We would like to welcome any members who might like to join the Newsletter team to help compile the January 2027 edition. If you have an interest in art history and would enjoy contributing, we would be delighted to hear from you.
SOCIETY EVENTS
Our next members lecture is ‘I was a rich man’s plaything: Pop art in Britain’ on Wednesday March 4th at 18:00. This is an online Zoom event. This is a free event for members but booking is required.
The following members lecture Exemplars of 20th century British Art and Design on the Tube – From Bawden to Buren, from Epstein to Paolozzi will also be an online Zoom event and will take place on Wednesday April 8th at 18:00.
Places are available on our upcoming study events:
Michaelina Wautier a study day at The Linnean Society of London with Dr Adam Sammut, on Thursday 16th April.
The Michaelina Wautier exhibition is due to open at the Royal Academy on 27th March, including her Bacchus masterpiece and uniting for the first time in Europe her paintings of the five senses. This study day is an opportunity to learn about this forgotten artist and the Brussels baroque art scene. The Linnaean Society venue in Burlington House enables participants to visit the exhibition at the end of the study day.
NEW Angevin and Aragonese Naples: A Crucible of Cultures a study day at Lettsom House with Drs Paula and Geoff Nuttall on Tuesday 12th May.
Forging the Baroque: histories of Neapolitan art in the long 17th century a three-day online course on Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th June 2026, 11.00am to 1pm with Dr Giulia Martina Weston.
NEW American Art and its Publics 1880-1939 a study day at Lettsom House with Dr Kathy McLaughlan on Friday 3rd July.
NEW The Biedermeier: A Triumph of Simplicity in a complex Time an online study day with Thomas Abbott on Thursday 16th July.
Barbizon and the Making of Modern Landscape a three-day online course on 6th, 7th and 8th October 14.00-16.00 with Jo Rhymer.
NEW London Interiors – Style and Taste in Interior Design, 1660-1940 a three-day online course on 24th, 25th and 26th November 10.00-12.00 with Steve Brindle.
All the above are in-person study events (except Forging the Baroque, Barbizon and the Making of Modern Landscape and London Interiors – Style and Taste in Interior Design, 1660-1940) and are also offered on a post-event recording only basis, with recordings available to all attendees for 4 weeks.
There are also many upcoming study visits and walks:
College of Arms Visit at the College of Arms, with Adam Tuck, Lancaster Herald, on Thursday 26th of March. Waiting list only.
Visit to St George’s Chapel and Archives Windsor on Friday 24th April.
Visit to Canterbury Cathedral with Dr Sally Dormer on Wednesday 20th May. This is now waiting list only. If we have enough members interested in a possible second Guided Tour of Canterbury Cathedral with Dr Sally Dormer, this will go ahead on Friday 2nd October 2026 – and will be advertised in the next month or two.
Tour of Kari Anne Helleberg Bahri Exhibition – Bluerider ART Gallery on Friday 6th March at 11:00.
Royal Geographical Society Visit at The Royal Geographical Society in Kensington on Thursday 7th May at 11:00 – 13:00.
Founded in 1830, a visit to the beautiful and inspiring RGS Historic Rooms associated with the planning and reporting of notable explorers and their expeditions including Darwin, Shackleton and Scott. The extensive and famous ‘Explorer Art Collection’ is outstanding, particularly its Expedition Photography.
The tour will be led by Dr Katherine Parker, the Cartographic Collections Manager. If any LAHS member has an interest in a particular expedition she will endeavour to give a focus in the tour to some artwork from that expedition.
NEW Visit to Coventry Cathedral Coventry on Friday 10th July
Please bear in mind that in order for these events to go ahead, we need to cover their costs. We kindly ask that members book as early as possible to ensure that events do not need to be rescheduled or at worst cancelled.
Ravenna Tour
There are a few places left on the tour to Ravenna 15th-19th June led by Cecily Hennessy and being run by James Hill Travels for our Members. If you are interested in joining the tour please contact info@jameshilltravels.com or 01869 906043.
Current Exhibitions and Lectures in London
Talk: Gainsborough & the Theatre: Inspired by the Stage at The Foundling Museum. Online and in person on March 27th at 15:00. Join art historian Matthew Morgan and dive into the beauty and bawdiness of the 18th-century theatre as seen through the eyes of artist Thomas Gainsborough.
Talk: Mary Beard and Diarmaid MacCulloch on the History of Sex and Christianity at Union Chapel, London. In-person talk on Tuesday March 3, 7PM. Click here to unlock discounted £10 tickets.
In the twenty-first century, Christianity or historically Christian societies have witnessed one of the most extraordinary revolutions in attitudes to sex and gender in human history, bringing liberation for some and fury and fear for others. Understanding the history of Christianity and its influence on our cultural identity is essential to understanding debates around the role of women in society, same-sex relationships and the public exploration of gender and trans identity.
Jock McFadyen with Jem Finer: Underground (and Surface) Exhibition at Guildhall Art Gallery. On now until 20th September
Lines & Lineage: Three Wood Engravers at Watts Gallery. On now until 12th April
With thanks to Eva Bigalke, you can access and download a listing of current and future exhibitions showing in London from now until July 2026 here.
Overseas Exhibitions
Renoir and Love, A Joyful Modernity (1865-1885). Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. Opening on 17th March until 19th July.
This exhibition explores Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Impressionist paintings from 1865-1885, showing how he used light, colour and modern social settings to depict love in its many forms.
Rothko in Florence. At Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy. Opening 14th March to 23rd August.
A major retrospective of Mark Rothko, bringing together over 70 works including large paintings never before shown in Italy from leading international museums and collections to trace his artistic evolution from early figurative pieces to his celebrated abstract colour fields.
Matisse 1941-1954. Grand Palais, Paris, France. Opening 24th march to 26th July.
This exhibition spotlights the artist’s final and most inventive period, featuring over 230 paintings, drawings, cut-out gouaches, books, textiles and stained glass that reveal how he reinvented his visual language with pure colour and paper cut-outs.
If you wish to recommend other overseas exhibitions that may be of interest to fellow members please contact our Communications Coordinator.
