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MORNING LECTURES

All monthly lectures are free to members of The Arts Society Moor Park. They take place at Winston Churchill Hall, Ruislip HA4 7QL, on the third Wednesday of each month except December, July and August, and are streamed simultaneously live online via Zoom. A unique Zoom link is emailed to members on the day before each lecture.

Non-members are welcome to attend Morning Lectures - there's no need to pre-book, please just come along; the price of £10 per non-member per lecture is treated as a donation and is payable on the door.

We encourage those attending in person to arrive from 10.15 for complimentary refreshments and socialising and ask that you be seated in the auditorium by 10.50. The lecture will begin promptly at 11 o'clock.

Rene Gruau and the Art of Dior

15 January 2025 at 11:00:00

Wed Jan 15 2025 11:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

René Gruau 1953 © René Gruau

Speaker:

Connie Gray

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.

Monopoly

19 February 2025 at 11:00:00

Wed Feb 19 2025 11:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Monopoly Board

Speaker:

Roger Mendham

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.

George Villiers Duke of Buckingham and his Patronage of the Arts

19 March 2025 at 11:00:00

Wed Mar 19 2025 11:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Portrait of George Villiers by Rubens, 1625

Speaker:

Lucy Hughes-Hallett

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'.

Vermeer and his World

16 April 2025 at 10:00:00

Wed Apr 16 2025 10:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The Little Street by Vermeer

Speaker:

Clare Ford-Wille

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.

Nijinsky's Camel - Gladys Countess de Grey Champion of the Arts

21 May 2025 at 10:00:00

Wed May 21 2025 10:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Portrait of Gladys Countess de Grey by Sargent

Speaker:

David Winpenny

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.

Wilde About Oscar - Famous for Being Famous - and Infamous

18 June 2025 at 10:00:00

Wed Jun 18 2025 10:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Oscar Wilde photographed by Sarony

Speaker:

Simon Whitehouse

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.

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