Albrecht Dürer is one of the giants of graphic art.  Based in Nuremberg, one of the centres of publishing in the Reformation, he seized the opportunity to make prints for the European market from his detailed woodcuts and engravings, whether of biblical scenes like the Apocalypse or animals such as the hare and the rhinoceros.

Hilary was formerly a curator and Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, now Art History Education Officer in the Department of Learning & National Partnerships at the Museum.  Lectures for BM and Wallace Collection.  Founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening.  Specialist in 17th century art and has published on Rembrandt.  Hilary has vast experience of giving gallery talks, of lecturing and of leading art history tours in UK, Europe, New York and Boston.  For the Royal Collection Trust, she has guided Special Interest Private Tours of the State Apartments at Buckingham Palace.

The best public swimming pools, particularly those built in the late Victorian and Edwardian years, are rich with decorative tilework, stained glass, polished wood and terracotta detailing. In the 1920s and ’30s Art Deco and Modernist lidos became the urban beaches of their day.

Writer and historian Simon Inglis specialises in the architecture and heritage of sport and recreation.  From 2004-22 he edited the Played in Britain series for English Heritage.  He currently acts as an Ambassador for the Historic Pools of Britain.  Although sport and recreation might seem an unlikely subject for The Arts Society, non-sporty types need have no fear.  Simon’s themes are architecture, design, heritage and popular culture.  Since gaining a history degree at University College London, he has freelanced for various publications, been a regular contributor to radio and television, has edited numerous technical guidelines on stadium design and safety, has travelled and lectured extensively, and written a number of books.  Two were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, while another, on British football grounds, was chosen by journalist Frank Keating as the best sports book of the 20th century.  One highpoint in his work for English Heritage was the listing of a 1970s skatepark in Essex, a world first that made the 10 o'clock news.

Charlie Waite is one of the world’s leading landscape photographers.  He turned to photography after several years working in the theatre and is strongly influenced by the American photographer Ansel Adams.  In a light-hearted talk he reveals the thought processes and techniques behind his own images. 

Charlie Waite was born in 1949 and worked as an actor in British theatre and television for the first ten years of his professional life. Throughout this period, he became fascinated by theatrical lighting and design. Gradually, the landscape and the way it can be revealed to us through light and shade stole him away from the acting profession.

His style is unique in that his photographs convey a spiritual quality of serenity and calm. He has established a worldwide reputation for his particular approach to his work. His photographs are held in private and corporate collections throughout the world.

Over the last thirty-five years, Charlie has lectured throughout the UK, Europe and the US. He has held numerous solo exhibitions all over the world, including in London, Tokyo, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, New York and California. Charlie has provided and continues to provide tuition to amateur, professional and aspiring photographers of all ages from the UK, Australia, Europe and the US which he hugely enjoys.

In 2016, he received an invitation by the Royal Academy of Arts to exhibit in their Summer Exhibition.

In 2014, Charlie was awarded a direct Fellowship by The Royal Photographic Society. The Millennium year saw him being awarded the prestigious Honorary Fellowship to the British Institute of Professional Photographers, and in early 2007 he was presented with Amateur Photographer’s Power of Photography award, which is given to a photographer whose work is deemed to effectively demonstrate the powerful and memorable images of which photography is capable.

Charlie is frequently seen on British television discussing the finer aspects of landscape photography. In September 2005, he completed filming for a six-part television series on landscape photography. He has worked with numerous distinguished authors including Adam Nicolson, Jan Morris, John Julius Norwich and A.N. Wilson. 

Charlie is the owner and founder of Light and Land, the UK’s leading photographic workshop and tour company. For over 29 years, Light & Land has been running photographic tours, courses and workshops that are dedicated to inspiring photographers and improving their photography, both in the UK and worldwide. This is achieved with the help of a select team of specialist photographic leaders, all at the very top in their field. 

In 2007, Charlie launched the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year, an annual international photography competition (now in its 16th year) to find the UK’s ‘Landscape Photographer of the Year’, which ties in perfectly with his desire to share his passion and appreciation of the beauty of our surroundings through photography.

New Orleans was one of the few places in America where the music of the slave population was openly enjoyed by black and white communities alike.  In this Creole crucible different musical traditions evolved into an exciting new music.  Emma Johnson, the distinguished clarinettist, tells the story of Jazz with the help of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and other stars of the genre.

With 30 CDs to her name, Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have performed as a soloist all over the world.

She also enjoys giving talks about music - Woodwind Wizardry and The Poet John Milton were both broadcast by BBC radio and she has lectured about composers Gerald Finzi and Malcolm Arnold for the internet company Tonebase, as well as about Schubert and Brahms for Martin Randall Travel.

Johnson studied Music and English at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, where she was the first woman to be made an Honorary Fellow. She was honoured by the Queen with an M.B.E. in 1996.

Her charity, the Emma Johnson Music Foundation, gives workshops in primary schools to introduce children to instrumental music.

Doris Hatt, who studied art in London and Vienna and travelled widely in Europe, spent most of her working life in the Somerset coastal town of Clevedon.  Her vivid and colourful modernist paintings reflected her belief - she was an active Communist - in the social importance of art.

The picture is Brandon Hill and The Cabot Tower in Bristol, 1931, by Doris Hatt (Bristol Museum and Gallery).

As an academic, Stephen Lisney taught medical sciences at Bristol University.  When he retired, he taught himself printmaking, using a variety of techniques but mainly reduction linocut.  He also developed an interest in 20th century Modernist British art, hence the interest in Doris Hatt.  Stephen helped Denys Wilcox curate the exhibition of Doris's work held at the Museum of Somerset, Taunton, in 2019.  He was the lead author for the accompanying book 'Doris Hatt: Revolutionary Artist' and continues to research her life and work.

Sinan was Chief Architect at the court of Süleyman the Magnificent and together they turned Istanbul into one of the world’s most beautiful cities.  In his fifty year career Sinan went on to design hundreds of mosques, schools, palaces, bridges, aqueducts and other public buildings throughout the Ottoman Empire.

Sue Rollin works as a tour guide and lecturer in India and the Middle East, and as a freelance interpreter for the European Union, United Nations and other international organisations.  Formerly staff interpreter at the European Commission, Brussels, and tutor and lecturer in Assyriology and Ancient History at the Universities of London and Cambridge.  Has worked as an archaeologist.  Publications: Blue Guide: Jordan and Istanbul: A Traveller's Guide.

Beryl Cook, who ran a guest house on Plymouth Hoe, became an overnight sensation in 1980 when her col­ourful paintings of large ladies enjoying themselves be­came hugely popular. Sarah Chapman, who curated a major exhibition of Beryl’s work shortly before she died, discusses her appeal and the wider significance of her work.

Dr Sarah Chapman is an artist, writer, and curator.  Formerly Director of The Arts Institute at the University of Plymouth, she has collaborated with leading national and international artists and institutions.  She co-curated the acclaimed Moby-Dick Big Read and Ancient Mariner Big Read and led the first major retrospective of Beryl Cook following the artist’s death, co-editing the accompanying exhibition catalogue.  An alumna of the Royal Drawing School, she recently founded and launched dRAWing Space, an initiative aimed at widening access to drawing.  Sarah now champions regional artists and exhibits her own work nationally, including in the prestigious Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize UK tour.

The history of Britain is intricately woven with the history of textiles. Following World War II there was a desire for change, colour, and inspiration in the home. This lecture looks at some of the leading makers and designers who made this happen and the “democratisation” of modern art through textiles.

Ashley Gray is a leading specialist and curator in the key art discipline of Modern Textiles and their history.  He is a regular vetter at international fine art fairs and has served on the Fair Committees of BADA, The Works on Paper Fair and on the BADA Council.  He is regularly invited to lecture on the subject both in the UK and the US.  As a curator and archivist, he works with institutions and foundations on conservation and exhibition projects.  Most recently he curated Styled by Design at Cromwell Place in London, an exhibition that celebrates the innovation of Modernist textile design.  He co-curated Material Textile: Modern British Female Designers and Material Textile: Creativity, History & Process, both with Messums Gallery, Common Thread at New Art Centre and From Bauhaus to our House also at Cromwell Place.  He is currently researching the role David Whitehead Ltd in Lancashire played in commissioning innovative modern designs in the Festival of Britain era.  An exhibition is planned for 2027.

Goya is one of Spain’s greatest painters, with memorable but critical portraits of the Spanish Royal Family. But he was horrified by the brutalities of war when Napoleon’s troops invaded Spain and produced a series of visceral paintings and murals that continue to shock even today.

Angie Smith has a PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University. Author of numerous articles and several books including A Timeline of Art History (2013).  Is an experienced lecturer who has taught for several universities.  Catalogued paintings in galleries for the National Inventory Research Project.  Has led several cultural tours on the continent and has lectured for several cruise lines.  Regularly runs courses of study days for The Arts Society on subjects including Women artists down the centuries and English church art and architecture.  Has contributed to television programmes, most recently an episode of Digging up Britain’s Past.

The Arts Society Totnes is delighted to offer all our members a free bonus lecture to celebrate the centenary of Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst buying Dartington Hall in 1925.

Entitled "Dream For Us: 100 Years of Music at Dartington," the lecture will be given by Simon Dunbavand, organist, pianist, conductor and teacher across Devon and Cornwall.  He is a highly experienced lecturer and is currently music director of Dartington Community Choir.

The lecture will look at the lives of the protagonists: Tagore, Elmhirst, Whitney, Holst, Glock and how they intertwine, with  visuals and musical clips to illustrate the past 100 years.

To attend please

• Ensure you have renewed your membership for next season 
• Book a free place for yourself in advance with Kate Ward our treasurer wardbill@aol.com.
• Book in any guest in advance with Kate 
• Pay £10 guest fee  by  BACS or send a cheque made out to The Arts Society Totnes to Kate at Orchard Edge, Moat Hill, Totnes TQ9 5ER

Bank Account Name: The Arts Society Totnes
Bank Account Sort Code: 30-84-67
Bank Account No: 48600568
Reference: your surname/unique ref number

You must book in advance as we will be opening this lecture up to members of local Arts Societies and Dartington Community Choir members.  We don't want you to miss out!

Simon Dunbavand was Organ Scholar of Peterhouse, Cambridge and held a postgraduate scholarship at The University of Sheffield for his research into the music of Olivier Messiaen.

Simon is Musical Director of Dartington Community Choir at Dartington Hall, Chair and Chorus Master of Dart Festival Chorus, and Director of Music for the East Cornwall Bach Choir, South Devon Choir, and Paignton Parish Church.

As a performer he presents programmes with a spiritual dimension, highlighting symbolic bonds between Catholic thought and organ music.  He was especially thrilled to play the ceremonial gong at a Hindu watermelon ceremony on Moheshkhali Island, Bangladesh, on the first of many expeditions to unusual parts of the globe, as well as trekking to active volcanoes such as Fuego in Guatemala and Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Simon conducts across Devon and Cornwall, plays the organ for church services and recitals, accompanies singers and instrumentalists for concerts and exams, and teaches music to private pupils.  He is also a Destinations Lecturer and Enrichment Lecturer for numerous cruise lines.

Little is known of the life of the 16th Century Dutch artist but his hobgoblins and fantastical figures suffering in Hell have astonished and puzzled viewers ever since. The Garden of Earthly Delights, his most famous painting, is still regularly censored today.

‘Without sacrificing scholarship, Stella Lyons has a most engaging way of hooking an audience into sharing her passionate interest in art history, drawing three dimensional human stories and experiences from the two-dimensional canvas’ – Maev Kennedy, writer and Arts correspondent for The Guardian Stella Grace Lyons is a freelance Art History lecturer, speaker and writer accredited with The Arts Society. She has lectured across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malaysia and will soon embark on a lecturing tour in Australasia. Stella gained her BA in the History of Art with a 1st class in her dissertation from the University of Bristol (2007-2011), and her MA in History of Art from the University of Warwick. She spent a year studying Renaissance art in Italy at the British Institute of Florence, and three months studying Venetian art in Venice. In addition, she attended drawing classes at the prestigious Charles H. Cecil studios in Florence, a private atelier that follows a curriculum based on the leading ateliers of nineteenth century Paris. Stella runs her own Art History lectures both in person and online. She is a regular lecturer in the UK and Europe for The Arts Society, Tour companies, and the National Trust, amongst others. Stella is also a part-time lecturer for the University of South Wales. She has written about art for several publications and her article on Norwegian art was recently featured on the front cover of The Arts Society magazine. In addition to her lecturing work, Stella works as an artist’s model for the internationally renowned figurative artist, Harry Holland.

 Founded in 1919 in Weimar, the Bauhaus was a progressive art school. Under the directorship of architect Walter Gropius, its students studied a broad range of artistic disciplines. The Bauhaus lasted for a 14-year period, with bases in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, and during that time it not only came to typify an age but also dictate matters of style for decades to come, through its art, architecture and design. This talk looks at some of the movers and shakers behind this hugely influential movement, including Marianne Brandt, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, as well as exploring their legacy in our world and homes today.

A writer and broadcaster. Appears on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe. Recent appearances include Klimt and The Kiss in cinemas worldwide, and talks for the Hay and Cheltenham Literature Festivals, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum and the V&A. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, is out now. 

The Serbian artist believes that we must engage directly with the artist, not just look at their work. This powerful connection, involving long periods of training and concentration, has made Abramovic what she calls “the grandmother of performance art.” Helen Oakden will explore the artist’s huge breadth of work around the world.

Helen is the Head of the History of Art Department at St Mary’s School Ascot. She studied at Manchester University and achieved her Masters’ Degree in architectural history from the Courtauld Institute of Art. Based in London she has previously worked for the Royal Academy and National Gallery, as well as leading specialised art history courses across Italy. 

Ravilious remains one of the most popular British painters of the 20th Century, notably his modernist woodcuts and watercolours of English landscapes, especially the South Downs. He died aged 38 in a plane crash while serving as a war artist in World War Two.

Having studied History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, James Russell enjoyed a lengthy stint selling contemporary paintings and sculpture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an experience that inspired him to begin writing and lecturing on 20th century art. Of his dozen or so books, one was a Sunday Times book of the year, while his writing has been described by critics as 'insightful', 'informative' and 'enjoyably readable'. James has curated major exhibitions at Dulwich Picture Gallery and for museums around the country. He bases his lectures on wide-ranging original research into the subjects that fascinate him.

A look at some of opera’s greatest rivalries, spats & tiffs, ranging from the throw-away remark to full in-public fighting. We shall hear and see examples of great singers from the past to the present.

Tim Mirfin is an opera singer. He has performed in all major European countries, Russia, US, Australia and the Middle East. He has given concerts in some of classical music’s most iconic venues, such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Bolshoi, the Wigmore, Festival and Albert Halls. He also teaches singing, gives masterclasses, lectures on opera and the voice and runs a local community choir.  He studied postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio, previously reading law at Cambridge. He is passionate both about opera as an art form and also about the sheer act of singing. He is keen to share peaks behind the curtain on both apparently mysterious activities.

Glass is a marvellous material that is an incomparable plastic medium in the hands of an ingenious artist. It is tough, fragile & unpredictable. No two pieces will ever be identical but the beauty that results reached an exalted level in the Art Nouveau period.

Studied History of Art at the Courtauld Institute. Has lectured regularly for Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, as well as to Oxbridge and Bristol Universities, Christie's Fine Art, the Art Fund, and groups such as the Bradford on Avon Arts Association, Friends of Covent Garden and U3A. Publications include, amongst others, The Art of John Martin (2001), Michael Ayrton: A Biography (1994) and articles for Apollo Magazine and Modern Painters. Has also broadcast on Flowers in Art for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.  

The Beasts and the Boxes is a light-hearted banter between Matisse and Picasso during the years 1905 to 1907, reflecting on earlier achievements and how they are altering the face of Modern Art in differing ways. Of course there are arguments about who is the more important and you can judge for yourselves whether they were friends or enemies during these years.

The special quality of Nordic nature - vast, wild and remote & its relation to light conditions. This lecture explores the various ways in which nature has been represented by Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish painters 1840 - 1910.

Artists who discovered Venice in the early 19th Century starting with Turner and progressing through Samuel Prout, John Ruskin, Clarkson Stanfield, Myles Birkett Foster, Whistler, Sargent & Walter Sickert as well as some of the lesser known artists. A look at their social life and how the arrival of the railway brought tourism and money to a very poor city.

This lecture will introduce you to the 19th century palaeontologist Mary Anning & discover how she searched the Jurassic rocks of England’s south coast to unearth what were believed to be sea dragons & we now call marine reptiles. We shall also look at the social history & influences of Mary as well as the world of the ancient extinct animals. 

When Hitler seized power, Joseph Goebbel’s control of the German film industry became part of the Nazi’s ideological campaign. Although most of the great directors had fled the country, he retained Leni Riefenstahl, whose innovative techniques raised film as propaganda to a new level. This lecture looks at two of Riefenstahl’s artistic masterpieces.

Merchants of the Dutch Golden Age filled their houses with paintings but these Calvinist citizens rejected Biblical subjects & Baroque melodrama. Favourite themes were ‘still lifes’ reflecting the prosperity & self-esteem of the new Republic. Yet is there more to the detailed realism of these paintings: a secret symbolic language?

J.M.W. Turner's work in the West Country was extensive, especially in Devon and Cornwall in the 1810s. Close examination of where he went and what he did allows us to get under the skin of his practice, whether making sketches in oils and in watercolour, producing finished works or working with engravers. This talk will explore the whole gamut of Turner's responses to the landscapes of the south west and how they fit within his overall development as an artist.

Prof Smiles of Exeter University is an eminent art historian and a Turner enthusiast, having written many books and papers on the subject.

Born in 1770 Ludwig von Beethoven became one of the greatest & most disruptive figures in the history of classical music. This lecture presents an overview of this brilliant, cantankerous, visionary & original composerwith musical examples.

During the last decades of the 19th century there was ongoing conflict between gardeners & architects. This problem was solved by the unique partnership of Edwin Lutyens & Gertrude Jekyll so their synthesised houses & gardens became an Edwardian ideal.

Wine has been part of our global culture for over 7,000 years. The story tells of its origin & appearance in all societies across the Mediterranean & throughout Europe. This is also a story that embraces a much wider spectrum: climate, soil, commerce, social class, bottling, label design & political influence.

Sorolla (1863-1923) was a highly successful artist of international renown in his lifetime but has only recently come to justified prominence in this country. His delightful paintings of women & children at the seaside, landscapes & regional panoramas of Spain are full of sunlight & optimism.

There has been a strong exotic lure of the Orient for European artists over the centuries. This lecture will take an artistic journey across the Near & Middle East to see how Western artists brought the mysteries of ‘the Other’ to European salons in the 18th & 19th centuries.

Charles Dickens brought into the world a staggering array of wonderful characters with orphans, starving children, misers, murderers and abusive school teachers among them.

He went on to become the greatest writer of his age with 15 major novels and countless short stories and articles.

This lecture focuses on the costume and dress accessories that would have been worn formally or informally during the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911). It opens a window on a dazzlingly opulent & colourful period of Chinese history.

Caravaggio is famous for his paintings that inspired many artists in his lifetime, but also for his criminal activities.

This lecture follows the dramatic incidents of the artist’s life and looks at why and how his influence spread so far.

A journey following the Beatles through the 60’s in music and images. It looks at the Beatles’ relationship with the art world - photographers, designers, artists and their influence on one of the most successful bands of all time.

Passionate potters like de Morgan, the Martin Brothers, Sir Edmund Elton & Bernard Leach all brought artistic flair to their pots, exotic forms and glazes.

This lecture celebrates their extraordinary and beautiful creations.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE TO DARTINGTON BARN CINEMA

In the late Victorian period, it was highly unusual for women to learn to carve but the three Pinwill sisters, working in Ermington and Plymouth, excelled as ecclesiastical carvers and became famous for their outstanding wooden architecture and carvings in Churches throughout the West Country.

A detailed portrait of the lecturer’s own vision of Dartmoor with the changing seasons and passing years, using his unique knowledge & experience aided by his photographs, books and films as additional sources.

Sorolla (1863-1923) was a highly successful artist of

international renown in his lifetime but has only recently come

to justified prominence in this country. His delightful paintings

of women & children at the seaside, landscapes & regional

panoramas of Spain are full of sunlight & optimism.

A vivid exploration of the various roles of women in Mid-Victorian England, through Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and set in the context of Victorian social history of the period.

Explore Asia’s holistic approach to medicine which advocates a balanced relationship between body, mind and spirit. Discover more about these Eastern methods of healing through a rich diversity of artistic treasures.

Tony has been a showman, researcher, and a teacher for over 35 years. He specialises in historical forms of popular entertainment and their application to contemporary contexts.

He regularly broadcasts for radio & television, as recently seen in an episode of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’.

In addition Tony is Ringmaster of his extraordinary flea circus and the founder of ‘The Pierrotters’, Britain’s last professional seaside pierrot troupe.

This replaces the planned lecture of Beethoven at 250 which had to be cancelled, see home page for detail.

Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish Art Deco painter and the first woman to be a ‘glamour star’. Her art and her name have become synonymous with the head in the stick lifestyle of the Roaring Twenties and the Art Deco Movement of which she was a leading representative.

The ship is one of the most common images found in medieval churches and manuscripts. The medieval mariner will be brought to life with his hopes, fears and superstitions along with ship wrecks, ship-building techniques and navigation.

This lecture provides a colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000 mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional, artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular - from sweeping viaducts to tiny bollards

How and why do they make all that 'noise'

this lecture will examine the phenomenon from all aspects with lively examples of practitioners.

Leonardo's beguiling, unfinished 'Adoration of the Magi' was the culmination of a long tradition of depictions of this popular biblical scene. This sets Leonardo's work in context as well as tracing its origins

Sculptures are obviously inspired by nature, and the landscape that surrounds them. The lecturer will look at historical examples as well as contemporary practice to see how nature, landscape and sculpture are all closely inter-related

With much more to the world of street art than Banksy. "Canvasses" is a beginners guide to the biggest art movement since Pop Art. It explores the key stages in Street Art's growth examining the different elements and styles that comprise the scene with no rules.

Dame Laura Knight and Dod Proctor are two well known Cornish Artists but there were many who came before and after them, often forgotten because of their more famous husbands. This talk explores the many women artists who contributed to Cornish Art.