When researching my biographies of Lizzie Siddal and Kate Perugini, I kept coming across a mysterious princess, attending studio parties, helping fellow artists in times of need, and being linked with several scandals. I was amazed to discover Princess Louise was a daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a well-respected sculptor. Her life and legacy has been locked away in the Royal Archives ever since her death in 1939, but her work was stunning, and her life fascinating. Researching her biography was like being a detective, so I titled my book The Mystery of Princess Louise.

Lucinda Hawksley is an author, broadcaster, lecturer and award-winning travel writer, who has worked as an interviewee, consultant and presenter on TV and radio shows worldwide. She has written three biographies of female artists: Kate Perugini (née Dickens), Princess Louise and Lizzie Siddal. Her other books include, Victorian Christmas, Dickens and Travel, Letters of Great Women, Elizabeth Revealed, Dickens and Christmas, The Writer Abroad, Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper and Arsenic in the Victorian Home, Charles Dickens and his Circle, Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards (Facial Hair in Art), and March, Women, March: Voices of the Women’s Movement.

Lucinda’s many TV credits include Miriam’s Dickensian Christmas, a show she created with the Dickens-loving actress Miriam Margolyes, Charles Dickens with Gyles Brandreth, World’s Greatest Paintings, A Very Country Christmas, Paul O’Grady’s Great British Escape, The Project, Landscape Artist of the Year, Queen Victoria and her Tragic Family, Cathedrals of Steam – Europe’s Most Famous Train Stations, Missing Masterpieces, Queen Victoria’s Children, Mrs Dickens’s Family Christmas, Dickens and Health, Find My Past: The Staplehurst Rail Crash, Charles Dickens’s Secret Lover and Charles Dickens and the Invention of Christmas.

Lucinda co-wrote and narrated The Real Sherlock, a six-part podcast series about Arthur Conan-Doyle, for Audible. She has also written and narrated, for Audible, the introductions for Our Mutual Friend and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Her other voice-over work includes art gallery audio guides and a children’s audio guide to Stonehenge. She is a great great great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens, and a Patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London; she is also a Patron of the De Morgan Foundation. In 2024 she became the President of the International Dickens Fellowship.

Awards, Qualifications & Memberships:

MA in Literature and History of Art
Winner of the Ed Lacy Travel Writing Award
President of the International Dickens Fellowship
Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund
Fellow of the RSA
Board Member of the Society of Authors
Patron of the Charles Dickens Museum
Patron of the De Morgan Foundation

Swimming is Britain’s second favourite form of physical recreation (after walking). Almost everyone has memories of visiting their local baths. But whilst not all these memories might be positive – drooping knitted cozzies anyone? – for many swimmers the baths themselves are cherished. Some, particular those built in the late Victorian and Edwardian years, are rich with decorative tilework, stained glass, polished wood and terracotta detailing. This sense of municipal pride continued into the 1920s and ’30s, when Art Deco and Modernist lidos became the urban beaches of their day.

Simon Inglis specialises in the architecture and heritage of sport and recreation. From 2004-22 he edited the Played in Britain series for English Heritage. He currently acts as an Ambassdor for the Historic Pools of Britain. Although sport and recreation might seem an unlikely subject for The Arts Society, non-sporty types need have no fear. Simon’s themes are architecture, design, heritage and popular culture. Since gaining a history degree at University College London, he has freelanced for various publications, been a regular contributor to radio and television, has edited numerous technical guidelines on stadium design and safety, has travelled and lectured extensively, and written a number of books. Two were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, while another, on British football grounds, was chosen by journalist Frank Keating as the best sports book of the 20th century. One highpoint in his work for English Heritage was the listing of a 1970s skatepark in Essex, a world first that made the 10 o'clock news.

From Margaret of Anjou to Katherine Parr, the ten queen consorts of England from 1445-1548, played an essential role in royal life: they were wives, mothers, patrons, and intercessors. All the Queen’s Jewels uncovers the exciting history of the jewels and jewellery that the queens wore and their significance as an explicit and unmistakeable display of wealth, majesty and authority. This talk is perfect for anyone interested in medieval and Tudor history, queenship and the history of material culture.

Dr Nicola Tallis is an independent author and historian, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has worked as a curator, researcher, and lecturer, and specialises in the use of jewels in late medieval and Tudor England. Nicola has spoken at many prestigious events and venues including the Emirates Festival of Literature, the Tower of London, Hampton Court, and the National Archives. She has made numerous television and radio appearances, including on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, Channel 5’s The Vikings and The Gunpowder Plot, and Channel 4’s Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy. Nicola is the author of five books, and her latest, Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen. was Book of the Week in The Times in February 2024. 

The late Christopher Hitchens, who knew a thing or two about feuds, once wrote that a really first rate bust up requires one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the great early Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader, Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo, who painted out and amended each other’s works. There are many more.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and abc Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate. 

In 1565, Pieter Bruegel the Elder was commissioned to create a series of paintings for a dining room in Antwerp. The images, charting the course of a year, changed the way we view the world through art. Landscape had previously been a decorative backdrop to dramas both sacred and profane. But in Bruegel's hands the landscape and our interaction with it became the focus. Looking at paintings such as The Return of the Herd, Hunters in the Snow and The Gloomy Day, this lecture explores how Bruegel pioneered a whole new way of thinking about the environment and our individual places within a shifting cosmos.

A writer and broadcaster. Appears on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and contributes to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe. Recent appearances include Klimt and The Kiss in cinemas worldwide, and talks for the Hay and Cheltenham Literature Festivals, the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum and the V&A. His first book, A Home for All Seasons, was published in 2022; his second, The Gay Apocalypse: Queer Life and Culture in Vienna 1900 will be released next year.  

The Borghese Gallery houses what is arguably one of the greatest collections of art in the world. In the early 1600s Cardinal Scipio Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, amassed an incredible collection of ancient sculptures and renaissance art, including works by Titian, Botticelli and Raphael. Scipio added to this by commissioning statues from Bernini and buying up works by Caravaggio, Domenichino and other contemporary artists of the day.  The collection also houses later artworks acquired over the centuries by the Borghese family, all in a magnificent building designed for Cardinal Scipio especially to house his collection.

Stuart Harvey is a “History and Art Communicator” of 30 years experience. He is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide (qualified in 1998 - awarded “New Guide of the Year”) and also a Guida Turistica Abilitata della Provincia di Roma (qualified in 2010). He has worked in educational tourism since 1992, leading study tours all over Europe. Living in Rome since 2003, Stuart has developed a great love for the Eternal City and its many treasures. In addition to his primary career as full-time Rome tourist guide, Stuart’s entertaining and lively lectures and virtual tours bring the rich artistic and historical wealth of Rome’s 28 centuries to life for people all over the world. 

This lecture celebrates the remarkable life and career of British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, tracing her journey from rural Yorkshire to international acclaim. It begins with her early friendship with fellow sculptor Henry Moore and follows her travels across Europe in the 1930s, when she met Picasso and learned to carve marble in Florence.

The lecture explores Hepworth’s artistic influences and her commitment to abstraction, showing how landscape, family life and place profoundly shaped her sculpture. It examines key works in stone, plaster and bronze, situating them within the contexts of modernism and post-war Britain.

Ian Giles studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and is a practising artist. His artworks and films have been shown internationally, including at MoMA PS1 (New York), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), and the Whitechapel Gallery (London).

He has been a visiting lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts, Cambridge School of Art, Camberwell College of Arts, Birmingham School of Art and the University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture.

His work has been supported by Arts Council England, Art Fund, The Jerwood Foundation, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Recent press coverage includes features and reviews in The Guardian, Frieze, Artforum, and on BBC radio and television.

In 2026 he will present exhibitions and projects at Queer Britain, Southampton City Art Gallery and Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.

Awards, Qualifications & Memberships:

- Masters in Fine Art from Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
- BA (Hons) Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
- Foundation at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL

How long does it take to put together a major exhibition? Who decides what subjects will be explored and which objects will be included? How do you get an object from the Vatican to the British Museum? In this lecture members are offered a behind the scenes insight into the process and drama of putting together a ‘blockbuster’ exhibition. Drawing on her experiences at the Wallace Collection, Courtauld Institute, British Museum and her own gallery – Anna will share the trials, tribulations and joys of getting from the idea to the opening night. The lecture also explores the contrasts between exhibition and permanent display curating.

Anna Bianco is a freelance curator, writer, lecturer, tour guide and art historian. She has been an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society for 14 years. She has a BA History of Art and an MA in Curating from the Courtauld Institute of Art. She has curated exhibitions and displays at The Wallace Collection, The British Museum, The Embankment Galleries and The Southwark Art Collection. She was Director of the Tryon St. Gallery on the Kings Road, and was Associate Curator at Copperfield Gallery, Southwark. She was also Senior Curator for Faith at Auckland Castle in County Durham. She has been a guest lecturer for Christies Education, Durham University, London College of Communication and the Open University. She has also been a tour guide for Context Travel across London.  Anna loves storytelling. Her greatest passion is bringing artworks and objects to life through the stories of the people who made them. 

Anna attended her first Arts Society Study Day aged 7 as the helper of her Grandfather Theophilus Peters who was an Accredited Lecturer. She has been hooked on The Arts Society ever since! 

What was the public reaction to jazz when it began to appear in Britain in the aftermath of the First World War? What did early jazz sound like and how did British musicians learn to play in the style? How did British artists and designers react to the new rhythms and colours of the music? Following on from The Arts Society/Two Temple Place Rhythm and Reaction exhibition which I curated in 2018, this lecture explores how jazz arrived in Britain and the impact that it had on musicians, artists and the wider public. The lecture is illustrated with examples of visual art, including works not shown in the exhibition, and recorded music examples.

Professor Catherine Tackley is an internationally recognised musicologist, specialising in jazz. The lectures that Catherine offers for The Arts Society are all based on her original scholarship and informed by her teaching experience at Leeds Conservatoire, The Open University and now at the University of Liverpool (where she was Head of the Music Department from 2016-2022), as well as numerous high-profile public talks and media appearances (BBC Radio 3 and 4; BBC television) over more than two decades.

Catherine has written two books – 'The Evolution of Jazz in Britain: c.1880-1935' and 'Benny Goodman’s Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert' - and co-edited 'Black British Jazz: Routes, Ownership and Performance'. In 2018, Catherine curated 'Rhythm and Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain for The Arts Society', an acclaimed exhibition in London based on her research. In recognition of this and her work with many other organisations, Catherine won 'Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement' in the University of Liverpool's Staff Awards in 2019. She is active as a musician, including directing Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats Big Band.

Awards, Qualifications & Memberships:

2022 Overall winner: Inspirational Leader of the Year, University of Liverpool Staff Awards
2019 Overall winner: Outstanding Public Engagement of the Year, University of Liverpool Staff Awards
2013 All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group Jazz Publication of the Year for Benny Goodman’s 1938 Famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

In this lecture, we chart the beginnings of one of London’s most vibrant and fascinating neighbourhoods. We begin with the area’s surprising Saxon origins to its takeover by the monks at Westminster Abbey. Following the Reformation, the area changed hands again and in the early Stuart era the first planned square  or ‘piazza’ was developed by the Earls of Bedford and architect Inigo Jones. 
By 1670, the once fashionable Piazza area was inextricably linked to the theatre and a  daily market was established which thrived until 1974.

Simon Whitehouse is an actor, lecturer, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher and award winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and also lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion and art history but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it.