Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, 

9 Fore Street, Evershot, Dorchester,

Dorset

DT2 0JR

Plumber Manor Country House Hotel

Nr Sturminster Newton,

Dorset

DT10 2AF

Gothic Art and Architecture

Tuesday 25 May 

10.00 - 13.00

The Gothic era was a period of incredible change and there was an explosion of new images: the glorious spectacles of the churches and cathedrals with their soaring vaults and glorious stained glass windows, Gothic architecture attempted to produce a heavenly environment on earth.  We will study the sumptuous manuscript illuminations, sculptures, stained glass and frescoes of this era as well as the design and building of the magnificent period of Gothic architecture through all its evolving manifestations.

The total cost for the day is £30.00 which includes refreshments on arrival and at break and handouts.

Art and Poetry

Tuesday 5 June 

10.00 - 13.00

For centuries, art has inspired some of our greatest poets and, likewise, poems have inspired some of our greatest artists.  We will study works by artists such as William Blake, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and David Hockney to appreciate how they interpreted the writings of poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Tennyson, Keats and Walt Whitman.

The total cost for the day is £30.00 which includes refreshments on arrival and break and handouts.

Angelica Kauffman

Monday 28 & 29 June 2021

10.00 - 13.00

Our study morning will look at yet another outstanding woman artist: “In 18th-century Europe, Angelica Kauffman was a very successful artist in a largely male-dominated field. In this major exhibition, we trace her trajectory from child prodigy to one of Britain’s most sought-after painters. Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807) was one of the most successful artists of her time and a founding member of the Royal Academy.”

The total cost for the day is £35.00 which includes refreshments at break and handouts.

John Singer Sargent

Tuesday 6 July 

10.00 - 13.00

Sargent’s work stands out amongst other portraitists for its exceptional individual style and innovation.  This is also true for his remarkable figure and landscape works in both oils and watercolours and his numerous drawings.

The total cost for the day is £30.00 which includes refreshments on arrival and break and handouts.

David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring 2020

Monday 19 July 2021

10.00 - 13.00

Discussing works in this new exhibition opening at the Royal Academy, London on 23 May and comparing this with some earlier works painted in his native Yorkshire and in California.  Hockney himself notes: working on the iPad requires the ability to draw and paint. Each work – which has been printed far larger than the screen on which it was created – allows you to see every mark and stroke of the artist’s hand.  These works are colourful and joyful appreciations of Hockney’s experience of the changing of the seasons and a celebration of spring.

The total cost for the day is £35.00 which includes refreshments at break and handouts.

Les Nabis

Thursday 5 August 2021

10.00 - 13.00

Les Nabis were a group of French artists who worked in Paris from around 1888-1900. They were influenced by both Cézanne and Gauguin and produced paintings and decorative artworks that encompassed architectural painting, decorative screens, stained glass, murals, posters, book illustrations and designs for the theatre.

The core members of the group were Paul Sérusier, Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson and Félix Vallotton. Their works are very individualistic, although they followed a central theme seeking to produce a spiritual awakening and beauty to the everyday and attempted to follow Denis’ guidelines when he wrote: "Remember that a picture, before being a battle horse, a female nude or some sort of anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order."

Explaining that comment with: "The profoundness of our emotions comes from the sufficiency of these lines and these colours to explain themselves...everything is contained in the beauty of the work."

The total cost for the day is £35.00 which includes refreshments at break and handouts.

The Beginnings of Modern Art

Thursday 16 August 2021

10.00 - 13.00

Tracing the start of Modern Art through the evolving ideas of artists who, both individually and collectively, started to produce new styles in their work.  Modern art began in around 1850 with Realism and carried on through the 20th century with innovations in styles such as Impressionism, Early Abstraction, Symbolism, Neo-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism – the list goes on!  The main objective of these artists was to develop a unique visual language to describe the times in which they lived, each style differing and ‘moving on’ from the last.

The total cost for the day is £35.00 which includes refreshments at break and handouts.

The Art of William Orpen

Thursday 13 September 2021

10.00 - 13.00

A unique and lauded society painter, succeeding John Singer Sargent, and becoming the most successful artist of his day. Winston Churchill commented on his own portrait by Orpen: ‘It is not the picture of a man, it is the picture of a man’s soul.'  During 1917 his drawings and paintings of the First World War gained him the title of 'the Samuel Pepys of the Western Front'.

The total cost for the day is £35.00 which includes refreshments at break and handouts.

Artistic Couples

Tuesday 21 September

10.00 - 13.00

Exploring the life and work of couples whose romantic partnerships inspired experimentation and collaboration and radically altered the course of each artist's creative life.  Artists such as Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant, Dod & Ernest Procter, Laura & Harold Knight, Eric Ravilious & Tirzah Garwood, Ben Nicholson & Barbara Hepworth, Robert Colquhoun & Robert MacBryde.

The total cost for the day is £30.00 which includes refreshments on arrival and break and handouts.