We look forward to seeing you at our lecture in February on “Ancient Egyptian Treasures in the Ashmolean Museum”. This museum houses one of the finest collections of Egyptian antiquities in the U.K. The lecture will be given by Lucia Gahlin who has degrees in Egyptology and Ancient History from University College London, has done archaeological research and excavation in Egypt, and usually visits Egypt six or seven times a year.  She teaches at several universities,including Warwick, writes books and leads study tours.

Other information which is mainly of interest to our members will be in the Newsletter which will be emailed to members later this month. (there will be a few paper copies at the February lecture meeting)

Members can purchase two tickets for the price of one for the concert on the 26th January details of which are on the programme card. Mention RLSDFAS when you telephone Leamington Music.

Felicity Furber (Chairman)

May I remind members who are going to Waddesdon Manor on the 3rd December to take their National Trust cards with them as otherwise they will need to pay an entry charge.

On the 25th November Dr Sally Dormer, a graduate of the Courtald Institute, will be talking to us on The Christmas Story in Medieval Art. Sally is a specialist in Medieval Art history and is a very experienced lecturer. I am sure her lecture will be of the same high standard as we have enjoyed in our first two this season. We hope you will be able to come.

Felicity Furber.

The Day Visit to Waddesdon Manor is fully booked and there is a waiting list.

There are still a few tickets available for the Study day on John Singer Sargent on the 20th November and they will be on sale at the lecture on the 4th November at £40-00 (which includes a hot lunch). I am sure that the day will be particularly interesting to all who enjoyed the recent exhibition of Sargent’s work in London.

Other current exhibitions relevant to our lectures are:

Goya: The Portraits at the National gallery until early January. This  shows many of the paintings that we saw in Gail Turner’s lecture on Goya in February 2015.

Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern World at Tate Britain (until 25th October) and Making It – Sculpture in Britain 1977 – 1986 at the Mead Gallery, Warwick university until the end of November, both of which are relevant to Justine Hopkin’s lecture on 7th October.

I shall be putting on the noticeboard, on 4th November, a list showing where the sculptures which Justine discussed can be seen.

Unfortunately, the projected trip to Malta organized through Cox and Kings has had to be abandoned. The group was not quite large enough to be financially viable. A replacement holiday plan, still going to Malta, is being investigated. More information on this will be posted as soon as possible.

Our lecturer on the 4th November, Mr Peter Warwick, was born in Kenilworth. He is a man of many talents being an historian, an author, a lecturer, and an advisor on television documentaries.  He has a particular interest in cold and icy places and will be lecturing to us on: Antarctica, the Tragic Beauty of Ice. It promises to be a fascinating lecture so I hope you will be able to join us.

Henry Worsley will be trekking in the Antarctic very shortly to raise funds for the Endeavour Fund. It was suggested to me by one of our members that some RLSDFAS members might like to get another view of life in Antarctica by following his progress on his website http://shackletonsolo.org/ http://shackletonsolo.org/

Felicity Furber.

May I remind members who are going to Waddesdon Manor on the 3rd December to take their National Trust cards as otherwise they will have to pay extra for admission.

On 25th November Dr Sally Dormer, a graduate of the Courtald Institute, will be talking to us on the Christmas  Story in Medieval Art.  Sally specialised in medieval art history and is a very experienced lecturer. I believe that this lecture will be of the same high standard as the first two in this current series.

Felicity Furber

In February 2015 a study day was given, at the Glebe Hotel, Barford, by Anne Howarth, entitled ‘Spain, a history of Art, Power and Passion – A Memory of Al Andalus’.  This was chosen to link with  our short break to Andalucia, and gave us a good deal of information about many of the places we later visited. It also covered  the history, geography, art and architecture of the area.
In November 2014, at the same hotel, Ann Clements presented a most illuminating day to us on ‘ Three Scandinavian Painters – Splendour and Surprises’- featuring the painters Anders Zorn, Karl Larsson and Wilhelm Hammershoi. It was a most enlightening day, prompting several questions from the audience, and giving people an insight into a somewhat hitherto little known genre of painting.
In November 2013 our study day was  given by Anne Howarth, and was entitled ‘3000 Years of Chinese Civilisation’. It covered art, history and culture from the Quin Shi Huang Di dynasty (259 – 210 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was a most interesting and informative day which we enjoyed very much.

Wednesday 6th July 2016

Marc Chagall and the Supremacy of Blue

Hilary Guise

Marc Chagall was the quintessential alien in exile, saying “My homeland exists only in my exiled soul.” Sombre early Russian works gave way to heady Cubism before settling into a more narrative style.   Chagall has a childlike innocence also using significant religious themes to produce powerful and joyous images. Deep blue is the colour of wisdom and dominates much of his work, both in paintings and stained glass.