Come to Sussex for Opera, Art and History!

We are delighted to have arranged a three day trip to Sussex over the weekend of 31st October to 2nd November with the highlight being a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne followed by dinner at the Glynbdebourne theatre restaurant.

Also   * A guided tour of the Watts Gallery - George Frederick Watts the renouned Victorian artist.

          * A guided tour of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.

          * A visit to Charleston House - the country retreat of the Bloomsbury group.

          * Two nights half board acommodation at a 4 star seafront hotel in Eastbourne.

          *  CLICK HERE for more details and a booking form. 

          *  Cost of the trip - £699 (based on two people sharing a twin a double room). There are 15 double and 5 single rooms available and they will be allocated on a first come/first served basis on receipt of your cheque for the £100 deposit each (NB To make sure that we may reserve your seat at the Opera your deposite is required before  April 30th)

'Decoding History's Art'

Romantics, Rebels and Reformers: Art in the Age of Empire and Industry.

Join us with art historian Dr. Geri Parlby as we delve into the radical artistic transformations of the Victorian Era.

One Day each week for five weeks starting in February 2026 (10.30am to 3.30pm) at the Museum of Somerset, Taunton TA! 4AA.

Course fee £150.

New participants welcome - no prior knowlege required - only a love of art and history. Open to ALL.

Thursday February 19th 2026. The Last of the Romantics. From the animated art of Landseer to the dreamlike visions of Alma-Tadema, Leighton and Dadd.

Thursday February 26th 2026. Art for the People. The rise of Realism & plein air painting with Courbet, Millet and Bonheur.

Wednesday March 4th 2026 The Beautiful Revolt. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's challenge to academic norms.

Thursday March 12th 2026. Rebels, Radicals and Arts and Crafts. Further evolution to the Arts and Crafts movement and the work of Morris and Burne-Jones as they fight industrialisation.

Thursday March 19th 2026. Art with a social conscience. See how Watts, Fildes, Herkomer and Holl used art to confront the harsh realities of industrial life.

To book a place, please contact the course organiser Sarah Merchant - sarah.swstudydays@gmail.com or phone 07896 094742

Dear All, 

             The Festive season has come around again and I find myself thinking “where did 2024 go?” At least I know what we covered in the TASTE lectures Because I keep the beautiful produced brochures. Undoubtedly our best attended lecture was on about Frida Kahlo in February, by Timothy Walker on the healing power of plants in June. As ever we try to cover something of interest to everyone and welcome any suggestions for topics and speakers.

You are probably aware that we held an extra “special event” on the 5th of December which was Gavin Plumbly talking about John Singer Sargent. This was a sell out several weeks in advance and was greatly enjoyed by those who attended. Our hope was that in addition to providing an interesting evening we could make a modest profit. I am pleased to say both aims were achieved. Our bank balance is in the black but with rising costs all round every little helps. Many thanks to those of you who struggled against the elements and to the committee whose hard work made it possible. The team are now considering what we can do next. Again, any suggestions are welcome.

Looking forward to 2025 we start the year with “The Festival of Britain in 1951” Some of you may remember this event but I know most of you are “far too young”. This is followed  on 13th February by The big three in Florence: Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael.  This ties in nicely with the exhibition at the Royal Academy: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael,( 9th November  2024-16th of February 2025). Hopefully if you stay in Taunton and join us at Queens you will find yourselves just as well, if not better informed. However the London show has extremely good reviews so attending both may be the best option.

In June we will hear about the music of the Sixties. This is guaranteed to bring back childhood/adolescent/early adulthood memories for all of us. Unfortunately this will not be available on Zoom due to issues with broadcasting rights but hopefully it will be a lovely sunny evening and you can join us at Queens.

Many thanks for your continuing interest and support . Happy Christmas and All the Best for 2025.

yours Gillian Bryce

Dear All,

I thought I would send out a copy of my quarterly letter on mail chimp as well as adding it to our website. So if you have already read it on one of these platforms you need go no further.

Its hard to believe we only have 3 lectures of the current “ academic” year left. I imagine the most recent, on the Rijksmuseum, has inspired a few to think about a trip to Amsterdam. To find the tulips you could include a visit to the world famous Keukenhof gardens which will be open until mid-May.

By the end of April we should know a great deal more about the Baroque Style in English furniture. In May we learn about Artemisa Gentileschi, who has been the subject of several articles in the press recently as she is being recognised as one of the great artists of the past but underestimated with the passage of time because she was a woman. I suppose she would have to be a great mistress, which does not sound as flattering as a great master! Then in June we will hear about the healing power of plants. Though we all know these are the source of most herbal remedies some of the compounds still used in more conventional modern medicines also derive from plants as do some potent poisons. I hope there is something there to stimulate your interest. 

As you know we are a relatively new committee and it has taken some time to find our feet and appreciate how much work our predecessors put in to keeping the show on the road. Our current published lecture program was compiled by our previous programme secretaries Janet Barker and Jill Engert but after November 2024 it will be the new secretaries who’ve organised things. The programme is in its final draft and looks excellent. (at least in our opinion!) Please feel free to make any suggestions for topics or lecturers you would like us to include in the future. 

We have had fantastic feedback for our lectures since September 2023 thanks to those of you who complete the forms, and appear to be getting a reputation amongst the lecturers as “ a good society to come to.” One of the key things that impresses them is our excellent IT. This is thanks to Ben Charles who is the “man in the box" at Queens. We owe the staff ,including the lovely Emma who is moving on, a great deal of thanks. 

We are planning on holding an extra meeting one evening in December 2024. It is hoped that this will give members an opportunity to meet each other and the committee. Provisionally it will be on Thursday 5th December. Further details to be announced in due course.

Now that the evenings are getting lighter I hope we will see you in Queens Hall soon.

Gillian Bryce

Dear All,

On behalf  the committee I would like to wish those of you reading this in December a very Happy Christmas and all the very best for the coming year. To those who don’t get round to it until 2024, I hope you had a great time over the festive season.

At our AGM in November we completed the formal hand over of committee members and now only myself, as chairman, and Peter Rixon, as vice chairman, remain as members of the previous ensemble. We are indebted to Janet Barker, Jill Engert, Tricia Todd , Teresa Saunders and Anne Phillips for their years of hard work and help during the transition. I hope they can now relax and enjoy the lectures without the concern that something is about to go wrong! 

Helen Speakman and Hilary Vaughan-Thomas, our new programme secretaries, are currently organising speakers for 2025 as the programme compiled by Janet and Jill ends in November 2024.  With a list of over 380 accredited lecturers and 5528 topics this is not an easy task. Many of you have commented how much they enjoyed the three lectures we had in the Autumn and that you would happily hear the speakers again. The lecture by Alice White on Freud and Bacon illustrated for me one of the great things about the Arts Society: a topic which I did not think I would enjoy was so enthusiastically and interestingly presented that it was a very good evening.

Neil Cottey has taken over from Tricia as treasurer and I am reliably informed that the finances are in good hands. Currently our membership is about 10 short on last year but our visitor numbers have been greater and income from the bar and raffle are holding up. We are discussing a possible extra event and social evening next year, possibly in December, in an attempt to boost funds and welcome your thoughts on this.

Annie James has taken over from Anne Phillips as membership secretary and Sara Kelly from Teresa as secretary with Maggie Steel also joining the committee in a new role which we are calling hospitality lead. Essentially the plan is we all work together to share the workload. If any of you feel you could help us with things like Facebook and Instagram that would be much appreciated as none of us have experience in those forums .

The first event in January 2024 is “An Actors Life for Me” by Tyler Butterworth. He is the son of the “Carry On” actor Peter Butterworth and Janet Brown who was one of the first female impressionists, best known for her “Mrs Thatcher”.  At first there may seem little connection between an arts society and the world of stage and screen but one only needs to look back in history to the role of artists in the middle ages,  involved in pageants, festivals and court spectacles to appreciate the link.

In February we go back in history to the early 20th century with Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera and in March to the 17th century with Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum. You may find yourselves contemplating a trip to Mexico or Amsterdam as the result!

I hope you  are able to join us.

Gillian Bryce

5 AMAZING SHOWS TO SEE OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS
 

What better on a winter’s day, than to spend time in the glow of a gallery enjoying art? These five exhibitions are currently top of our list

Banish winter blues 

If the dark mornings and evenings have you feeling tired and floppy head to Oxford, to the Ashmolean. Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design presents a dazzling version of the Victorian world, dispelling its reputation for gloom and satanic mills. Art, technology and science brought an explosion of colour, as shown in the artworks, costumes and design on display.

Until 18 February 2024; ashmolean.org

Get to know Guston  

Guston was born in 1913 in Montreal, Canada to a Jewish immigrant family; by the time of his death in New York in 1980 he had become one of the world’s most celebrated abstract painters. Socially and politically committed, his compelling works have rigorous, luminous qualities and demand considered viewing. Tate Modern’s exhibition, Philip Guston, is the first UK retrospective for 20 years of the art of this complex artist, staged after its postponement in 2020. 

Until 25 February 2024; tate.org.uk

Celebrate Scotland’s art

The Scottish galleries are now open at the National in Edinburgh, following a £38m renovation. The 10 new spaces show key works from the nation’s historic Scottish art collection. Among the 130 treasures you’ll find works by such greats as William McTaggart, Anne Redpath, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Raeburn and more. Among them discover this lesser-known work, The Hunt, once known as Diana and her Nymphs. It was made in 1926 by Robert Burns for the sleek interior of Crawford’s Tea Rooms in Princes Street, for which the artist created every detail, from panels to cake stands.

Ongoing; nationalgalleries.org

Stylish pioneer 

 Lee Miller: Dressed 

We love the sound of this show at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. It was planned to coincide with the release of the film Lee, with Kate Winslet playing the remarkable model, surrealist, photographer and war correspondent Lee Miller (1907–77). Lee Miller: Dressed tracks Miller’s life through her dress and style. 

Until 18 February 2024; brightonmuseums.org.uk

Ghostly installation 

The new Faith Museum in County Durham has just opened, housed in a 14th-century wing of Auckland Castle. Inside the sleek building by Níall McLaughlin Architects lie some 250 precious objects. Each reveals a story of faith in Britain over 6,000 years, from the Neolithic period to 2000. Ten years in the making, the museum will also stage exhibitions exploring timeless ideas. Among the displays is this, artist Mat Collishaw’s new installation in the Great Gallery. Entitled Eidolon, it shows a single blue iris flower engulfed in – but not consumed by – flames, while a voice sings from the Book of Daniel. The piece has been made to emulate a violently transcendental state – a ghostly, chimerical testament to unswerving faith.

Ongoing; aucklandproject.org

Hello and Welcome,

I am sure many of you are already at the stage of asking yourselves; Where has the summer gone? Some of you hopefully have good memories of  times over the recent months but others possibly still have exciting holidays to come. For those of you not looking forward to the colder months I hope we can look forward to entertaining you with our new programme of events.

Our first meeting doesn’t actually take us to warmer climes as we are off to the Antarctic with Shackleton and Mark Cottle in September but we do get to Mexico in February.

All members of the committee , both those stepping down and those stepping up have been busy arranging to hand over the work and business involved.  The official changes take  place at the AGM in November but in practice the new team are certainly fledging if not yet fully flying. Some of this is straightforward but things like bank mandates seem to be incredibly complicated. I had to do this once before in my professional life. This simply involved two relevant people going into the bank with photographic ID and signing some paper work. Job done! Now this is apparently all done on line and seems to take about 6 months. 

We have one other new addition to our team, Maggie Steel who will be joining us with a lead responsibility for hospitality. However we plan to work very much as team sharing the jobs and would greatly welcome anyone who would like to lend a hand.

It would be a great help to our membership secretary, Annie James, if as many of you as possible could join  or rejoin before the meeting on the 14th September. It will be her first night “on the door” and lots of people  trying to pay simultaneously when they arrive tends to cause a bit of a queue so please don’t add to her stress! 

I will never forget our September meeting in 2022 ,our lecturer Lars Tharp was excellent.  However, more importantly now to add to my memories of “where were you when you heard about Elvis Presley, JFK, 9/11, Pricness Diana” I know exactly where I was when I heard about the  death of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.  Those of you who were also present I am sure will remember this for many years to come.  

As in previous years we plan to offer a free drink and canapés to welcome both those returning and those joining for the first time on the 14th September and to raise a glass to an entertaining and interesting season. See you at Queens College!

Best wishes, Gillian Bryce

Hello and Welcome!

This is the first of what I intend to be a quarterly letter to keep you updated with the events and news from our society. I hope you found our recent lectures interesting and enjoyable. We are always happy to listen to any suggestions you may have for topics and speakers. We know we can’t “keep all of the people happy all of the time” but we can always try.

At the end of last season we were informed by Queens College that the cost of the venue hire was going to increase and over recent years the lecturers fees and travel costs have also gone up. This unfortunately has resulted in an increase in membership fees for the first time in several years.

Following the 2 membership surveys we conducted by phone calls we know that a number of you value the facility of the zoom webinars when, for whatever reason, you are not able to attend in person.  We also know that on average 10 devices log in to this facility each month. Like many societies this was introduced as the result of covid. Unlike many others we plan to continue with this going forward. Your feedback informs us that while some of you apparently have no problems others do experience difficulties. The quality audio-visual presentation is dependant on the speakers equipment and the facilities in Queens Hall, plus the assistance of their technician. The main issues appear to be with the audio when the speaker has clips of music or sound. We would suggest that if you can anticipate this from the subject of the lecture it may be better to attend in person if you can.

Unfortunately there were some issues with our last speaker Tim Mirfin whose topic was Great Operatic Rivalries- Hand Bags at Dawn. Nevertheless the comments on the event were extremely positive with some opera-phobes being converted to opera-philes 

One of the other point raised in the surveys was the difficulty parking. There is now a map of the car parks at Queens College on this web site with the areas they have recommended highlighted in red(go to Home Page, Click “Our Society” and “Downloads in the drop-down list and you will find the document). 

Over the summer there will be a period of transition in the committee. I will remain as chairman and Peter Rixon as Vice-chairman.  The programme secretaries Janet Barker and Jill Engert will hand over to Helen Speakman and Hilary Vaughan-Thomas, the treasurer Tricia Todd to Neil Cottey, the membership secretary Anne Philips to Annie James and the secretary Theresa Saunders to Sara Levett. I am grateful to those who have taken the brave step to join the team. No-one can overestimate the amount of time, effort and hard work done by those stepping down. They have raised a very high bar and are an extremely difficult act to follow. 

Anyone else who would like join the team and lend a hand will be made most welcome. Good bar staff are extremely difficult to find!

I hope you all have a great time over the remaining summer and look forward to joining you again in September

Best wishes,

Gillian Bryce