Visits & Study Days 30th April 2024 Simon Whitehouse The World’s Greatest Paintings: 200 Years of the National Gallery 2024 marks the bicentenary of the founding of the National Gallery. This lecture tells the story of the establishment of the NG collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s government purchased 38 paintings for £57,000 from the collection of businessman and philanthropist John Julius Angerstein. The paintings were initially displayed at 100 Pall Mall, Angerstein’s townhouse and by 1838, it was decided that a purpose built building was required, giving us the William Wilkins designed building we know and love on Trafalgar Square. During the course of the lecture we examine some of the high (and low) points of the early years of the gallery including suffragette sabotage, bombs and theft. We also take a close up look at some of the original "Angerstein 38” paintings… LECTURE ONE 1824-1838 In 1824, following increasing public pressure, Lord Liverpool’s government bought 38 Old Master paintings from the collection of John Julius Angerstein & thus the National Gallery was born. In this first lecture, we examine some of the “Angerstein 38” (including a fearsome Pope along with paintings bequeathed by Sir George Beaumont) and discover where the paintings were displayed before they found a purpose-built home in Trafalgar Square. LECTURE TWO 1838-1914 Now in its new location, pressure builds to create a ‘survey’ collection telling a much wider story of Western European art. We meet the first Director, Sir Charles Eastlake and some of his often- controversial acquisitions (including the oldest painting in the collection). We tell the story of the Art Fund and how it saved numerous works, including a Velazquez Venus that was the focus of one of the National Gallery’s most infamous security breaches! LECTURE THREE 1914-today The final lecture sees the National Gallery under attack in two World Wars, leading to the creation of the ‘Picture of the Month’. We discuss the danger posed to a Duchess, and a Duke that was the subject of the only successful theft in the gallery’s history! We conclude with the much-derided design of the Sainsbury Wing expansion of the gallery, and look ahead to the next chapter in the story of the gallery’s extraordinary history. Click here for booking form (page 1) and further details (Pages 2 & 3) VISIT TO BEAUTIFUL OXFORD IN SPRINGTIME By Coach, Thursday, May 16th Oxford – ‘the city of dreaming spires’ with its beautiful architecture, colleges, museums, galleries and usual city attractions offers a wealth of opportunities to be explored at your own pace. The coach drop off point is by the world renowned Ashmolean Museum and Gallery where an art exhibition ‘Bruegel to Rubens’ will be running. Most museums are free entry and some offer free tours eg the Museum of Art and Archaeology. The Botanic Garden is a 15 min walk from the City centre. Other visitor attractions include the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera. City maps will be provided on the day. www.oxfordcity.co.uk gives full details. Timetable: 08.00 Depart London Rd near Sainsburys, by coach. 11.00 Arrival Oxford City centre, approx. allowing for comfort break en route. 16.30 Depart Oxford 19.30 Arrival Grantham, approx. allowing for comfort break. Bookings open on February 20th. Further details can be found in the Booking Form which will be available from outside the Lecture Theatre from the 20th of February. Click here for further details and a booking form 22nd October 2024 Tobias Capwell THE WAR OF THE ROSES 1455-1487: Understanding the Dynastic Conflicts of Late Mediæval England This Study Day has a simple purpose - to make the Wars of the Roses easy to understand. This is no small challenge. The events, actions, battles and reversals of fortune making up this series of civil conflicts in late mediæval England are complicated, to say the least. The key to it all is to find a way to clearly identify and understand the positions of the individual human beings involved, in what was a deeply personal and bitter dynastic feud. Achieving a meaningful sense of the key players is difficult however, since names and titles often repeat through several generations of the noble families involved. Also, very few portraits exist - in many cases we have no physical description of the 'Rose Warriors' at all. Expressing the progression of events and the interpersonal relationships visually, in lively and creative ways, the lecturer draws on his academic and practical experiences, as both a scholar of the late Middle Ages and as one of the world's foremost mediæval martial artists, to bring this oft-misunderstood but remarkable period of British history to life. The lecturer also offers the chance to handle replica fifteenth-century arms and armour from his own collection.