The opening lecture after the summer break will take place on 11th October, the second Monday in the month on this occasion.  It will be preceded by the AGM. The AGM will commence at 7.15, and will be followed at 7.45 (as usual) by the lecture.

Vincent went to Arles in 1888 attracted by the light of the south, and the subject matter.  During his stay he painted something like 200 paintings, including the Sunflowers, over 100 drawings, and wrote 200 letters.  It was one of the most turbulent parts of his already dramatic life, and some of his most famous paintings were painted there.

Apart from being our President and artistic advisor, HILARY WILLIAMS is the Art History Education Officer at the British |Museum and will have just organised the successful Big Draw in October

'Life without art is like dinner without wine.  Why bother?'  Thomas Arvid. (First Monday in the month)

This lecture will show paintings of wine being made and consumed since the time of Noah, as well as looking at the contribution that 'wine art' makes to our colourful world.  Who has not marvelled at the creativity and beauty of wine labels?

JOHN ERICSON is an entertaining speaker and excellent communicator.  He recently retired from the University of Bath as Director of Studies in the School of Education.  A few years ago we enjoyed his lecture on the Shakers

The oriental-looking city of Moscow contrasts with the western-looking, modern metropolis of St Petersburg - like the double-headed eagle, they look in different directions.  Some Russian artists identify with Moscow, others with St. Petersburg.  This lecture explores the art, architecture and music of both these great cities, looking at how they increased and decreased in importance before and after the 1917 revolution..

ROSAMUND BARTLETT is a writer, translator and lecturer specialising in cultural history, with a particular focus on Russia and Eastern Europe.

Image : The Winter Palace, St Petersberg

At the time of his death in 1926, Antoni Gaudi was arguably the most famous architect in the world.  He had created some of the greatest and most controversial masterpieces of modern architecture, which were as exotic as they were outrageous.  This lecture brings both the man and the architect powerfully to life against the changing backdrop of Barcelona and Catalonia.

GIJS VAN HENSBERGEN is a writer and lecturer connected to the University of Bristol, specialising in Spain.  Among his books is a successful biography of Gaudi.

Image : Gaudi Sagrada Familiar

Michelangelo was one of the great masters of the Italian Renaissance, excelling as an artist, sculptor and architect.  His character was described as 'Terribilita' or titanic tempestousness.  He was a perfectionist and could not suffer criticism from his patrons, so that his career was interruped by quarrels and reconciliations with popes, voluntary exile and half-finished projects.  Fortunately, the works of art he left behind are his triumph.

ERIC SHANES is a practising painter, printmaker and writer.  He is Chairman of the Turner Society, and a popular Nadfas lecturer.

Image : Portrait of Michelangelo

The city of Bath has been immortalised by many writers, none more distinguished than Jane Austen.  we explore it through contemporary illustrations and engravings, and views of interiors and exteriors of buildings which featured in her books.  Extracts from these novels and her letters will bring Jane Austen's Bath to life and will help us to understand why she never really liked the place.

ELIZABETH MERRY is 'fascinated by the links between the branches of the Arts - particularly connections between literature and the visual arts and the social and cultural trends underpinning them'  Among other posts, she has worked for the Jane Austen Society.

Image : Royal Crescent, Bath

Shauna Isaac works for Sage Recovery to help families, museums and government agencies to find objects looted by the Nazis.  She will set the scene in Germany and explain the history of the Nazi attitude to aesthetics and 'degenerate art'.  We will hear about the successful return of some works of art, particularly those that took place in the UK.

SHAUNA ISAAC studied at the Courtauld Institute and Birkbeck College. She is an expert in using the internet as a tool to recover Nazi era looted art.  She works closely with governments and law enforcement agencies to create a database of looted art.

This is the intriguing story of the two iconic Waldorf-Astoria hotels in New York - the first one on Fifth Avenue (where liveried footment wore eighteenth century style breeches), and the present glaamorous art deco hotel on Park Avenue.  The glittering interiors of the 'Jazz-Age' Waldorf-Astoria were created by leading European designers, artists and sculptors.

MARY ALEXANDER is a historian and was formerly Assistant Curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of English Costume

Image : Waldorf-Astor Hotel

Elizabethan patrons created great mansions to display their wealth, status and discernment.  The results have a uniquely English style, mixing mediaeval gothic traditions and European Renaissance motifs.  Examples of these houses are Hardwick Hall, Kirkby Hall and the Earl of Leicester's theatrical alterations to Kenilworth Castle.

GILLIAN WHITE trained as a historian before being seduced by the attractions of art history.  She has worked for the National Trust as Collections Manager at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire.

Image : Hardwick Hall

This lecture will describe the emergence of the Impressionist movement and the radical techniques of the artists; as well as the connection between Impressionism and the emerging art of photography. Leslie Primo lectures at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. LESLIE PRIMO is new to the NADFAS Directory, and came across as a dynamic and amusing lecturer when we heard him at the Directory meeting earlier this year. He gives lectures, guided tours plus special talks at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery; talks at the City Literary Institute, National Maritime Museum and the Courtauld Institute.

Why is Modern Art so different from anything since the Renaissance? Why did Modern Art happen? What are the artists trying to say? How do I know if the art works are good, or if the artist can even draw? Why are there so many different styles, so many isms? Artists are only part of the picture. We shall look at the developments in Modern Art within the context of unprecedented change in Europe: political, social, industrial and technological. LYNNE GIBSON is a freelance lecturer and artist. She specialises in Critical Studies in Art (Understanding Art) and her presentation and teaching is appreciated by her students. She is a practising painter and etcher, and her own artwork has been exhibited widely and used in a range of publications