In this fascinating talk, discover the life and art of René Gruau and why his imaginative and beautifully crafted art for Dior is considered amongst the most iconic fashion images of the 20th century.

Beginning with the original Landlord's Game of 1903, this lecture uncovers the story of its evolution into the game we know so well today - or do we? Expect a surprise or two along the way.

A king's favourite who amassed a great art collection, Buckingham was murdered aged 35 and his collection scattered. But contemporary inventories allow us to reconstruct it. Most remarkable are the portraits of himself - the man called 'the handsomest in Europe'.

This lecture explores the career of Johannes Vermeer, the influence of other artists, such as Carel Fabritius and Pieter de Hooch, upon his work and the impact of the light and character of the town of Delft in which he lived throughout his life.

The colourful tale of how, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in between her many liaisons, the scandalous Gladys managed to rescue and support opera and ballet in England.

Today's lecture examines the life and times of Oscar Wilde, from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity, through to his spectacular fall from grace when 'tired of being in the heights, he plunged into the depths'.....

NOTE: This lecture will be preceded at 10.30 by the Society's Annual General Meeting.