The 'poor little rich girl' who changed the face of twentieth century art.  Not only was Peggy Guggenheim ahead of her time, she was the woman who helped define it.  She discovered and nurtured a new generation of artists producing a new kind of art.  Through collecting not only art but the artists themselves, her life was as radical as her collection.

Why were they created and what and who did they represent?  In the 19th century sailing ships with their colourful figureheads were a regular sight but now just a few figureheads survive.

Tyntesfield, one of the last great Victorian country houses still intact with its original contents, was to be broken up until being saved for the Nation at the eleventh hour a few years ago.  Now owned by The National Trust, the story of the house, the family who created it and its dramatic rescue make this an entertaining, informative and very popular lecture.

In June 1520 Henry VIII and Francis 1 of France met in a field south of Calais for 18 days of various events and entertainments staged to display the skill and splendour of each King and country. The English logistics for this spectacular event are staggering, and the adornment of the Field, the temporary palace and everyone present is equally fascinating. How was it all achieved?

2020 was the 500th Anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold.

This lecture will consider the importance of Dutch and English delftware for the history of European pottery and how these wares dominated seventeenth century ceramic production. It will begin with a brief history of tin-glazed earthenware, concentrating on the material and techniques employed, and go on to discuss the emergence of the town of Delft as a major production centre. It will demonstrate the impact of Chinese blue and white porcelain on the wares of both countries along with other stylistic developments such as the great ‘flower pyramids’ made for the court of William and Mary, the importance of delftware for the pharmacy, commemorative wares and the development of the ‘blue-dash’ charger.

We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times. This lecture is based on my book with Alison Weir 'A Tudor Christmas'. It was a twelve-day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway; so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in an age of tumultuous religious upheaval.

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away.  Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. 

Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer.  His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama is played out. The aim of the lecture is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was the favourite of King James I - who addressed him as ‘my sweet child and wife’ - and subsequently chief minister to King Charles I. Buckingham was a beauty, and he surrounded himself with beautiful things. He enjoyed exquisite clothes, like the fabulous white silk suit encrusted with diamonds that he wore to visit the Queen of France. He was a superb dancer. When he cut capers during a court masque King James startled visiting ambassadors by shouting out ‘By God, George, I love you!’ He was a discerning patron. Inigo Jones renovated his houses. John Tradescant was his garden designer.  In his great house on the Strand he put together a collection of art works as fine as King Charles’s

Although his name is generally thrown in with the Impressionists, Manet is a quite independent artist whose reputation stands alone.  Elegant, well mannered and fashionable, this sophisticated Parisian absorbed the ideas of the old masters and redefined them in the language of the real world around him: the cafes, the dance halls and cabarets of the city. Crackling with light and energy, and the incomparable brilliance of his brushwork, these paintings shocked and appalled the public at the time but have earned him the unrivalled status in history of being the first painter of the modern world.

In Britain, little is known about Germany’s unique post-WW2 process of remembrance and the efforts undertaken to find art forms that honour the victims of one of history’s darkest periods.

With all traditional forms of memorial deemed irrelevant and inappropriate, German artists were faced with questions of apology and atonement. But how do you express national guilt and shame rather than pride and patriotism? How do you remember what you would rather forget?

The ensuing culture of ‘counter memorials’ with their aim to keep the memories and lessons of the past alive in the individual psyches of the people, is extraordinary, brave, and inspiring. With her Anglo-German roots and personal connection to the subject, Angela is ideally placed to give insights into this hugely interesting and topical subject.

Opera is an elaborate, even extravagant, art form. It requires the work of composers, librettists, conductors, directors, designers, wardrobe, wig and prop technicians, as well as orchestra, chorus, soloists, stage crew, and an audience in front of which to perform. Simon Rees has been given access by his former company, Welsh National Opera, to use photographs of every step of the production. This lecture will explain set models, costume designs, making workshops, wardrobe and wigs, rehearsals with orchestra, soloists and chorus, and the run-up to the dress-rehearsal and the first night.

Nothing in art is by accident. Everything you see has been left for us to see by the artist. Some of the objects are unusual, some rare, and some strange. This lecture will explore works of art from a variety of periods and styles and examine the devil in the detail!

Having had access to the jewels designated Heirlooms of the Crown and with a spectacular collection of her own, the Queen Mother had so much jewellery to choose from over the course of her long life that it would be almost impossible to describe it all. So in this talk I chronicle her passion for jewels by concentrating on a selection of items which are of particular gemmological and historic interest ..… and have an intriguing story attached.