Lectures
All society lectures start at 11.00am at the Victoria Hall.
Members may apply to the Membership Secretary for PRIOR PERMISSION to bring
one guest to two meetings per year. Restrictions will apply to numbers using the
hall. Guests must be booked in by the Monday prior to the lecture. A fee of £5 is
charged for each guest.
Programme 2024/25 membership year
27 February 2025
JAMES WRIGHT
Historic Building Mythbusting
In his book ‘Historic Building Mythbusting’ the archaeologist James Wright, a
resident of Nottinghamshire, has used many case studies from the county to
articulate some of the tales which are told about ancient architecture.
These include stories of secret passages underneath Wollaton, ship timbers in
Worksop, strange sculptures at Laxton parish church, stones used by archers to
sharpen arrows in Wilford, and yarns about Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem being the
oldest inn in England… but are any of these stories true?
27 March 2025
JUSTIN REAY
Can Computers Cry? Art touches human emotions which machines cannot
feel.
Art of all kinds can touch us and make us respond, often beyond the expectation of
the artist. Happiness, sadness, pity, compassion, a spiritual uplifting, curiosity, all
human emotions which even the most sophisticated digital programming will never
match.
Justin demonstrates how art arises from human imagination to feed our emotions,
and discusses the difference between mere imitation of the physical world – which
even robots can be taught to do – and the creation of truly human art which
enhances our lives.
24 April 2025
IAN COCKBURN
Moorish Architecture – the Legacy of a Vanished kingdom
The Alhambra of Granada, the Great
Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of
Seville are the three most impressive
monuments to the architectural creativity of
the Moors in Spain, but there are many
other examples worthy of mention too.
The classical origins that influenced the
Moorish style are less well-known, but
fascinating to explore, as too is the unique
interior decorative style developed by the
Moors, which gives their architecture its
beauty and exotic appeal – an appeal so
strong that the Christians sometimes
copied it, even as they slowly reconquered the territory from its Islamic rulers.
This lecture provides a comprehensive introduction to the peninsula’s Moorish
architecture.
Moorish Architecture - An building in the city of Massawa, Eritrea.
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
22 May 2025
HILARY WILLIAMS
The Frick and Wallace Collections and Their Link with Knole
Details nearer the date.
26 June 2025
SALLY HOBAN
The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Midlands
Many people are familiar with the national designers of
the 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement such as
William Morris and Charles Ashbee. But the Midlands
made a huge contribution to the movement as well.
Designers at The Bromsgrove Guild of Handicrafts for
example produced the exquisite wrought iron gates for
Buckingham Palace.
This lecture sets the work of these Midlands designers in
the context of the national Arts and Crafts Movement
using examples of jewellery made by Arthur and
Georgina Gaskin, stained glass by Florence Camm,
ceramics from the Ruskin Pottery and more.
Plaquette portrait of Georgie Gaskin (1913), by her husband Arthur Gaskin,
now in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust
There is no meeting in July
28 August 2025
LUCY HUGHES-HALLET
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham – the Handsomest Man in Europe and
Patron of the Arts
A king's favourite who amassed a great art collection.
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was the favourite of
King James I - who addressed him as ‘my sweet child and
wife’ - and subsequently chief minister to King Charles I.
Buckingham was a beauty, and he surrounded himself with
beautiful things. He enjoyed exquisite clothes, like the
fabulous white silk suit encrusted with diamonds that he
wore to visit the Queen of France. He was a superb dancer.
When he cut capers during a court masque King James
startled visiting ambassadors by shouting out ‘By God,
George, I love you!’
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Public domain
Followed by the summer lunch
Venue to be confirmed.
25 September 2025
RUPERT DICKENS
Rembrandt’s hand: a question of attribution
What makes a genuine Rembrandt?
This question has dogged museums and art
historians since the great Dutch master’s
reputation soared to prominence at the end of
the 19th century. The Rembrandt Research
Project tried for nearly five decades to pare down
the painter’s oeuvre, using the latest technology
and a barrage of experts. But a backlash in the
1990s cause many disavowed Rembrandts to be
put back on the list.
This lecture charts the ebb and flow of Rembrandt attribution and tries to answer the
question: who decides? Science or the subjective eye of the connoisseur.
Philosopher in Meditation (or Interior with Tobit and Anna) by Rembrandt
Louvre, Paris
Preceded by the AGM
23 October 2025
ANNALIE TALENT
Becoming Jane Austen: The Birth of a Literary Superstar
I write only for fame… Jane Austen
Detail of a portrait of Jane Austen.
From a watercolour by James Andrews of Maidenhead based on an
unfinished work by Cassandra Austen. Public domain
The start of the new membership year 2025/26
27 November 2025
MARIE-ANNE MANCIO
The History of American Art in 25 iconic works
To celebrate the 250th
anniversary of the
Declaration of
Independence in America,
explore 25 iconic works
including Grant Wood’s
‘American Gothic,’ Dorothea
Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother,’
Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ of
American art.
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942, Edward Hopper. Public domain
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