Events at this location

Presented by Kathy McLauchlan

Many stories are told about Degas, his attitudes and his work. This talk will unpick myth from reality, pointing out the strange, even contradictory nature of Degas’ work. We concentrate on portraits and domestic scenes from the 1860s, when he was still in search of an artistic identity. We consider Degas’s tendency to imbue his images with a sense of ambiguity or unease. Is there a logical explanation for these unsettling compositions? We consider possible answers through an examination of Degas’s work and that of contemporaries including Manet, Renoir and Tissot.

Kathy McLauchlan is a lecturer specialising in 19th-century art history, she is currently a course director at the Victoria & Albert Museum, organising courses and study days on the history of art and design. She is also a freelance lecturer who teaches at several institutions, including the Arts Society and Art Pursuits. She is a graduate of Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute, with a Ph.D. in French 19th-century painters in Rome. she has published catalogues and articles for the British Council and the Barbican Art Gallery.

About ADFAS Shoalhaven

ADFAS Shoalhaven promotes interest in the study of decorative and fine arts by offering high quality monthly lectures on a wide range of subjects including art, history, gardening, design, and architecture.

The monthly meetings are a wonderful and informal way to make friends and to get to know others in the community. Visit our website for information on membership. Visitors are always welcome. Doors open 7pm for a 7:30pm start.

Presented by Gillian Hovell

A deep insight into the many kinds of art found in the homes and streets of Roman Pompeii; they reveal a thoroughly modern world, one full of material goods and works of art, in which craftsmanship and artistry were draped around the Romans themselves and amidst their everyday lives. Pompeii’s survival gives us a glimpse of the Roman Empire, in all its vastness. Its volcanic burial captured multicultural vibrant lives. Its triumph and tragedy still speak to us across the millennia.

Gillian Hovell graduated with 2-1 (Hons) in Latin and Ancient History from Exeter University. She worked in BBC Television and went on to become an award-winning freelance writer, author, international public speaker & broadcaster, specialising in archaeology, prehistory and in the Greek and Roman eras. She is a lecturer at York University and has spoken at the British Museum and frequently on TV & Radio. Gillian now actively digs at major sites in the UK and Europe.

About ADFAS Shoalhaven

ADFAS Shoalhaven promotes interest in the study of decorative and fine arts by offering high quality monthly lectures on a wide range of subjects including art, history, gardening, design, and architecture.

The monthly meetings are a wonderful and informal way to make friends and to get to know others in the community. Visit our website for information on membership. Visitors are always welcome. Doors open 7pm for a 7:30pm start.

Presented by Gillian Hovell

This is a special half-day event 10 am – 1pm consisting of 2 lectures and morning tea.

Price: Members $20, Visitors $35.

Dig deep into our gardens and their plants to discover fantastical tales of myth and legend that add life and colour to your garden plants. We travel back, over 2,000 years and more, to Babylon, Ancient Greece and Rome to find the blossoming of our gardens today. Perfect as a joyous celebration of Spring, this vibrant 2-lecture half-day explores the ancient roots of stories, beliefs and garden design that were cultivated 2,000 years ago.

LECTURE 1: BLOSSOMING MYTHS & LEGENDS Like other works of art, a garden is a place for contemplation; every plant had a story to tell in a Roman garden. We discover the colourful ancient tales and myths (and names) that add remarkable new dimensions to the flowers, fruits and vegetables, trees and herbs we enjoy today.

LECTURE 2: ANCIENT ROOTS OF GARDENS The story of why we have gardens at all, and the fascinating tale of how they developed in the ancient world. How and why did gardens come to be a work of art in themselves? We see how these blossomed through the ages into our own gardens; large or small, grand estates of stately homes or a pocket garden, they all have a 2,000-year-old ancestry that enriches our gardens today.

Gillian Hovell graduated with 2-1 (Hons) in Latin and Ancient History from Exeter University. She worked in BBC Television and went on to become an award-winning freelance writer, author, international public speaker & broadcaster, specialising in archaeology, prehistory and in the Greek and Roman eras. She is a lecturer at York University and has spoken at the British Museum and frequently on TV & Radio. Gillian now actively digs at major sites in the UK and Europe.

About ADFAS Shoalhaven

ADFAS Shoalhaven promotes interest in the study of decorative and fine arts by offering high quality monthly lectures on a wide range of subjects including art, history, gardening, design, and architecture.

The monthly meetings are a wonderful and informal way to make friends and to get to know others in the community. Visit our website for information on membership. Visitors are always welcome.

Book your seat for this online via the Book Now link below.