art form par excellence), geometry, and the arabesque. However, it also explores the figural side of Islamic art, and shows how widespread figural art really is - even, most surprisingly, in some religious settings. James Allan was curator of the Islamic collection and Keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, where he also set up an inter-faith exhibition service and taught Islamic art and architecture. He leads tours in the Middle East and has published numerous articles and books on Islamic art, the most recent being, The Art and Architecture of Twelver Shi'ism: Iraq, Iran and the Indian Subcontinent.
nbas 28 january 2025 lecture: colin schindler "gotta Dance"
This lecture,‘Gotta Dance: the Hollywood Musical’, looks at the evolution of the Hollywood musical from the beginning of the sound revolution in 1929, through its glory years in the golden age of Hollywood, to its near disappearance at the end of the studio era. Colin also considers its occasional revival in recent years through ‘The Producers’ and ‘Chicago’. Colin Schindler has been involved with American and British social and cultural history for over 30 years. He has written and produced radio plays, films and television, including producing ‘Lovejoy’. He is well known for having chosen the music for ‘Juliet Bravo’. His publications include ‘Hollywood Goes To War: Films & American Society 1939-1952 ‘ and ‘Hollywood in Crisis: Films & American Society,1929-1939’.
NBAS ZOOM LECTURE: 2pm, 14 JANUARY 2025 - ANNA MOSZYNSKA - VIRTUAL TOUR OF MOMA new york - a trip around this iconic gallery
An opportunity to ‘travel’ to New York and experience the excitement of visiting this famous Museum of Modern Art. Established in 1929 and newly extended in 2019, MoMA offers a superb range of artworks from Impressionism to the present day, as well as collections of photography and design. On this virtual trip, Anna introduces the fascinating history and architecture of the museum and then tours the art collection over different floors, looking closely at specific pieces and seeing how they resonate with other works close by. The talk offers a lively view of modern and contemporary artists ranging from Vincent Van Gogh to Cindy Sherman. Anna Moszynskais an internationally renowned lecturer and writer specialising in contemporary art. During the 1990s, she oversaw the development of the first British Master’s Degree in the subject at Sotheby’s Institute, London. Her books include Abstract Art (1990/2020) and Sculpture Now (2013), and two books on the drawings of Antony Gormley.
NBAS 26 november LECTURE: Sarah Ciacci - The holiday season: food and feasting in art
an artistic mid-season celebration that helps spur people on towards spring
The Holiday Season: Food and Feasting in Art: Christmas is historically a time for feasting and celebrations, in large part because it occurs in the middle of the dark and cold days of winter, so a mid-season celebration with lots of food and drink helped spur people on towards the spring. In this talk we will look at how food and feasting is depicted in paintings. Sarah Ciaccihas an MA in History of Art (Late 19th century French Painting and 20th Century Art) from University College London. She has been a Blue Badge Guide for London since 2008, specialising in art, museums and galleries. Since 2008 she has trained Blue Badge Guides in the National Gallery and is an art lecturer for trainee guides in Tate Britain and Tate Modern.
NBAS 29 OCTOBER LECTURE: Peter Medhurst – Handle in Georgian England 1711-1759
Peter Medhurst tells the story of Handel's musical adventures in London
From the moment the 25 year old Handel arrived in London, in 1710, he was welcomed onto the English musical scene with open arms, and for the next 30 years composed Italian operas which in the main were premiered at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket. When operatic taste waned in the 1730s, the ever-resourceful Handel turned his skills to a completely new form of entertainment: oratorio, and works such as Messiah, Theodore and Solomon instantly appealed to a national sense of religious piety. Add to these works a handful of Royal commissions, concertos, sonatas - and even tunes for musical clocks - and you glimpse a composer whose musical variety was reflected in an equally diverse and colourful life.
nbas 24 sEPTEMBER lecture: Julia musgrave - Cézanne and Van Gogh: Death as a career move. The journey from unsold to blockbuster and the importance of the art dealers
To celebrate the National Gallery's autumn blockbuster exhibition, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers (14 September 2024 – 19 January 2025), this lecture explores how Van Gogh and his contemporary, Paul Cézanne made little impact on the public mind during their lifetimes. Both were rebels with art as their cause – Van Gogh painted quickly, exploiting the power of vibrant colour to express his emotions. Cézanne’s analytical approach led him to ponder each and every brushstroke. Neither sold much in their lifetim. In this lecture I look at how the work of Van Gogh and Cézanne went from unsold to blockbuster in the early years of the 20th century because a few brave, but important art dealers and critics decided to sponsor them posthumously. Julia Musgrave got her first degree in Chemical Engineering and went on to become a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and IT project manager. In 2008 she decided that life was too short for just one career and decided to become an art historian. She now has a Graduate Diploma in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. She gained her Ph.D. at the University of York. I
NBAS 25 June 2024 Lecture – The Jurassic World of Mary Anning - The 19th century palaeontologist and her discovery of fossils on the South coast
Dr Aaron Hunter is a professional scientist and researcher with the University of Cambridge and a prize-winning London Blue Badge Guide, a Green Badge Guide for the City of London and Oxford, and a City of Bath Mayor's Guide. As a palaeontologist, he is an expert on fossils and prehistoric life.
He will talk about the 19th century palaeontologist Mary Anning and discover how she searched the Jurassic rocks of England's south coast to unearth what were believed to be sea dragons and we now call marine reptiles. We will look at the social history and influences on Mary and the 19th century scientists that she would have worked with. We will not only look at these spectacular fossil remains, but also see how palaeontologists have revealed how these ancient extinct animals lived.
NBAS Lecture 28.5.24: James Renshaw - Two Hellenistic Cities: Alexandria and Pergamon - HOW THESE CITIES CHANGED THE ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, THEIR LEGACY EXAMINED
By 323 BC Alexander the Great had conquered the Persian empire and launched a new era of Mediterranean history, known today as the Hellenistic Age. The world had changed, and soon two cities emerged as centres of extraordinary culture and learning. In Egypt, Alexander conceived a vision of a new city to take his name: Alexandria. It soon became the intellectual hub of the ancient world, which saw extraordinary discoveries in science and mathematics, philosophy, and medicine. Its library was the greatest of the ancient world; moreover, its lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
NBAS LECTURE: 30 APRIL 2024 BY ANNA MOSZYNSKA FRESH ENCOUNTERS: CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE AND THE PUBLIC SPACE
The role of outdoor sculpture has changed substantially in recent times. Here I consider how the concept of elevated monument and memorial, familiar since classical antiquity, shifts now to a desire to engage the spectator in often surprising ways. In this talk, I look at different approaches to sculpture in the city; the emergence of the Sculpture Park across the globe; how artists make new works involving water; and how recent sculpture often involves exciting and unusual encounters with the public. Among the international figures discussed are Louise Bourgeois, Antony Gormley, Simone Leigh, Maya Lin, Richard Serra and Do Ho Suh - artists who also feature in my book, 'Sculpture Now'.
NBAS Lecture: 26 March 2024 by Vivienne Lawes - Clarice Cliff: the doyenne of Art Deco. A great innovator, how the bar was set for ceramics as a commercial art form
This lecture explores an artist whose work, inventiveness, and ability to catch the zeitgeist is still admired a century after her bold 'Bizarre' wares were launched in 1927. These Art Deco masterpieces are the products that most vividly signify Clarice Cliff's legacy. She spent a lifetime innovating. Born in 1899, she was a working professional whose lifespan covered the period in which women broke through the barriers of the art world. While the Royal Academy barred women from accessing the full training and privileges of their male counterparts, the pottery industry was one that had traditionally offered female artists the opportunities to excel. Cliff's talents were recognised when she was still a teenager, and she went on to produce designs that keyed into the cutting-edge trends of the period, setting the bar for ceramics as a commercial art form.
Details of some of our previous lectures can be found here.