You are cordially invited to enjoy some much-needed fun and frivolity at a virtual treasure hunt hosted by Court Assistant Sonya Zuckerman and Middle Warden Graham Barker. You will have an opportunity to unearth long-forgotten items and get a deeper insight into people you thought you knew well!

A lecture by Arts Scholar Anne Rogers Haley about Walker Kirkland Hancock (1901-1998), Sculptor and Monument Man, and the WW2 Monuments Men. The Monuments Men are famous for their discovery, in May 1945, in a salt mine at Altausee, high in the Austrian Alps, of the looted eight panels of The Adoration of the Lamb by Jan van Eyck, considered one of the masterpieces of 15th-century European art.

Dr. Susan Bracken, a Liveryman of the Arts Scholars, will tell us about the plans of Augustus the Strong (1670-1733) of Saxony to set up a 'menagerie' of porcelain animal sculptures in the Japanese Palace in Dresden. The talk explores this ambitious project & considers some of the reasons why, although never realised as intended, it remains such an intriguing example of patronage and collecting in the 18th century.

The Master, Wardens and Court of Assistants invite all Arts Scholars to attend these important ceremonies to admit our new Freemen. Those new Freemen being admitted will be asked to take an Oath of Allegiance and give a short 2-minute vignette of who they are and their arts interests.

The Pocket Lunch is an opportunity for Members to present a small work of art for discussion with fellow Arts Scholars. Traditionally, when we met for an actual lunch, the size of the object was restricted to what you could fit into your pocket (hence the name). However, online Pocket Lunches allow for larger objects to be presented if you so wish ........ and your own choice of menu for lunch as well!

Based on research for his book ‘A Marvel to Behold’, Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII, Arts Scholar Tim Schroder lecture explores a little-known part of the Tudor monarch’s collecting activities. In the closely guarded ‘palace within a palace’, in the privy apartments at Whitehall Palace, a collection of precious and jewelled works of art was formed that amounted to one of the first Kunstkammers or Schatzkammers of early modern Europe.

"The Obsession of Collection" - A series of short lectures/vignettes on collections, collectors and the strange obsession that overtakes some collectors. Amongst those presenting are: Sonya Zuckerman on her obsession with all things Japanese; Gaby Robertshaw on David Hockney; Jonathan Gestetner on the secrets of his peep shows and Billy King-Harman on his interest in the engravings of Arthur Briscoe.

Given by Arts Scholar Ian Swankie, this lecture is about the works that have sold for over $100 million together with the buyers and sellers, the stories behind the works and the reasons for changing hands, Ian will try to answer the question “Are they really worth hundreds of millions of pounds?”

The Fabergé firm went well beyond supplying Easter gifts to the last empresses of Russia to become an enduring symbol for the fallen house of the Romanovs. Arts Scholar Cynthia Coleman Sparke will show us how they did it. Join us online as we ‘zoom' through the historic context, materials and techniques that contributed to the firm’s reputation as well as the genius of Carl Fabergé as a business visionary.

Two thousand years ago “Io Saturnalia!” rather than, “Merry Christmas” was the seasonal greeting that would have chimed out across most of Europe. The Roman mid-winter festival of misrule has heavily influenced many Christmas traditions – including the time of year we celebrate. Arts Scholar Dr Sam Moorhead explores the Saturnalia, tracing its influence on the dating of the Christian festival, and exploring the ‘pagan’ origins of festive traditions, such as gift-giving.