https://www.theartssocietykingston.org.uk/

The Arts Society Kingston, Kingston upon Thames (2026)

10/06/2026

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Do We See What They Saw? Experiencing Paintings in the Past
By Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe

Monday 15th June 7:30pm

How does our experience of living with and looking at works of art today compare to the viewing experience of earlier centuries? You may never have given a thought to how you enjoy a painting, or what it is that you value in it, let alone wonder whether that enjoyment was different in the past. This lecture will consider the very different conditions in which paintings were displayed and enjoyed in earlier centuries, as well as the very different responses that they evoked. It draws on the evidence in paintings themselves for the many surprising ways in which people handled, hung, used or responded to the art that they owned. From concealing their paintings with a small curtain, to the lighting by candle or window, and the grouping of copies together with originals, this talk will present some of the more unexpected ways that people responded to a picture.

Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe has an MA in History of Art from Edinburgh, and a PhD from the Warburg Institute, London University. With 40 years' experience as a lecturer, Chantal has taught at Sotheby's Institute of Art on the MA in Fine and Decorative Arts since 1989, and as a freelance lecturer for a number of societies and institutions in London, including the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection. Having also trained as a paintings conservator, she brings an understanding of the making and the physical painting to her lectures and study sessions.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University
image copyright free

12/05/2026

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The Roots of Jazz
by Emma Johnson
Monday 18 May 7:30pm

New Orleans at the end of the 19th century was a busy port welcoming ships and sailors from all over the world bringing with them many diverse styles of music. It was also one of the few places in America where the music of the slave population was not just tolerated but openly enjoyed by black and white communities alike. In this Creole crucible it was not long before such a kaleidoscope of musical traditions would come together, react, and evolve into an exciting new music, namely jazz.

Jazz’s evolution didn’t happen overnight of course. And in this talk we’ll look at the part African Blues and Cakewalk, American Classical and Vaudeville, Latin American Dance, and Middle Eastern Klezmer all played in the story of jazz. We’ll also enjoy along the way some of the greatest musical artists of the twentieth century: Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington to name but a few.

With 30 CDs to her name, Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have performed as a soloist all over the world.

She also enjoys giving talks about music - Woodwind Wizardry and The Poet John Milton were both broadcast by BBC radio and she has lectured about composers Gerald Finzi and Malcolm Arnold for the internet company Tonebase, as well as about Schubert and Brahms for Martin Randall Travel.

Emma studied Music and English at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, where she was the first woman to be made an Honorary Fellow. She was honoured by the Queen with an M.B.E. in 1996.

Her charity, the Emma Johnson Music Foundation, gives workshops in primary schools to introduce children to instrumental music.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University
image copyright free

15/04/2026

NEXT LECTURE
History of Embroidery
by Susan Kay-Williams
Monday 20 April 7:30pm

This talk takes us from some of the earliest embroidery in this country from the 10th century through the height of English work, Opus Anglicanum to the embroidered outfits of our Tudor monarchs through to the seventeenth century when new design ideas arrived from India and China, and new techniques emerged such as raised embroidery, through to the growth in silk shading with the growth in dye shades, then to Berlin wool work in the 19th century and the dawn of art embroidery by the likes of William Morris and Walter Crane in the late 19th century. Finally we reach the period of embroidery artists in the 20th century including Beryl Dean, Constance Howard and Diana Springall to the artists of today including Mr X Stitch. This lecture shows how much embroidery has changed and stayed the same over the last thousand years.

For 17 years from 2007 to 2024 Susan Kaye-Williams was Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes. Susan has a longstanding interest in textiles, especially colour, and published her first book, The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury) in 2013. She has extensive lecturing experience across the world as well as for the V&A and across the UK. In 2022 she published An Unbroken Thread: the 150 year history of the Royal School of Needlework, a second edition of which was published in 2024 to include the RSN's work on the coronation. She is currently the President of the Society of Dyers and Colourists. and is now getting back to research into the history of colour in textiles.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University

Image: A small portion of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the adventure of William the Conqueror in 1066

23/03/2026

With Blue Badge Guide Russell Nash, a group of members explored the City of London, delving into its captivating history. Spanning just one square mile, this area has seen the rise and fall of civilizations over almost 2000 years since its Roman founding. Shaped by fire, revolt, and bombs, it has emerged resilient. We discovered tranquil courtyards, secret gardens, and a hidden riverside walk on a beautiful day.

10/03/2026

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Monday, 16 March 2026

Constable and the Impressionists: Painting in the Open Air
By Mathew Morgan

British landscape artist John Constable was determined to paint from nature. “There is room for enough for a natural painture,” he wrote. Some of his earliest oil paintings were made out of doors in the open air. When his works were shown in the Paris Salon in 18224, including The Hay Wain, they caused a sensation. This talk will explore how the work of Constable laid the groundwork for the experiments of the Impressionists

Mathew Morgan is a freelance art historian, educator and museum professional. He has spoken on a wide range of topics from Caravaggio to Kehinde Wiley. His first love is the art of JMW Turner and his primary interest is European 18th and 19th Century painting.

He studied History at Cambridge, has a Masters in Art History at The Courtauld Institute and his PhD, ‘Mediating Art and Experience: Art Museums in Las Vegas’, is from Birkbeck, University of London. Mathew has lectured at the National Gallery, Royal Collection, Wallace Collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

As Museum Director, he ran Turner’s House in Twickenham, dedicated to JMW Turner. He has taught for over eight years at Birkbeck, University of London, was Head of the London learning team at the Royal Collection and has delivered a wide range of learning events at the National Gallery. Prior to working in museums he was a Director in the Valuations Department at Christies.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University

Photo:
The Vale of Dedham. 1828.
From permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh

12/02/2026

Next time you are at Kingston station be sure to see the fabulous works on show!
Information on the project is shown in the first picture

11/02/2026

Our members enjoyed a fabulous visit to Apsley house which was built in the 1770s for Henry Bathurst, 1st baron Apsley, by architect Robert Adam. The setting was thought to be one of the finest in london, on the edge of the city with the Royal park at the back.

Wellington arch is one of London’s most iconic monuments. The war memorial is crowned by the largest bronze sculpture in Europe: the Angel of peace descending on the chariot of war.

10/02/2026

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Monday, 16 February 2026 7:30pm

The Great Age of the Sh**un: Art and Culture in Edo Period Japan
By Marie Conte-Helm

During the Edo period of rule by the Tokugawa Sh**unate (1615-1868), the arts of Japan gained in richness and diversity. With the rise of the merchant class and the growth of cities such as Edo (modern-day Tokyo), a new vitality was injected into traditional forms and an emerging middle class culture gave rise to exciting developments in the visual and performing arts. This lecture will consider the arts of the period including castle architecture, golden screen painting, ukiyo-e prints, textiles, lacquerware, and netsuke, as well as the emergence of the flamboyant kabuki theatre. It will provide a snapshot of both aristocratic and popular taste as Japan made the transition from feudal kingdom into modern state.

Professor Marie Conte-Helm is a long-established Arts Society Lecturer with a BA in History of Art and an MA in Asian Art and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation from 1999-2011 and has held senior academic posts at various UK universities. She has most recently served as Executive Director of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the University for the Creative Arts. She is widely published and has lectured throughout the UK and abroad. She is also an experienced cruise speaker and a Resident Historian with Viking Ocean Cruises, lecturing on many aspects of Asian Art and East-West Encounters. She was awarded an OBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to UK-Japan educational and cultural relations and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Government of Japan in 2019.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University

Photo:
A young lady looking at the moon from a window (Ariwara no Narihira), from Six Fashionable Poets (Furyu rok’kasen).

12/01/2026

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Titian and his Influence on Western Art
By Charlie Hall

Monday, 19 January 2026 7:30pm

Born at the end of the fifteenth century, Tiziano Vecellio came from Pieve di Cadore as a child to work as an apprentice in the studio of Giovanni Bellini alongside another artist who would soon become a master, Giorgione. Catapulted into a world where painting with oil on canvas was becoming the prominent art form, he became the first artist to truly be dominant. Michelangelo famously noted ‘If only he had learned to draw, Titian would have become a Great.’, but his style inspired subsequent painters, from Diego Velázquez, Rubens, Van Dyck and eventually, in the twentieth century, Gerhard Richter and Cecily Brown. This talk explores Titian’s working practice, his patrons and his legacy.

Charlie Hall is a passionate arts educator, lecturer, and guide, based in London and Italy. Director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course, (est. 1965) Tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays since 2013, and of independent tours in Italy. Designer and host of a series of art talks and events for the Soho House group of private member’s clubs. Designed and led courses for Christie’s Education and The Serpentine Gallery ‘Collector’s Circle’.

If you would like to join us for this lecture and are not a member there will be a donation of £10. Please contact [email protected]
The lectures are held at the Clattern Theatre at Kingston University

01/11/2025

Our members enjoyed an inspiring visit to Charleston House where the Bloomsbury Group lived (Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant)

The Arts Society Kingston

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