London Events
Details of events, talks, viewings and art fairs taking place around
the country can be found in the Events and Exhibitions
Calendar.
Talk: Ludwig II and his Court by Tim Blanning | |
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Thursday 11 March Ludwig II succeeded to the throne of Bavaria in 1864 at the age of only 18. He has often been referred to as ‘the mad king’ – he was certainly very eccentric and felt that he had been born out of his time. His building projects were fantastical, and represented an attempt to create a world in which he could feel comfortable. He greatly desired the solitude impossible for any monarch, so his court was small, but what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality, not least because it included one of the greatest geniuses of the age – Richard Wagner. The story of Ludwig’s reign reveals a good deal about the importance and limitations of a royal court in late 19th-century Europe. Booking Information: Please call 0844 415 4151 Time: 2.30pm |
Visit: Brighton Pavilion | |
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Wednesday 17 March The Pavilion was the spectacular seaside home of George IV when he was the Prince Regent, and it offered him the chance to exercise his genius for interior decoration. A private tour will be led by David Beevers, Keeper of the Royal Pavilion, and lunch in the coffee shop follows. This visit has been organised to complement the Wallace Collection talk about George IV on 6 March. Booking Information: Time: 11am - 2pm |
Talk: Velázquez: The Painter of Painters by Xavier Bray | |
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Thursday 18 March At the age of 24, Velázquez so impressed Philip IV that the Spanish king made him court painter, and declared that only he should be allowed to paint his portrait. This lecture explores the artist’s ability to observe and record visual experience. Velázquez achieved greater physical and psychological naturalism with ever more pronounced and luscious brushstrokes, attaining marvellous effects of illusion with a technique based on implication rather than elaboration of detail. Booking Information: Time: 2.30pm |
Visit: Lambeth Palace | |
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Friday 19 March One of the finest medieval buildings in the capital, Lambeth Palace has been the London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since 1197. The guided tour starts at Cranmer’s Tower and includes visits to the Great Hall, the Crypt, the State Rooms, the Guard Room, the Chapel and the extensive ecclesiastical Library. Booking Information: Time: 11am - 1pm |
View: Henry Moore at Tate Britain | |
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Wednesday 24 March Radical and experimental, Henry Moore was one of Britain’s greatest sculptors. This major exhibition, opening at Tate Britain on 24 February, will reassert his position at the forefront of progressive 20th-century sculpture, bringing together the most comprehensive selection of his works for a generation. Moore first emerged as an artist in the wake of the First World War. His sculpture expressed new ideas about the human body, reflecting the birth of psychoanalysis and growing public anxiety about further conflict. The exhibition begins with his carvings from the 1920s and 30s, including a selection of his iconic mother and child figures. Also on display will be Moore’s drawings of Londoners sheltering from the Blitz in Underground stations, as well as celebrated sculptures from the 1950s and 60s, depicting the humanitarian anguish and political uncertainty of the post-war era. Booking Information: Please call 0844 415 4151 Time: 6.45-8.30pm |
An Art Fund Artist in Conversation: Steve McQueen in
conversation with Adrian Searle | |
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Thursday 25 March Turner Prize winning artist Steve McQueen will talk to Adrian Searle, chief art critic of the Guardian, about Queen and Country, the work he created in his capacity as Official War Artist for Iraq. The conversation will consider the role of the war artist in the setting of a modern conflict and explore Queen and Country in the wider context of McQueen’s work. The talk at the gallery coincides with the display of the work at the gallery between 20 March and 18 July 2010. The Art Fund has been touring the work as part of McQueen’s campaign to see the fallen commemorated on British Postage Stamps. Time: 7.00-8.15pm |
Talk: John and Myfanwy Piper by Frances
Spalding | |
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Wednesday 7 April Although the Pipers lived in a hamlet on the edge of the Chilterns, they became significant figures in 20th-century cultural life. John Piper was a writer, an artist and aleading stage and stained glass designer. Myfanwy edited an art magazine in the 1930s and went on to become a librettist,working on three of Benjamin Britten’s best known operas. Frances Spalding talks about the pleasures of writing the biography of an artist so fondly regarded by the British public, while also uncovering the character of his talented wife. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30pm till 3.30pm |
Private Preview Sotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World
Sale | |
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Friday 9 April The sale features manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, miniatures, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, arms and armour, glass, jewellery and other decorative objects, including works of art from the Mughal and Deccani Courts, and rugs, carpets and textiles. During our private view, Edward Gibbs, Head of Sotheby’s Middle East and India Department, and his colleagues will lead gallery talks to discuss the highlights of the sale, among which are objects from the palace of Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151 Time: 5.00-7.00pm |
Talk: The Private Lives of the
Impressionists | |
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Thursday 15 April In an illustrated lecture, Sue Roe tells the story of her research for
her book The Private Lives of the Impressionists, revealing how she
explored villages around the Seine as well as Parisian locations where the
Impressionists lived and worked. She discusses her responses to the
paintings in the Musée d’Orsay and elsewhere, and the way she came to
understand the painters as people, revealing how her own imagination comes
into play in the process of writing a compelling factual story. Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30 - 3.30pm |
Visit: College of Arms | |
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Wednesday 21 April, Tuesday 4 May and Wednesday 12 May (please specify date when booking) Learn about this historic institution on a private visit with Timothy
Duke, Chester Herald. He and his colleagues, specialize in genealogical
and heraldic work. There are 13 Officers of Arms who, under the Earl
Marshal, are responsible for the ceremonial on such occasions as the state
opening of Parliament, coronations and state funerals. The College of Arms
headquarters is one of the few 17th-century buildings to survive in this
part of London. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 6.15–8.30 pm |
Talk: Preaching to the Unconverted by Kevin Jackson | |
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Thursday 22 April John Ruskin preached a variety of lessons throughout his long life,
from the importance of Turner to the wickedness of the profit motive,
addressing a nation of avid readers who were by turns enthralled and
outraged. His teachings are still worthy of our attention but they are not
always easy to appreciate or even to understand. Kevin Jackson’s
biography, The Worlds of John Ruskin, aims to correct this by trying to
explain in clear and forceful terms how attractive, fascinating and
challenging Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30 - 3.30pm |
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Wednesday 28 April Since its foundation in 1831, the Royal Institute of Painters inWater Colours has promoted the essentially English art of watercolour.Members of The Art Fund are welcomed to this evening view of the annual exhibition, where the diversity of work on show reveals the range of watercolour painting, from traditional techniques to more innovative and experimental uses of water-soluble media. President Ronald Maddox and members – including Paul Banning, Peter Folkes, Bob Hudd and Terry McKivragan – will be giving demonstrations of their different watercolour techniques. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 5.00 - 8.00pm |
Private View: Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance
Drawings | |
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Friday 30 April Enjoy an uncrowded private view and curator’s introduction to this
major exhibition, which features 100 exquisite drawings by such masters as
Leonardo da Vinci and Verrocchio. Drawn from the two foremost collections
in the field – the Uffizi and the British Museum – the display charts the
increasing importance of drawing for Italian artists in the 15th century.
During this period, there was a fundamental shift in artistic thinking
about the use of preparatory drawings.What had previously been a means of
organising elements of design became a method of visual exploration, as
artists strove to perfect more naturalistic forms and perspective. The
technology used in current conservation and research has given new
insights into the working methods of many Renaissance painters.
Experimental drawings are often discovered beneath painted surfaces,
revealing an artistic freedom not always reflected in finished
works. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 9.00-10.00am |
Talk: The Lost Portrait of Mary Seacole and its Forgotten
Painter | |
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Thursday 6 May In December 2003, historian Helen Rappaport discovered a lost portrait
of the Crimean War heroine and nurse, Mary Seacole. The portrait, its
sitter and the artist had all been lost to history since Mary Seacole’s
death in 1881: who was the mysterious A C Challen who had executed what is
now an iconic portrait that graces walls of the National Portrait Gallery?
In this talk, Helen Rappaport traces her voyage of discovery, through the
portrait’s authentification by the National Portrait Gallery and her loan
of the painting to them, to her search for the portrait’s rtist,whose
identity was then unknown. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30 - 3.30pm |
Visit: Reform Club | |
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Saturday 8 May The Reform Club was rooted in the political activity that found
expression in the Great Reform Act of 1832. Liberals fromall over the
country wanted ameeting place in London, partly to counter themachinations
of the Tory Carlton Club. The new club opened in 1836 at 104 Pall
Mall,when membership had already reached 1,000. The Committee soon planned
a new club house and chose Charles Barry (who was later architect of the
Houses of Parliament) to design it. The facade is based on the Palazzo
Farnese in Rome,while the interior suggests a grand country house of a
Victorian gentleman. The principal rooms are rich in classical
ornamentation,with gilded ceilings and walls hung with the portraits of
Whigs and radical leaders of the Reform Movement. The style of the
building became the norm for such establishments in the 19th
century. ID is required to gain entry. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 10.30 am - 12.00pm |
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Saturday 15th May Internationally renowned ceramicist Kate Malone kindly hosts this private visit to her studio. Kate produces one-off studio pieces and also collaborates with architects, designers and public art agencies. Her work is inspired by organic forms and she is absorbed in the wonders of nature as well as with the alchemy of ceramic-glaze technology. Her twomost popular glazes are the ‘pebbled’ earthenware – in which glazes are fired over each other, splitting in the process – and her crystalline stoneware, which produces semi-randomcrystal growth on the surface. In 2009, The Art Fund helped purchase her large Snow Lady Gourd for the new Ceramics Gallery at the V&A. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 11.00am - 12.30pm; 2.00 - 3.30pm (please specify
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Talk: Constable by Martin
Gayford | |
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Thursday 20th May During the seven years between John Constable’s declaration of love for
Maria Bicknell in 1809 and their wedding in 1816 the romance was strongly
opposed by her family. But, despite this discouragement, neither Constable
nor Maria gave up hope that they would eventually marry, and he steadily
grew towards greatness as a landscape painter. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30 - 3.30pm
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Visit: Ranger's House and The Wernher
Collection | |
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Thursday 3 June We are privileged to enjoy exclusive access to the Ranger’s House, a Georgian villa built in 1723, which today houses TheWernher Collection, an outstanding display of nearly 700 works of art purchased by the diamond magnate Sir JuliusWernher (1850– 1912). Curator Annie Kemkaran-Smith will provide us with a fascinating insight into themind of the collector, illustrating her talk with a selection of works taken fromthe display for our closer viewing. Highlights of the collection include sumptuous jewellery, tiny carved Gothic ivories, fine bronze and silver treasures, paintings and porcelain, all marvellous examples of medieval and Renaissance craftsmanship. Following the talk, a cold buffet lunch will be provided, after whichmembers will be free to explore the collection inmore detail at their leisure,with staff on hand to answer questions. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 11.30 am – 2.30 pm |
View and Talk: Treasures of Lambeth Palace
Library | |
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Wednesday 9 June One of the earliest public libraries in England, Lambeth Palace Library
was founded in 1610 by Archbishop Richard Bancroft. In celebration of the
Library’s 400th anniversary, an exhibition is on show in the Great Hall of
the Palace, drawing on a rich and diverse collection of manuscripts,
archives and books, some of which will be on display for the first time.
The exhibition reveals how the collections have developed since 1610 and
explores the history of the people who owned or used them as aids to
prayer. Highlights include a Gutenberg Bible printed in 1455, the warrant
for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots and books owned by Henry VIII,
Elizabeth I and Charles I. Curator Lyn Scrivener will give a talk to
introduce the exhibition. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm |
Talk: Titian by Mark Hudson | |
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Thursday 10 June Mark Hudson spent 30 years looking at Titian's paintings before embarking on his book 'Titian, the Last Days'. But as he'd never read a book on the artist from cover to cover, doesn't particularly like libraries and wanted to avoid using the word 'Renaissance' if at all possible, this was never going to be a conventional biography.
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Special Event: The Francis Haskell
Lecture | |
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Friday 11 June One of the most distinguished art historians of his generation, Francis Haskell was Professor of Art History at Oxford, and a member of The Art Fund’s Committee from 1976 until his death in 2000. This year, the annual lecture in his memory is given by Professor Martin Kemp. Leonardo and the Ladies Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151
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Visit: Royal Albert Hall | |
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Monday 14 June Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.00 pm and 2.15pm |
Walk: East India Town and Brunel
Museum | |
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Wednesday 16 June Starting at Bermondsey tube station a guided walk through an old “East
India Town”, along the river, taking in Edward III’s summer palace, the
exact spot from where the Mayflower originally set sail, the Church of St
Mary the Virgin, Rotherhithe by John James with an altarpiece by Grinling
Gibbons, and locations where Dickens set scenes in Our Mutual Friend,
Little Dorrit etc. The walk is led by Robert Hulse, the Director of
the Brunel Museum, where we will have tea a home made cake and a tour of
the Museum, and (only for the intrepid) a chance to see the neo-classical
Grand Entrance Hall of Brunel’s tunnel under the Thames, now undergoing
restoration and visible for the first time in 140 years. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.00pm till 4.00pm |
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Monday 21 June Jennifer Scott is marking the publication of her exciting new book The
Royal Portrait – Image and Impact with this talk, which will explore this
intriguing subject. It will form a fresh assessment of the
importance of portraiture in the image making of monarchs from the
medieval period right up to the present day. Jennifer Scott is an
Assistant Curator at the Royal Collection, having worked previously at
National Museums Liverpool and at the National Gallery. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 6.00pm till 7.30pm |
View and Talk: The Wyeth Family - Three Generations of
American Art | |
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Tuesday 22 June Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) was the fifth child of N C Wyeth, whose vivid
illustrations for Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe and The Last of the
Mohicans made him an American celebrity by the 1920’s. Andrew
learned early that realism was a rewarding quality. His paintings
are accessible and his critics – of which there were many – accused him of
being merely an illustrator. But he was, in 1976, the first living
artist to be honoured by a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York and at his death he was certainly America’s most famous (and
probably its most popular) painter. His eldest sister Henrietta
(1907-1997) made a distinguished career as a portraitist and his son,
James Browning Wyeth, (known as Jamie) (1946-) has inherited his
grandfather’s taste for vivid oils. This show brings together the
three generations of American realists and it is introduced for us with a
talk in the Linbury Room by an expert from the gallery. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.30pm till 4.30 pm |
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Thursday 17 June This talk marks the staging at the Queen’s Gallery of the first major
exhibition to focus on the unique art collecting partnership of Queen
Victoria and Prince Albert. Jonathan Marsden, Director of the Royal
Collection and Art Fund Trustee, will discuss how over 400 items have been
brought together from across the Royal Collection to celebrate the
couple’s mutual delight in collecting works of art fromthe time of their
engagement in 1839 to the Prince’s untimely death in 1861. This talk will
explore the couple’s love of painting, sculpture and decorative art, as
well as their interest in music, theatre and
literature. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151
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Visit: Eltham Palace and Gardens | |
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Sunday 27 June A visit to Eltham Palace is a unique opportunity to discover some of
the finest art deco interior design in the United Kingdom, as well as the
magnificent architectural remnants of one of the great lost royal palaces
of the medieval age. The palace was originally one of the leading
royal residences, even acting as Henry VIII’s boyhood home, but it spent
much of the 18th and 19th centuries as a ruin. Only in the 1930’s
did the Courtauld family decide to rescue it and turn it into a modern
design showpiece. The visit includes a guided tour of the palace
and, weather permitting, a tour of the exceptional gardens. Booking Information: Call 0844 415 4151Mon - Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm Lines open 9.00 am Monday 15 March Time: 2.00pm till 5.00pm |
