For details, click individual lectures below:
The Arts Society
Royal Leamington Spa
Lecture Programme 2017-2018
The programme this year covers a wide range of topics including references to anniversaries and the local area.
All lectures will be given by The Arts Society accredited lecturers.
Lectures are given in the Avon Hall at the Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, (www.warwickdc.gov.uk).
Lectures are usually held on the first Wednesday of the month from September through to July, but this year there will be no lectures in December or January.
Members are welcome to bring guests, but the same guest may attend only two lectures each season. Guests are asked to sign the Visitors’ Book upon arrival. Donations from guests are welcome.
Lectures start at 11.00 am for Morning members and 2.00 pm for Afternoon members. Members should be in their seats by 10.55 am and 1.55 pm as there are generally some announcements before the lecture. Sessions usually finish by 12.15 pm and 3.15 pm.
Refreshments are available from 10.00 am for Morning members and from 1.00 pm for Afternoon members. There is only one lecture on the 4th July 2018, and that will be after our AGM at 10:30am.
Members are asked to register on arrival by giving the number on their Membership Card to the Membership Secretary.
If you wish to use the hearing loop facility, please collect a headset from reception.
Magyars and Gypsies – Liszt and the Hungarian Nation
Wednesday 6th September 2017
Rosamund Bartlett
Franz Liszt was a cosmopolitan figure – he even visited Leamington Spa –but with the rise of Hungarian nationalism he was increasingly seen as the soul of the Magyar people, a position solidified with his wildly popular Hungarian Rhapsodies. Why did Liszt and others associate Hungarian music with gypsies?
This lecture explores what it was to be Hungarian at the time of the creation of the new capital city of Budapest in 1867, and why the much younger Bartok challenged his view of the Hungarian national style.
“Mars and the Muses” – the Renaissance Art of Armour
Wednesday 4th October 2017
Dr Tobias Capwell
Armour was one of the great Renaissance art forms, but it is often overlooked. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries almost all the richest and most powerful noblemen could be counted as dedicated patrons of the art.
This was an intensely personal art, both expressive and decorative. It also demanded great skill in the sculpting of iron and steel as well as mastery of complex decorative techniques. The end result embodied more complex messages about status and the social order, divine power, and attitudes and identities.
Warwick Castle – A Forgotten Collection
Wednesday 1st November 2017
Adam Busiakiewicz
Warwick Castle remains one of Britain’s best preserved and most popular medieval castles. The walls were raised by the Earls of Warwick who took a leading role in the most important events of Medieval England. In 1604 the castle was transformed into a fortification and a luxurious stately home.
The Earls of the eighteenth and nineteenth century filled the castle with a wealth of paintings, furniture, arms and armour and objets d’art. This lecture will introduce us to some of these undiscovered treasures.
250 Years of the Royal Academy
Wednesday 7th February 2018
Rosalind Whyte
We will look at the position of artists before and after the formation of the Royal Academy in 1768, and some of the characters involved, from the first President Sir Joshua Reynolds to more oppositional artists such as Gainsborough and the initially clandestine Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood.
As with any important institution the Academy has been embroiled in intrigue and controversy over its history and no scandal or outrage will remain unexposed.
Painters of Provence
Wednesday March 7th 2018
Ms Juliet Heslewood
This lecture ties in with our society’s trip to Provence in April.
Provence attracted many painters. Cezanne returned to his native land after experiencing Paris where initially Impressionism had caused a sensation. Gaugin was happy to leave it behind to go further across the world. Van Gogh in Arles found it to be like the Japan he hoped to find, while also in Arles lived the lesser known artist Leo Lelee who painted the Provencal people.
The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: religious architecture of the world
Wednesday 4th April 2018
Jon Cannon
Religion has been the inspiration for many of the greatest buildings of the world. Indeed for much of human history the stories of architecture and religion were synonymous.
We will move from early societies such as Mesopotamia and Egypt before focussing on the living faiths: the great continuities of Buddhism and Hinduism, and the revolutionary changes brought about in monotheistic Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Piero della Francesca
Wednesday 2nd May 2018
Shirley Smith
It is just over 600 years since the birth of this enigmatic painter.
His grave, solid figures set in a timeless landscape and lit by a clear light, encapsulate the harmony of man and his world that was at the heart of Italian Renaissance thought. But they are, in fact, a perfect fusion of the influences of the North and South, of light and logic, which reflect his native countryside while yet conveying a spirituality that reaches out over time and boundaries.
Whether working for the church or his patron, Federigo da Montefeltro, his paintings radiate serenity and timelessness.
Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture
Wednesday 6th June 2018
Rupert Willoughby
One of the most derided towns in England, renowned for its dullness, Basingstoke is distinguished only by its numerous roundabouts and absurd Modernist Architecture. We will learn how the post-war planners were politically motivated and bent on destroying all traces of the past.
Rupert will reveal the nobler Basingstoke that is buried beneath the concrete, and the few historic gems that have survived. It is a story that illustrates the ugliest episode in England’s architectural history.
As Betjeman wrote prophetically, “What goes for Basingstoke goes for most English towns.”
The Punch and Judy Show (A Subversive Symbol from Commedia Dell’Arte to the Present Day)
Wednesday 4th July 2018
Bertie Pearce
Mr Punch – the most famous puppet figure of all time. His comic irreverence gave “Punch” magazine its title, and his anarchic vitality has inspired opera, ballet and punk rock. His enduring popularity has seen his likeness on goods ranging from Victorian silverware to video games.
Appearing in England in 1662, Punch is descended from the clown Pulcinella of the 15th Century Commedia Dell’Arte tradition. Even today this Lord of Misrule uses his slapstick to dispense with oppressive authority, be it politicians, Political Correctness or the devil, while proclaiming his notorious refrain “That’s the way to do it!”
N.B. This lecture will follow our AGM which will start at 10.30am.
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: The Golden Age of Mexican Painting
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Chloe Sayer
This will be the first lecture of the 2018-2019 season. Further details about this lecture will be provided at a later date.
For details of reading lists for these lectures please contact
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