E-News Bulletin October 2025
Our next online members lecture is this month; Toulouse-Lautrec: From Albi to Paris, with Juliet Heslewood, taking place on Thursday 16th October at 18:00. The lecture is free to members but registration is required.
SOCIETY EVENTS
Places are available on our upcoming study events:
Ravenna, A Treasury of Mosaics, at Lettsom House with Dr Cecily Hennessy on Tuesday 28th October 2025.
Hanseatic Patronage: A Legacy of Art & Architecture, at Lettsom House with Dr Zoë Opačić on Friday 5th December 2025.
Not the Dark Ages!, a 5 week course at Lettsom House with Dr Sally Dormer on Thursdays 8th January to 5th February 2026.
The History and Art of Heraldry at Friends’ House with Adam Tuck on Wednesday 11th February 2026.
All the above in-person study events are also offered on a post-event recording only basis, with recordings available to all attendees for 4 weeks (except for Ravenna which will be available for 2 weeks).
There are also many upcoming study visits and walks:
The Exterior and Immediate Environs of St Paul’s Cathedral – St Bride’s Church and Museum, led by Yvonne Jackman rescheduled to Friday 3rd October. This event is now waiting list only.
William Morris Society and Emery Walker House a visit on Tuesday 7th October, re-scheduled from Friday 10th October.
Museum of the Royal College of Music a visit on Wednesday 15th October.
Art and History at Charterhouse a visit on Wednesday 12th November. This event is now waiting list only.
British Library Conservation Studio Tour on Monday 8th December. The tours at 11.00 and 13.30 are now waiting list only. If there is sufficient interest, we may be able to organise a third tour.
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.
A Message from our Secretary, Geoff Shepherd – Art Explora Volunteer Opportunity
Art Explora is an international Foundation founded in 2019 by a French entrepreneur to encourage new forms of access and engagement with arts and culture. The Foundation has approached The Society to seek volunteers to become involved in showing art works to residents in care homes across London. After an induction and training session I began volunteering in a care home in Westminster a couple of times a month. Each session is approximately one hour long. There is an on-line calendar and volunteers can choose a time and care home that suits their other commitments. I have found the experience rewarding and stimulating and I hope the care home residents have as well! Art Explora has a community programme coordinator Poppy Keating.
If you are interested in learning more about this volunteering role please do contact Poppy on poppy.keating@artexplora.org or I would be happy to chat about own my experience as a volunteer geoffgshepherd@gmail.com
London Art History Society Review – Readership Survey Reminder
We would like to ask you a number of short questions about your thoughts on the current issue of the London Art History Society Review. This will help inform our choices about the presentation, articles and features to be considered for future issues, and help us ensure that the journal remains relevant and interesting to members. Your responses to the questions, and in particular your own comments and suggestions in the free text spaces will be of particular value to us. We would appreciate it if you could complete the online survey questionnaire here.
Thank you.
Barrie MacDonald,
Editor, and the members of the Review Editorial Panel
Current Exhibitions and Lectures in London
Members Recommendation: Scented Visions: Smell in Art 1850 – 1915 at Watts Gallery. On now until 9th November.
Members Recommendation: Double Vision: Vermeer at Kenwood at Kenwood House. On now until 11th January 2026.
Thunderbirds & Space: 1999 at The Museum of Brands. On now until 28th February 2026
Studying the Bayeux Tapestry online lecture at the Royal School of Needlework. 19:00 – 20:30, Wednesday October 8th.
With thanks to Eva Bigalke, you can access and download a listing of current and future exhibitions showing in London from now until April 2026 here.
Overseas Exhibitions
Members Recommendation: Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Childhood Illuminated. Petit Palais, Paris, France. Open from now until 25 January 2026.
This exhibition explores Greuze’s work through the theme of childhood, showcasing around 100 pieces from major international museums and private collections.
Members Recommendation: Beckman. Stadel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany. Open from 3 December 2025, until 15 March 2026.
The exhibition showcases around eighty drawing works by Max Beckmann, many publicly displayed for the first time which trace his graphic development from early sketches to his late, painterly masterpieces.
Fra Angelico. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy. Open from now until 25 January 2026.
The Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo di San Marco present a landmark exhibition on Fra Angelico, celebrating the Renaissance master’s artistic evolution and influence. Featuring over 140 works from international collections, the show marks the first major Florentine exhibition on the artist in seventy years and highlights his pivotal role in shaping 15th-century Italian art.
Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art. Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany. Open from now until 25 January 2026.
This exhibition presents nearly 150 works including paintings, manuscripts, tapestries and sculpture spanning some 4,000 years, exploring the unicorn’s role across cultures and media. It investigates how this creature has inspired fantasy, symbol, spiritual and scientific thought — revealing how the image of the unicorn embodies projections, ambivalence, and imaginative power.
If you wish to recommend other overseas exhibitions that may be of interest to fellow members please contact our Communications Coordinator.