Lectures
All society lectures start at 11.00am at the Victoria Hall.
Members may apply to the Membership Secretary for PRIOR PERMISSION to bring
one guest to two meetings per year. Restrictions will apply to numbers using the
hall. Guests must be booked in by the Monday prior to the lecture. A fee of £5 is
charged for each guest.
There is no meeting in July
28 August 2025
LUCY HUGHES-HALLET
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham – the Handsomest Man in Europe and
Patron of the Arts
A king's favourite who amassed a great art collection.
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was the favourite of
King James I - who addressed him as ‘my sweet child and
wife’ - and subsequently chief minister to King Charles I.
Buckingham was a beauty, and he surrounded himself with
beautiful things. He enjoyed exquisite clothes, like the
fabulous white silk suit encrusted with diamonds that he
wore to visit the Queen of France. He was a superb dancer.
When he cut capers during a court masque King James
startled visiting ambassadors by shouting out ‘By God,
George, I love you!’
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Public domain
Followed by the summer lunch
Venue to be confirmed.
25 September 2025
RUPERT DICKENS
Rembrandt’s hand: a question of attribution
What makes a genuine Rembrandt?
This question has dogged museums and art
historians since the great Dutch master’s
reputation soared to prominence at the end of
the 19th century. The Rembrandt Research
Project tried for nearly five decades to pare down
the painter’s oeuvre, using the latest technology
and a barrage of experts. But a backlash in the
1990s cause many disavowed Rembrandts to be
put back on the list.
This lecture charts the ebb and flow of Rembrandt attribution and tries to answer the
question: who decides? Science or the subjective eye of the connoisseur.
Philosopher in Meditation (or Interior with Tobit and Anna) by Rembrandt
Louvre, Paris
Preceded by the AGM
23 October 2025
ANNALIE TALENT
Becoming Jane Austen: The Birth of a Literary Superstar
I write only for fame… Jane Austen
Detail of a portrait of Jane Austen.
From a watercolour by James Andrews of Maidenhead based on an
unfinished work by Cassandra Austen. Public domain
The start of the new membership year 2025/26
27 November 2025
MARIE-ANNE MANCIO
The History of American Art in 25 iconic works
To celebrate the 250th
anniversary of the
Declaration of
Independence in America,
explore 25 iconic works
including Grant Wood’s
‘American Gothic,’ Dorothea
Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother,’
Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ of
American art.
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942, Edward Hopper. Public domain
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