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Click here for future lectures

17 September 2026REMBRANDT'S NIGHT WATCH: The Anatomy of a Masterpiece
18 June 2026EDWARD BURNE-JONES: The Legend of the Briar Rose
21 May 2026MY DAUBS: The Paintings of Winston Churchill
16 April 2026MOROCCO BLUES: Why and How the Country Changed Colour
19 March 2026THE ART OF THE AUTOMOBILE
19 February 2026ART DECO JEWELLERY: A Modern Inspiration and a Real Originality
15 January 2026THE NATURE OF THE BEAST: Understanding Fabulous Animals in Medieval Art
11 December 2025ROBERT KEABLE, UTTERLY IMMORAL WW1 CHAPLAIN AND WRITER?
20 November 2025AMERICAN 20TH CENTURY ART - CANCELLED AND REPLACED WITH Dutch Seventeenth Century Painting: The Portraiture of all Holland
14 October 2025MAKING SPORT: JANE AUSTEN AND THE ART OF SATIRE
18 September 2025OPERA: THE MELTING POT OF CULTURE
09 September 2025PAINTING MANCHESTER (ZOOM ONLY) 7PM
19 June 2025TITIAN AND HIS INFLUENCE ON WESTERN ART
15 May 2025ADVENTURES IN THREE DIMENSIONS: Twentieth Century Sculpture in Britain
15 April 2025THE ARCHITECTURE OF MUGHAL INDIA, PALACES, MOSQUES, GARDENS AND MAUSOLEUMS
20 March 2025THE LEGACY OF TEA
20 February 2025MARCEL DUCHAMP - GENIUS OR CHARLATAN
16 January 2025Carnations, Tulips and Hyacinths: The Story of Turkey’s Iznik Ceramics
12 December 2024O, YES IT IS! History of Pantomime from Ancient to Modern Times
20 November 2024MONUMENTAL SQUARES AND FOUNTAINS OF ROME
17 October 2024CEZANNE: The (unlikely) Father of Modern Art (Zoom only)
19 September 2024THE NATIONAL MANTELPIECE: A History of the National Gallery in Ten Paintings
20 June 2024NOT A PILE OF STONES; Contemporary Art and the English Stately Home. AGM to proceed the lecture
16 May 2024WILD MEN OF THE NORTH: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven
16 April 2024PIONEER POTTERIES OF THE SOUTH WEST
21 March 2024TOM ROBERTS: A National Narrative
15 February 2024RENE GRUAU AND THE ART OF DIOR
18 January 2024BEFORE IMPRESSIONISM: Sketch and Finish in 19 Century Landscape
14 December 2023ST NICHOLAS OF MYRA AND SANTA CLAUS: A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
16 November 2023PALMYRA: Bride of the Desert
19 October 2023GRACE DARLING AND THE FINE ART OF SAVING LIVES AT SEA
21 September 2023RAILWAY MAPS OF THE WORLD
15 June 2023DESIGN INSPIRATIONS: MARIANO FORTUNY
18 May 2023ART AND ACTIVISM IN LATIN AMERICA
20 April 2023THE MAGIC OF PRAGUE: The City and the Czech Cultural Revival (NO ZOOM)
16 March 2023THE DUST BOWL THROUGH THE LENS OF A PHOTOGRAPHER
23 February 2023LA SERENISSIMA: The Golden Era of Music in Venice
19 January 2023“WHAT IS A CRACK?” A Closer Look at the Paintings of Stanhope Forbes RA and the Newlyn School of Painters.
15 December 2022CONJURING WITH COLOUR
17 November 2022WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON EASTER ISLAND?
20 October 2022KOH-I-NOOR: The Most Famous Diamond in the World
15 September 2022ART TREASURES OF MADRID - ZOOM ONLY
16 June 2022ASHCANS AND BALLGOWNS: Insights into New York's Gilded Age
19 May 2022ERIC RAVILIOUS: Life and Works
21 April 2022CATHEDRALS: Safe Places to do Risky Things
17 March 2022SCOTTISH COLOURISTS
17 February 2022DALE CHIHULY AND THE AMERICAN ART GLASS MOVEMENT
20 January 2022THE ART AND CULTURE OF FIN-DE-SIECLE VIENNA
15 December 2021THREE WISE MEN: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh: The Traditions of the Magi
04 November 2021SPLENDIFEROUS FURNITURE OF THE LATE 17th CENTURY
21 October 2021DAVID HOCKNEY: The Old Master of Modern Art
16 September 2021WORLD FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHS: Images that Shaped our World (6:45pm)
17 June 2021CITIES OF VESUVIUS: Art and Everyday Life in Ancient Pompeii ( 6:45pm)
20 May 2021ART BEHIND THE BARS: The role of Arts in the Cycle of Crime, Prison and Re-Offending (6:45pm)
13 May 2021MARINA RENEE-CEMMICK – A Talk on her Experiences and Art
15 April 2021THE GREAT VELAZQUEZ AT COURT IN MADRID (6:45pm)
18 March 2021THE SHOCK OF THE NEW
18 February 2021IN THE WAKE OF HANDEL: The Impact of Handel on 300 Years of British Culture
21 January 2021THE SILVER THREAD: Silver Filigree and Traditional Arts in Kosova
02 December 2020NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T
05 November 2020BLACK DEATH and its AFTERMATH: The impact on the people and how they reacted in Society and Art
30 October 2020Virtual Tour 'CITY OF LONDON'
25 October 2020VIRTUAL WALK OF VENICE YOUTUBE LINK
15 October 2020JMW TURNER and THE DAY PARLIAMENT BURNED DOWN
17 September 2020POST WAR AUSTRALIAN PAINTING
16 July 2020GREAT RAILWAY STATIONS - Evoking the Spirit of Romance and Adventure
18 June 2020FICTION, FALLACY and FAKE NEWS: The Subtle Art of Spin and Propaganda throughout the Ages
28 May 2020THE SUBTLE SCIENCE AND EXACT ART OF COLOUR IN ENGLISH GARDEN DESIGN
19 March 2020ROLE OF ARTS IN THE CYCLE OF CRIME
20 February 2020RAPHAEL: A Master in the Making
16 January 2020AUGUSTUS RODIN and 19th CENTURY SCULPTURE
04 December 2019IN THE KINGDOM OF THE SWEETS
21 November 2019MUSIC AND ART IN THE AGE OF VERMEER
17 October 2019POTS AND FROCKS: The world of Grayson Perry. From Essex Potter to Superstar National Treasure
19 September 2019BORN IN THE LANDSCAPE: Norwegian Arts from Stave Churches to Snøhetta
20 June 2019PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Captured on Camera.
16 May 2019ART UK: Art held in Public ownership in UK
18 April 2019THE ANCIENT SILK ROAD AND ITS HIDDEN ART TREASURES
21 March 2019ARCHITECTURE NOW!
21 February 2019THE REMARKABLE COLLECTIONS OF ISAAC and MOËSE de CAMONDO. From Constantinople to Paris and the Parc Monceau.
17 January 2019SOROLLA -Painter of Sunlight
05 December 2018CHRISTMAS AND OTHER FESTIVALS IN MODERN MEXICO (Lecture and Christmas Dinner - please note this is a ticketed event and not included in annual subscription)
01 November 2018PORTMEIRION VILLAGE- A Welsh Italianate Fantasy
18 October 2018HIDDEN CANVASSES- Street Art and the City
20 September 20181937:ONE HELL OF A YEAR IN ART
21 June 2018THE ART OF THE JOKE
17 May 2018FABER & FABER- Ninety Years of Excellence in Cover Design
19 April 2018LET THE GAMES BEGIN! The Cotswold Olympics Rebound
15 March 2018A THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY: Medieval Cathedrals as Time Machines
15 February 2018FROM THE CIRCUS TO SANDRINGHAM
18 January 2018I AM A GENIUS:Artistic Identity and the Changing Status of Artists
06 December 2017CHRISTMAS DINNER and LECTURE: 'SINGE WE YULE' - A TICKETED EVENT
02 November 2017EMPIRE'S ARCHITECTURE; CELEBRATING A RICH LEGACY
19 October 2017"WE FEW, WE HAPPY FEW"- A portrait of Nelson and his Captains
21 September 2017DURER: THE ITALIAN & NORTHERN RENAISSANCE - the relationship between Italian art, Dürer and the Northern Artists
15 June 201718TH CENTURY ENGLISH PORCELAIN - Chelsea, Worcester, Bow and Derby
18 May 2017THE OTHER REVOLUTION: HOW RUSSIAN ARTISTS CHANGED THE LANGUAGE OF ART ON THE EVE OF 1917
20 April 2017ADVENTURES IN PUPPETRY- A PERSONAL HISTORY
16 March 2017PASSIONS, PERSONALITIES and PATRONAGE: CHATSWORTH and the STORY OF THE DEVONSHIRE FAMILY COLLECTIONS, 1549 TO THE PRESENT
16 February 2017COVENTRY CATHEDRAL: ICON and INSPIRATION
19 January 2017DISCOVERING MacDONALD GILL: ARCHITECT, ARTIST AND MAPMAKER
07 December 2016CHRISTMAS PARTY and LECTURE: THE OX AND THE ASS: SILENT WATCHERS AT THE CRIB
03 November 2016MUSIC, MASONRY AND MANUSCRIPTS: AN INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEY THROUGH MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
20 October 2016VILLAS FOR THE AGRICULTURAL AND CULTURAL ELITE
15 September 2016THE POWER OF JEWELLERY: ADORNMENT AND RITUAL FROM PRE-HISTORY TO THE PRESENT DAY
16 June 2016THE OTHER SIDE: GERMANY'S POST WWII CULTURE OF MEMORIALS and COUNTER MEMORIALS
19 May 2016WALTER SICKERT AND THE CAMDEN TOWN GROUP 1905 - 1918
21 April 2016GRINLING GIBBONS: Works in Wood, Stone and Bronze
17 March 2016THAT WOMAN OR THE DUCHESS OF STYLE - Time to Reassess Wallis Simpson
18 February 2016BREUGEL'S SCENES OF COUNTRY LIFE
21 January 2016OUT OF THE BLUE
02 December 2015THE CHRISTMAS TREE: FROM FOREST FIR TO FESTIVE FEATURE. Please note: This is a ticketed event and not one of the lectures included in the annual subscription.
05 November 2015THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE HUGUENOTS
15 October 2015SLADE PAINTERS IN DORSET: A New Exhibition
17 September 2015ADVENTURES IN THREE DIMENSIONS: 20th century sculpture in Britain
18 June 2015THE POWER and THE GLORY OF OUR COUNTRY HOUSES – Their Evolution and Changing Role
21 May 2015INN SIGNIA: The Artwork and Stories behind Peculiar Pub Names
16 April 2015THE GOLDEN AGE OF VENETIAN GLASS
19 March 2015ST PANCRAS AND FRIENDS: A Journey through London’s stations
19 February 2015UNDER THE OPEN SKY: History of Cornish Art 1880 - 1940
15 January 2015ISLAMIC ART: Exploring the Decorative Arts of the Islamic World
06 November 2014THE FASCINATING WORLD OF PLAYING CARDS
16 October 2014LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SUNDIAL
18 September 2014RESCUING ZEUGMA FROM THE FLOOD WATERS OF THE EUPHRATES
19 June 2014THE WORLD'S MOST DECADENT CITY: Paris 1850 - 1900
15 May 2014 SPIRIT of CHERET
17 April 2014PIPERS and TUNE: John and Myfanwy Piper and the Music of Benjamin Britten
20 March 2014SIGN OF THE TIMES: Symbols in Mediaeval Art
20 February 2014SCOTTISH COLOURISTS: Style and Sophistication from the Jazz Age
16 January 2014AUGUSTUS JOHN and GWEN JOHN
05 December 2013A “Dickens of a Christmas and God Bless Everyone”
07 November 2013HABITAT CATALOGUED
17 October 2013All Smoke and Mirrors: The Use of Optics in European Painting
19 September 2013BEHIND THE SCENES: Curating the Art Museum

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REMBRANDT'S NIGHT WATCH: The Anatomy of a Masterpiece Hilary Williams Thursday 17 September 2026

'The Night Watch' of 1642 is Rembrandt's greatest painting and the most famous painting in the Netherlands. But why is it so special? It has become an icon of the Golden Age and of the modern Dutch Nation. Why? How was it commissioned and constructed?  How did Rembrandt paint it and where has it been hung throughout its life? Who are the characters represented? Why is there a lone woman and what is meant by the dead chicken trussed up in her waistband? What does this all tell us about changing Dutch society? This work redirected how group portraits were conceived.

About the lecturer: Hilary Williams was formerly Print Room Superintendent at the British Museum, now Art History Education Officer. Lectures for BM, London Borough of Bexley and Wallace Collection. Liaison officer at British Museum with The Arts Society. Founding Artistic Director of The Arts Society of North Kent Evening. Guides Special Interest Private Tours of State Apartments Buckingham Palace.