Some of the most iconic images of the 20th century were created, not for galleries or private patrons, but for record sleeves. The zebra crossing immortalised on the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road is the site of a pilgrimage for people traveling thousands of miles to recreate this famous scene. Album covers have been adorned by Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Salvador Dali, Richard Hamilton and a host of lesser-known artists and designers. We will explore the art of the album cover and reveal the close connections between visual and musical creativity in this vibrant period of popular culture. Also available as a two or three-lecture study day with titles: "Blue Note to Beatles", "Hipgnosis and the Heyday of Album Art" and "The Vinyl Countdown".

About our lecturer:

Rupert Dickens is an art historian based in south London with a special interest in Dutch and Flemish 16th and 17th century painting. He works at the Wallace Collection as a guide conducting public and private tours and lecturing on aspects of the collection. Rupert has accompanied groups on art-themed tours to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria and Italy. He has lectured to large audiences on subjects as diverse as the game of chess in art and Madame de Pompadour’s artistic patronage in 18th century France. He studied art history at Birkbeck College before undertaking a Masters in Dutch Golden Age Studies at University College London. Before that Rupert had a 26-year career as a BBC journalist ending as an editor in radio news.

The Huguenots came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century bringing a wide variety of skills - as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers, horticulturists etc. Names such as Paul de Lamerie, Samuel Courtauld and Jean Tijou spring to mind. In virtually all areas, they were innovators and more advanced than the English who were forced to improve their own skills or go out of business. Although the majority settled in London, others found their way to East Anglia, Macclesfield and Canterbury. This talk examines their lasting legacy. 

About out lecturer:

Originally in academic art and design publishing, Sue is also a Fellow of the Huguenot Society, a Freeman of the City of London, a tutor at the City Literary Institute and a Blue Badge guide, conducting a variety of walks and visits.  I am also happy to offer virtual tours.

NB Sue Jacson will not allow us to use the TAS Zoom Guest Scheme

Chagall’s floating figures, dreamers, brides and lovers, exist in a rootless universe where gravity has no pull, and where there are no sure foundations and his only recourse was to trust in the narratives of his ancient people and draw on the strength of his God. As the quintessential alien in exile, his ever-present sense of loss resurfaces in dreamlike, childhood memories of his Hassidic Russian Jewish roots. His early Cubism in Paris gave way to a narrative style in his large Old Testament paintings in which Ultramarine dominates. It is the colour of wisdom and of the cosmos, and is also radiant in his stained glass windows.

About our lecturer:

Lectures in the main museums in London for American universities, and has toured widely in the USA and lectured for the Smithsonian Institution. Has also worked for the Art Fund, taught courses for Cambridge University, has been a guest speaker on cruises. Trained as a painter at Central St Martin’s, she exhibits abroad, most recently in Berlin and France. Lives in London and in Provence.

This is an easy-going introduction into traditional, sub-Saharan African art, inspired by my own learning experiences with this fascinating subject during the decade that I lived in Johannesburg, South Africa. The talk focuses on general misconceptions, basic facts and comparisons, influences of Africa on Europe and vice versa. It offers a broad overview of the artistic production across the continent and provides guidance as to how to look at African art. The lecture explains not only the general premises of African art appreciation but, with a light touch, shows how art can be used to replace postal service, help with marriage problems or deal with unruly teenagers.

About our lectuer:

Holds MEd in History of Art and MA in English Language & Literature, with 25 years of lecturing experience on 3 continents. Since arrival in the UK in 2003, she has been working as a freelance lecturer, public programmes consultant and tour director. She has regularly presented art history courses and lectures, as well as trained staff and volunteers, at the Manchester Art Gallery, the Walker Gallery in Liverpool, University of Manchester and other art and learning institutions. 

She also organizes and presents tours of permanent and temporary exhibitions across the UK and Europe, and study tours to the Balkans, northern Italy, France, Switzerland, Sweden and South Africa.

The speaker has devoted a lifetime to deciphering ancient Mesopotamian inscriptions in cuneiform written on tablets of clay. This close-up look pursues these long-dead people who have bequeathed such marvellous materials to us, from the first steps at school as recorded in comic stories in Sumerian to supplying King Ashurbanipal in the royal library at Nineveh with calligraphic masterpieces. Can be combined with Magic and Medicine in Mesopotamia and The Ark before Noah in a study day

About our Lecturer:

Irving Finkel is a keeper of ancient languages and scripts at the British Museum.  He specialises in cuneiform inscriptions from Mesopotamia.

This lecture explores an artist whose work, inventiveness, and ability to catch the zeitgeist is still admired a century after her bold 'Bizarre' wares were launched in 1927. These Art Deco masterpieces are the products that most vividly signify Clarice Cliff's legacy. She spent a lifetime innovating. Born in 1899, she was a working professional whose lifespan covered the period in which women broke through the barriers of the art world. While the Royal Academy barred women from accessing the full training and privileges of their male counterparts, the pottery industry was one that had traditionally offered female artists the opportunities to excel. Cliff's talents were recognised when she was still a teenager, and she went on to produce designs that keyed into the cutting-edge trends of the period, setting the bar for ceramics as a commercial art form.

About our Lecturer:

I am an art historian, curator, author and journalist with over 25 years’ experience in the art market. I teach at several Higher Education institutions, including Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, where I lead the professional certificate in Art History, as well as the University of the Arts London, Imperial College, SOAS (University of London) and the City & Guilds of London Art School. In 2021 I received the Geoffrey Bond Bursary for Art, an annual prize awarded by the Worshipful Company of Educators to an “outstanding educator” nominated by their institution. 

My articles, essays and reports have been published in numerous specialist journals, newspapers, catalogues, handbooks and websites, aimed at both the academic and general readership in print and online. 

Since 2011 I have been Senior UK Consultant to Singapore gallery One East Asia and have co-curated many exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London and Singapore. When time allows I lecture as an on-board art historian for cruise lines.