What's on: future Study Days

Study days are designed to explore specific subjects in depth, under the leadership of one or more expert lecturers. The topics range widely but we try to include subjects relating to forthcoming major exhibitions in London where possible.

Study days are held either online as Zoom events or in-person at various central London locations. They typically last for five or six hours, including breaks for refreshments (tea and coffee provided at in-person events) and lunch (not included).

In the past, study days have been open to Society members only. From 1st January 2025 non-members are allowed to attend certain events at the Organiser’s discretion at a non-member rate. Please see individual event booking page for further information.

Fees for Society members are typically £49 in-person and £44 online.

Fees for non-members are £59 in-person and £54 online.

A recording of all online and also, where permitted, in-person study days will be made available to attendees for a limited period after the study day.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BOOKING CLOSES 48 HOURS BEFORE THE START OF THE STUDY DAY

Members only

Places available

Byzantium’s Capital: Constantinople, the New Rome, the Queen of Cities

Wed 28 October 2026
11:00 to 16:30
Lettsom House & as Post Event Online Recording
Lecturer: Cecily Hennessy

Constantinople was the political and artistic capital of Byzantium for over a thousand years, celebrated for its legendary wealth and ceremony. This day will trace the development of Constantinople from the time of Constantine the Great, who founded the city in 324, to its fall to the Ottomans in 1453.

Open to all

Places available

Design for Performance: Art on the British Stage

Wed 2 December 2026
11am to 4:30pm
Lettsom House & as Post Event Online Recording
Lecturer: Jane Pritchard

This study day will focus on the artists who have designed for dance and opera during the twentieth century looking at how changes in the approach to design for the stage changed early in the twentieth century, moving away from ‘realism’ to enable artist-designers to bring the imaginative force of their artistic vision to life on the British stage.

Members only

Places available

Still Life in the Dutch Golden Age

Tue 26 January 2027
11:00 to 16:30
Lettsom House & as Post Event Online Recording
Lecturer: Clare Ford-Wille

The day will begin with a brief discussion concerning the definition and origins of the term ‘still life’ and its origins in Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, followed by the demise of still life during the early centuries of Christian art, and its re-emergence as a result of the Renaissance and the rise of humanism during the 14th century and 15th centuries, when still life begins to play a more dominant role in the paintings of Netherlandish painters.

Members only

Places available

From Flanders to Italy: The Impact of Netherlandish Painting in the Renaissance

Tue 23 February 2027
11:00 to 16:30
Lettsom House & as Post Event Online Recording
Lecturer: Paula Nuttall

Although famously disparaged by Michelangelo as being ‘without reason or art’, Netherlandish painting was widely admired in Renaissance Italy, and had a transformative effect on Italian art itself.

Members only

Places available

Velázquez’s Seville: The Birth of Spanish Golden Age Art

Tue 9 March 2027
11:00 to 16:30
Lettsom House & as Post Event Online Recording
Lecturer: Nicola Jennings

The paintings of Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) include some of the most celebrated images of all time. In this day, we travel back to Seville circa 1600, witnessing the birth of the paintings of Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán and Bartolomé Murillo, and of the polychrome sculptures of Juan Martínez Montañés and Juan de Mesa.

Open to all

Places available

Thames-side Idylls – Creating Houses and Gardens in the 18th Century

Tue 16 March 2027
11:00 to 16:15
Online Zoom Event
Lecturer: Matthew Morgan

In the 18th Century aristocrats, courtiers, wealthy financiers, writers and actors created some of the most adventurous and beautiful houses and gardens of the era along the Thames – idyllic spaces for living and pleasure and to experiment with new ideas about architecture and garden design. In this study day we will explore some of the design ideas that joined these wonderful places together but also look at the ways in which houses such as Chiswick House, Marble Hill, Strawberry Hill and Sandycombe Lodge were unique.

Study Events Coordinators

WAYS TO BOOK AND PAY FOR EVENTS

We prefer online booking using WebCollect by clicking on BOOK PLACES in the event details section. It is also possible to book by printing and completing a paper booking form and sending it together with a cheque to our Administrator at the address on the form.

Payment for subscriptions and event bookings through WebCollect can be made by card (via PayPal), by direct debit, by bank transfer, or by cheque. For information on each payment option, you can either read more on this site, or download the information as a PDF.

If you require any further information you may call and leave a short message at tel: 0843 289 4663. Please state the event you are enquiring about. (Calls cost 7p per minute plus any network access charge your phone company may levy)

Terms & Conditions

Applying for Courses and Study Events as a member of the Society; cancellation policy; what happens if the Society cancels a Course or Study Event. Read full details here, or download a PDF of the Booking Conditions.