Chairman’s letter
August 2018
Dear Member,
Another successful year
We have just completed another successful year as a Society with a full programme of well- attended lectures, study events and tours. Our new Programme card for 2018-2019 is included in this mailing. Our financial position is strong and we were again able to make donations to good causes in the art historical field. Our membership grew by over 20% partly helped by our strong relationship with Birkbeck Department of History of Art. There will be more detail in our Report and Accounts which will be available in the Autumn. Thanks go to all those who volunteered their time to help organise the Society and run our many events.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership fees rose on 1st July 2018 to £25 for single members and £45 for Joint membership. The new rates will apply from when your membership is due for renewal.
Some membership fees are due on 31st August
Most of our members are due to renew their membership at the beginning of September (though some have renewal dates later in the year on the anniversary of their joining the Society).
When your membership renewal is due you will receive a reminder inviting you to renew your membership online using one of the payment methods available (Direct Debit, Cheque, Bank Transfer, or PayPal). Most people will receive the reminder as an email from WebCollect providing a link to your account. If you have not provided us with an email address, you will find a letter from the Membership Secretary in this pack inviting you to renew your membership in the traditional manner.
We have recently updated our Privacy Policy in line with the new Data Protection rules (GDPR) and it is available on our website under the “About” tab at the top of the home page. As part of the membership renewal process, you will be asked to confirm that you have read the Privacy Policy and agree to the Society using your information to run activities, communicate with you and to maintain records. Hard copies are enclosed for members without internet access.
Please do renew your membership as soon as it is due. If you decide not to renew, please let us know. If you have not renewed your membership within two months of the renewal date, your membership will cease and we will delete your details from our system.
New Members. We have had over 130 new people join the Society since last July. This means that demand for our events has increased significantly. We still welcome new members and we are not yet limiting our numbers, but we have now put in place a way of authorising new members so that we can have more control in future. This may mean a small delay between applying for membership and confirmation being given.
If you have any difficulties or concerns please contact the Membership Secretary or any Committee member.
REVIEW
Your copy of The London Art History Society Review is enclosed.
ADDITIONS TO OUR PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES
You will find details of an autumn school not previously advertised included with the spring courses: Mary Magdalene – her changing image in art and literature from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. It will be led by Clare Ford-Wille and will start on 5th November 2018.
Spring 2019 courses are now open for booking on our website and flyers are included in this pack for those of you who have opted to receive hard copies. We would prefer that you choose to use our online system (WebCollect) to make your booking.
The spring programme now advertised includes:
- A second ten-week course on The Renaissance led by Geoffrey Nuttall
- A six-week course on a further set of English medieval cathedrals in context led by John McNeill
- A five-week course on The Art World Now
Places are still available on the study day on 10th August – Paris and the Russian avant-garde led by Natalia Murray. There is also a wide range of courses and study events organised for autumn 2018 and bookings are going well but there are still places available on most activities. You can find details and book on the London Art History Society website or on our WebCollect website.
Details of further events including study days, visits and walks in the period January to April 2019 will be advertised in October.
OVERSEAS AND UK TOUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2019
Full details of a trip to Avignon in May are now online or included with this letter. Brief details of a second tour in June, Italian Court Cities, are also included, and a further tour in September, Bauhaus, will be published later in the year.
QUESTIONNAIRE
I enclose a questionnaire we have prepared to help you to let us know what you think of the work of the Society and to help guide our thinking about the future. Please take a little time to complete this and return it to our correspondence address, or you can scan the completed questionnaire and email it to our Secretary – secretary@londonarthistorysociety.org.uk.
COMMUNICATIONS
I hope you find these communications helpful. We are always keen to receive feedback on how members feel about any aspect of the work of the Society. Please email the Secretary or write to us at our correspondence address c/o Tudor Cottage, Stoke Prior, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0LG
With best wishes
John Dunlop
Chairman