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; 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.
Lucy Kemp-Welch: Painter of Horses
18 September 2024 at 10:00:00
Speaker:
David Boyd Haycock
Lucy Kemp-Welch's painting Colt Hunting in the New Forest caused a sensation at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1897. This lecture explores her life and work.
Oleksandr Bohomazov 1880-1930: the 'Lost' Futurist of Ukraine
16 October 2024 at 10:00:00
Speaker:
James Butterwick
Oleksandr Bohomazov was an artist of revolutionary ideas and unique style, a pioneer of early 20th-century Ukrainian avant-garde. Our expert James Butterwick examines the legacy of the genius who many consider the national artist of Ukraine and how his work is finally moving into the light.
A Piece of the Auction: Behind the Scenes at an International Auction House
20 November 2024 at 11:00:00
Speaker:
Simon Cottle
How do auction houses function? What goes on behind the scenes and what is required for a successful sale to take place? Simon Cottle reveals all......
René Gruau and the Art of Dior
15 January 2025 at 11:00:00
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
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
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
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
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
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.