This SIM is organised by The Arts Society Sudbury.

Come and celebrate summer with the last Special Interest event of the season, including lunch at Long Melford Village Hall, when David Rosier will be taking us on a trip to China.

David Rosier lived in Hong Kong and worked in China from 1991-2004. Whilst there, he assembled a collection of around 700 predominantly Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911) Imperial related textiles, insignia of rank and dress accessories.

In 2019, this collection was acquired by The Shanghai Museum to form the core of a new textile gallery. 

• Lecture 1       Ruling from the Dragon Throne      
• Lecture 2       Ultimate Power Dressing

The lectures will provide an insight into the Chinese Imperial Court and the complex, and generally unknown system, of court costume. Students of textile art and design are currently seeking to bring a contemporary interpretation to these ancient symbols of Chinese culture.

David will also focus on the costume and dress accessories that fell outside the scope of formal court costume; for example, the clothing that would have been worn informally by either members of the Imperial Family, Civil or Military Officials and those in the higher social classes in the Qing Dynasty China. These robes and other forms of clothing would have been worn daily or for special ‘family’ occasions.

The lectures will explain the more common design themes such as dragon imagery and the use of designs from nature and various religions. Focus will be given to the highly decorative informal clothing of Chinese ladies, including the design of collars, skirts, and sleeve panels. In addition, David will explain dress accessories, including items attached to robe belts (purses, fragrance pouches, fan cases), hats, and kingfisher feather jewellery. Finally, he will explore the shoes of the period with particular focus on the bound feet shoes worn by Han Chinese ladies. 

David will bring for display, a range of textile Insignia of Rank badges. 

Click here for further details and booking form.

Norfolk with its rich agricultural land has many large estates and fine country houses. Caroline Knight will talk about the lesser known houses like East Barsham Manor as well as the splendid Jacobean Blickling Hall; Houghton Hall and Holkham Hall, being the two greatest houses in Norfolk both Palladian in style, and the sporting estate of Sandringham. This will link in with our visit to Sandringham on 31st of May 2022.

For further details and an application form please click here.

Caroline Knight is an architectural historian specialising in British Architecture of the 16th-18th centuries. She has an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

She set up the year course at the Victoria and Albert Museum on "The Visual Arts in Europe: High Renaissance - Baroque 1500-1720" in 2003, and was its Director until 2013.

She is the author of London's Country Houses, published by Phillimore Press in 2009, and has contributed to a number of books and academic journals.

She is an independent lecturer at the Victoria &Albert Museum, and for The Arts Society. She has taught MA courses at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, and has lectured widely in the USA for the Royal Oak Foundation, and taught summer schools at University College, London, and the Courtauld Institute of Art.

She is one of the Silverstone lecturers in North Norfolk, putting on occasional Study Days together with George Carter, garden designer, and Charlotte Crawley, art historian.

Caroline is an occasional lecturer for Martin Randall Travel, is a Trustee of the Georgian Group, and a member of the Society of Architectural Historians and of the Furniture History Society.

This SIM is organised by The Arts Society Sudbury and will be delivered via Zoom as two lectures, each of an hour, with a 30 minute interval.  The lectures will also be recorded and will be available until midnight on 23rd February.  Click here for further details and application form.

John Wastell of Bury, Master Mason and Genius and his completion of King’s College Chapel

Wastell was one of the greatest architects of late Medieval Europe. He lived for the last 30 years of his life in Bury St Edmund, dying in 1518, though he styled himself as “of Cambridge” to the very end. His career appears to have started at the very top, as the designer of the central tower of Canterbury Cathedral. By 1490 he was Master Mason of King’s Hall (Trinity) Cambridge and almost certainly of the Abbey of Bury. Other works include the “New Buildings” at Peterborough and a number of parish churches in Cambridge, Lavenham, Saffron Walden and elsewhere. He is principally remembered for his masterly completion of King’s College Chapel, a work abandoned twice in its chequered history, yet brought to a spectacular conclusion by a man who could evidently snatch triumph from any disaster.

The Art and Architecture of Ely Cathedral, the Glories and the Mishaps.

Ely Cathedral is one of England’s greatest medieval monuments famous for its Romanesque nave, its Decorated Lady Chapel, the stunning Octagon and for falling down rather too often. While it is tempting to dwell on the last point, the fact that it fell over from time to time makes it even more interesting from an architectural and artistic viewpoint. In the space of an hour, we shall see the original form of the Anglo-Norman fabric, some of its dramatic Romanesque sculpture, the lavishly adorned early Gothic work, the stunning though mutilated Lady Chapel and the inner workings of the extraordinary timber Octagon. A talk packed with visual richness.

Francis Woodman has a lectureship at the University of Cambridge and is based at the Institute of Continuing Education at Madingley Hall. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London, he specializes in art and architecture from the Romans to the Reformation. Other subjects range from the patronage of Medieval Women to the Architecture of Islam. A post-graduate of the Courtauld Institute and former research fellow of Christ’s Cambridge, he has had academic responsibility for all the Art History and Architecture programmes at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education since 1997, and in addition, is Academic Director of the Building Conservation Certificate programme. Dr. Woodman is also joint Academic Director for the University of Cambridge Certificate in Early Historical Studies in England.

Amongst many publications are books on Canterbury Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral and Kings’ College Chapel and Dr Woodman has published papers and chapters on a wide range of topics including the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey, as well as chapters on women’s birthright and the endless inheritance dispute by the daughters of the earl of Warwick. He has conducted research into the lives of medieval women for more than forty years, publishing a pioneering article on Lady Margaret Holland as long ago as 1976. More recently there has been ‘Women behaving badly’ for the British Archaeological Association, lectures at both Oxford and Cambridge on medieval women and last autumn he spoke on Joan, Countess of Kent at the International Black Prince Conference in Canterbury. 

With great regret, this Special Interest Morning has been cancelled. 

Dr Peter Ross has a History of Art degree, an MA in London history, a PhD in the cultural history of an English Criminal, and qualifications in the teaching of adults. Currently Principal Librarian at Guildhall Library, he has for 20 years lectured on a broad range of topics including the history of English books, portraiture, and London history. Peter has appeared on TV and radio as a consultant on the 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard and on the history of English food. His most recent publication, The Curious Cookbook, was published by the British Library.

This SIM, to be delivered via Zoom, is organised by TAS Sudbury and is also open to our members.

All the details can be found by clicking here

THe Lecturer: MISS HILARY WILLIAMS

Formerly Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, now Art History Education Officer. Lectures for BM, London Borough of Bexley and Wallace Collection. Liaison officer at British Museum with The Arts Society. Founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. Guides Special Interest Private Tours of State Apartments Buckingham Palace.

Sarah Cove, who founded the Constable Research Project in 1986 to study John Constable’s materials and techniques from a technical and scientific perspective, will present this Special Interest Event via ZOOM.

She has been instrumental in the attribution of three significant Constable oils for BBC1’s Fake or Fortune? and regularly contacted by people who think they have a found an unknown Constable!

Stories will include, at opposite extremes, a much publicised oil sketch reputedly worth £250,000, ultimately a copy and the chance discovery of a fabulous, almost abstract, oil study of the 1830s, formerly belonged to an American G.I.

Also open to members of TAS Sudbury and to guests - £10 per household

For Further details click here.

This Special Interest Event is organised by The Arts Society Sudbury.

Under control of the Habsburgs from German speaking Vienna, the only way the crownlands of the empire could express their cultural identity was through art and culture. The first Lecture looks at PRAGUE and the Czechs whose languages are Slav with different roots and mythology, who wanted to reclaim their city. They produced painters such as Alfons Mucha and composers like Smetana and Dvorak. The second lecture looks at the art and culture of BUDAPEST, formed in 1873 by the unification of Buda and Pest, becoming the focus of resurgent nationalism. The capital of Hungary with another totally different language, it became the first European city with an underground railway. It produced the composers Bartok and Kodaly.

Programme: Lecture 1: 10:30-11:40 Coffee Break: 11:40-12:00 Lecture 2: 12:00-1:00

Please click here for further details

We are very fortunate to have Linda Smith to present two lectures giving an extensive account of British painting (with the occasional sculpture) from the Pre-Raphaelites through to the Post WWII period and to the present day.  This is following our unavoidable cancellation from September 2020

From Augustus Egg, through Whistler, Gwen and Augustus John, Hepworth, Moore, Spencer and Bacon, on to the explosion of Pop Art and Conceptualism in the 1960s and 70s, through to the 1980s and 90s, which gave us the notorious Sensation exhibition and the Turner Prize, and on to the present day. A tremendous tour de force.

The morning will be divided into two lectures, to be delivered via Zoom: 10:30 to 11:30 and 12:00 to 13:00 with a coffee break.

Linda Smith holds two first-class degrees in Art History, has a broad knowledge of art historical subjects, but specialises in British Art and twentieth century art. An experienced lecturer and guide, especially at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, She has lectured to a wide variety of audiences in different venues, including school and university students, and independent arts societies in the UK and overseas.

For booking details click here

A special interest study day organised by TAS Sudbury. Click HERE for further details and an application form.

Janet will process through a virtual tour of the Church of England's magnificent 42 cathedrals and give you an overview of their various histories. In the second half, she selects her favourite church in every Church of England diocese.

For more details and to print an application form, please CLICK HERE.

This is a follow-up lecture to the very successful event held in 2019. This event will cover the period of Strauss, Britten, Debussy and Shostakovich.

Simon Rees is known as a very entertaining and provocative presenter as those who attended his last presentation will know.

Further details and a booking form are available by CLICKING HERE.

 An Area Special Interest Day will take place at Culford School.

This is a new lecture and will be the first time that it will be delivered. Mary will bring with her a selection of historic artefacts which she has collected. They include vintage postcards, advertisements, magazine covers, fashion plates and official exhibition catalogues to enhance her talk.

There will only be 90 tickets available. This is a venue limitation.

Further details will shortly be available.

According to Interpol, Art theft is estimated to account for between $4 billion to $6 billion worldwide and, as a criminal enterprise, is only exceeded by drug trafficking, money laundering and arms dealing in terms of dollar value.

Tom Flynn teaches the MA module on the International Art Market at Richmond, the American International University in London. Until 2016 he was Senior Lecturer and programme director of the RICS-Accredited MA programme in Art Appraisal (Professional Practice) at Kingston University and a visiting lecturer on the International Art Market at the London-based IESA Masters course.

For the past six years Tom has also contributed to the Postgraduate Certificate in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Studies run by ARCA, the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art in Amelia, Italy. A former fine art auctioneer and journalist, he holds an MA from the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum Joint Course in Design History and completed his doctorate at the University of Sussex.

For further details and an application form, please CLICK here.

This special interest event is organised by TAS Sudbury. Details and a booking form can be downloaded by CLICKING HERE

Simon Rees has had a long and varied career associated with the stage, and specifically with the production of opera. Until 2012 he was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff. In this presentation he will talk about opera from its early days some 400 years ago to modern productions.

Early enrolement is recommended as it is expected to be a heavily subscribed morning.

An application form and flier can be viewed, downloaded and printed by CLICKING HERE

This special interest morning is organised by TAS Sudbury. There will be two lectures starting at 10.30. Coffee and biscuits (included) will be served between the lectures at 11.30. You can access an application flyer by CLICKING here.

Ian Pickford needs no introduction. We have seen him on The Antiques Road Show. TAS South Suffolk are holding this special event and encourage members and their guests to bring a special piece of silver which Ian will value and discuss.

An application form with full details can be accessed by CLICKING HERE

This event is organised by The Arts Society Sudbury who extend and invitation to all those interested to attend. A flyer and application form can be downloaded by CLICKING HERE

The Arts Society Colchester are holding a Special Interest Day at Nayland Village Hall. Further details can be found by Clicking Here. A booking form can be downloaded by Clicking Here.

Dr. Grant will take an in depth look at how the ability of diagnosis has evolved over the centuries through the eyes of artists.  Their art in recording many different sicknesses have allowed 21st century medicine to understand illness better with the aid of modern technology.

To view and print an application form CLICK HERE

A special interest morning: Seats in all parts:  the architecture of British theatres and cinemas.  In the first lecture 'All the World's a Stage', Mike Higginbottom explores the development of theatre buildings from earliest times to the 20th century, and then in 'Dream Palaces' relates the companion story of cinema buildings, albeit over a much shorter timescale. For further details and to download an application form, please CLICK HERE.

A special interest morning: "Not Bloody Likely!"  The Covent Garden Piazza from Inigo Jones to Bernard Shaw and beyond. Daniel Snowman will take us on a tour of the buildings, events, characters and music of the first great square in London. The long list of characters will include Inigo Jones, Handel, Hogarth, Garrick, Voltaire, Dr Johnson, JMW Turner, the Artful Dodger and Eliza Doolittle (who may have influenced the title!).

Daniel Snowman is a writer, broadcaster and professional lecturer and author of a dozen books on social and cultural history. Recent books include 'The Hitler Emigrés: The Cultural Impact on Britain of Refugees from Nazism' and 'The Gilded Stage: a Social History of Opera'. He has degrees from Cambridge and Cornell Universities and lectured at the University of Sussex, and later was Chief Producer, BBC Radio (Features). He is now a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. He leads frequent music tours to many of the world's great cultural capitals.

Click here for full details and booking form.

Jim Thompson arrived in Bangkok as an US Army Officer in 1945. Captivated by the lustrous beauty of Thai silk, he resurrected a declining ancient craft and made it famous throughout the world. He created costumes for shows such as The King and I. This lecture describes the heritage and culture around silk production and includes a short film.

To download the flier and apply to attend, please click here.

Since the C19 English high society had 'wintered over' on the Côte d'Azur, but always left by April.  In the early 1920's, however, an intoxicating mix of artists, writers, musicians and international visitors, inspired by a mythological seascape of luminous colours, created a new summer season.  Sun tans and sportswear soon became 'de rigueur' in the chic new coastal resorts, villas and hotels.  This liberating playground of ideas across the visual design arts was stimulated by impresarios Serge Diaghilev and Paul Poiret.  Traditional boundaries were torn down.  Matisse, Picasso, Dufy, Cocteau, and Chanel merged the worlds of fashion, theatre and interiors.  Cole Porter, Scott Fitzgerald, and the intriguing Gerald and Sara Murphy, introduced an American perspective and attracted an influential new set of discerning patrons and collectors.

Thirty years' experience as a lecturer, with a BA in History and History of Art and a MA with distinction in History of Art from University College London.  Experience includes public lectures in museums, tutoring for the Open University, visiting lecturer at Christie's Education in London, museum curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of Costume, Manchester.  Now a freelance lecturer to various arts, heritage and antiquarian societies.  She also worked in Pentagram design consultancy in London and New York, organising conferences and special events.  Author of various articles on design and visual awareness issues, her background combines an unusual blend of academic and visual communications skills. Lectured for ADFAS Australia and New Zealand in 2011 and 2013.  Mary is an enthusiastic member and President of Glaven Valley DFAS.

Click here for full details and booking form.

Colours radiate energies that affect us positively and negatively. Alexandra will tell us about the passion of RED to the angelic PINK and their association with blood and fire! She will also explain why BLUE was used by Ancient Britons to tattoo their bodies and 2,000 years later why Yves Kline painted his nudes blue.

To view and print an application flier, click here.

Lecture 1:  This lecture traces the development of Windsor Castle from an 11th century fortress into a magnificent palace and illustrates how it has been successively enlarged, adapted and rebuilt by monarchs from Henry II to Queen Elizabeth II.

Lecture 2:  On November 20th 1992 the Great Fire of Windsor caused £40m of damage to the fabric of Windsor Castle.  Windsor Castle is reputed to be the Queen’s favourite home, and this lecture focuses on its importance to the Queen and examines how the Restoration of the Castle after the Great Fire of 1992 has made the present reign, along with that of King Charles II and King George IV, a key period in the Castle’s post-medieval development. 

Barbara Askew

Historian and London Blue Badge Guide since 1988.  Lecturer, Examiner and Course Director on Blue Badge Guide Training Courses and an acknowledged expert on Windsor Castle.  A rota guide for the Albert Memorial, British Museum and Houses of Parliament.  Has conducted tours for American museums and alumni groups for the past 25 years.

For details & Booking Form   CLICK HERE

Theatre has always been known for its capacity for creating illusion and suspending disbelief.  Simon Rees draws on centuries of disguises, masks, make-up, ingenious apparatuses, trick trapdoors, smoke, mirrors and bungee-jumping Rhinemaidens, bringing his entertaining account of theatre illusion up to the present day.  The tricks of the 18th and 19th century theatres are exposed in all their working machinery, including the celebrated Pepper’s Ghost, and modern theatre’s copious use of illusion, developed in competition with that of the cinema, is explored in artistic and technical detail.

Simon Rees

Studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature.  Taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries.  From 1989 to 2012 was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production.  Now a freelance writer and lecturer, lectures widely on opera, art history and literature, travelling extensively with travel companies.  Has published several novels (including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass), poems and opera librettos.

For details & booking form CLICK HERE

In the years between the wars Paris was the unrivalled art and couture capital, where fashionable society rubbed shoulders with the avant-garde. Part of this glittering world was the designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who redefined fashion and blurred the boundaries betweencostume and art. Her friends Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Leonor Fini inspired her outrageous clothes and accessories and designed her boutique, 'the Schiap Shop'. In the 30's it was she and not Coco Chanel whom Time Magazine hailed as 'a genius and arbiter of ultra-modern haute couture'. 'Shocking' tells the story of Shiaparelli's extraordinary life and the equally extraordinary society in which she worked.

For further details and an application form, please click here.

Dr Margaret King is an Art and cultural historian, teacher and cultural tours organiser. She has taught at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and has acted as historical adviser to the drama units of the BBC and Channel 4. Margaret is now a freelance teacher, specialising in study days and linked series of lectures that allow an in-depth investigation of the subject.

Organised by Sudbury DFAS. Click here to open a flyer with more information and an application form. Please note, the cost of this special interest day has been reduced to £22. This replaces the cost published on the flyer.

Part 1             The lecture discusses Constable’s innovative oil sketching methods, painted on fragments of canvas, cut up pictures, papers and boards. We look closely at his Suffolk sketches to see how he developed a virtuoso technique and refined his materials. Later, at Hampstead, armed with a honed palette, he began a series of rapid oil sketches depicting the fleeting effects of light and weather.

Part 2             Constable’s ‘Six-Footers’ include the famous and iconic ‘The White Horse’, ‘The Leaping Horse’, ‘The Haywain’ and ‘Salisbury Cathedral’. The six-foot sketches were unseen by all but his closest family and friends. Sarah Cove’s extensive research over 30 years on Constable’s oil painting practice was elaborated and published for the 2006 exhibition at the Tate.

For an application to attend the morning, please click here

This event is organised by Sudbury DFAS. Further details and an application form can be downloaded by clicking here.

Colchester DFAS is holding a series of three study afternoons on the Georgian House and its interiors. Our members are invited to apply. An application form can be downloaded by clicking here 

and

full details can be found by clicking here. 

If you are interested in China and its historic domestic architecture, interiors, furniture, gardens etc this will be of special interest to you.

The programme is presented by Anne Howarth, a well-known Lecturer at the V & A. Having lived in Shanghai for seven years, she is particularly well qualified to talk on this subject.

Further details and an application form are available on the flier which can be accessed and printed by clicking here.

First Nights presented by Frances Hughes covers the lives and careers of those we have all grown to love including Evans, Richardson, Gielgud, Ashcroft, Olivier, Redgrave, Scofield ..... and so names go on.

The second half of the morning promises great entertainment in the form of a dramatised anthology for two voices by Sarah and Frances.

For further information and to download an application form, please click here.

Full details of this Special Interest Morning and an application form can be accessed by clicking here.

For further details and to apply, please click here and follow the instructions on the flier.

Organised by South Suffolk DFAS Over 40 years, English-born Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde assembled a massive collection of English and continental gold and silver as well as Italian mosaics from the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection was gifted to the nation in 1996 and is now housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The two lectures will focus on works made of solid gold from ancient times up to the 19th century and will include a study of the art form of the enamelled, gold snuff box.

This Special Interest Morning is complemented by an exhibition to be held at The Fitzwilliam Museum entitled Close up and personal from 24th March until 6th September. Click here to view further details.

Click here to download and print an application form

Timothy is a member of the great banking family who were also great collectors of silver. He was curator of the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House and consultant curator at the V&A Museum.

Organised by Sudbury DFAS.

Click here for more information and to download and print an application form.

Tickets are available online from www.iftt.co.uk abd further information from Anne Day - annedee100@hotmail.com A flier is available under 'Documents' which you will find as a link under 'About us'.

PROGRAMME 10.30am - 11.30am Early life in Florence and Rome working for Pope Julius II, the Pieta, the Sistene Chapel and the difficult relationship between the two men. 11.30am - 12.00 Coffee and Mince Pies. 12.00 - 1.00pm His later years, The Last Judgement, building St Peters and his agonising last sculptures, interspersed with quotations from his poems. The cost is �18 including coffee and mince pies. You are welcome to bring guests to this event. A flier and application form is available under 'Documents'.

Have you ever wondered how bricks, an exploded shed or an unmade bed can be art? If so, come to our Special Interest Morning on 15th July 2014. You can down load an application form under 'Documents' which you will find as an option on the left side of the page 'About us'.

Price £30 including coffee, a light lunch, tea and cake! Start time: 10.45 am Booking form is available under documents.

Mary Alexander holds a BA in History of Art and an MA in History of Art from University College London. She is a freelance lecturer to various Arts, Heritage and Antiquarian Societies. Full details with an application form is available in 'Documents'.

NADFAS Lecturer, David Evans, tells the story of his father, Captain Gilbert Evans, with an illustrated talk followed by a showing of the film "Summer in February". . Tickets at £10 each are available from Ipswich Film Theatre, Corn Exchange, King Street, Ipswich IP1 1DH or at www.iftt.co.uk. For further details, see the flier under 'Documents'.

Dr Fisher gained her MA PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art where she also studied flowers in 15th century paintings and manuscripts. She also worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew evaluating the use of plants. She works there freelance. Her two books for the British Library are on flowers in illuminated manuscripts. An application form can be downloaded from the website under 'Documents'

Diana Lloyd is a freelance lecturer in ceramics and glass. She lectures at the Inchbald School of Design and guides groups around museums, collections and country houses. You can download an application form from 'Documents' under 'About us'.

Tim Bruce-Dick received an MA in Art History at Edinburgh University, and a Diploma in Architecture from the Architectural Association, London. He worked for Lambeth B C architects department, and Arup Associates before establishing his own private practice in London. Tim taught Design and History at Oxford Brookes University School of Architecture, 1974-1992. He presently teaches the Appreciation of Contemporary Architecture at City University, London.