Brisbane

THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: Behind the Scenes and the
Presented by: Marc Allum
Wednesday 26 March, 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 27 March, 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

A firsthand and fascinating insight behind the UK’s most popular antiques program by Marc Allum, a specialist on the show for over 25 years.

Marc Allum is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Wiltshire, UK. He has been a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow for over 25 years. Marc regularly writes for mainstream magazines and is an author, antiques consultant and lecturer. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc’s interests range from pre-history to modern design, and he is a self-confessed ‘collectaholic.’ Marc has lectured widely to organisations in both the public and charity sector, including travel companies, The National Trust and at literary festivals including Cheltenham, Bath and Wells. Marc is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

HALF INTEREST DAY 1

THE ANATOMY OF COLLECTING: The History of Collecting and Great Collectors through History and Bring an Object
Thursday 27 March 2025
Presented by Marc Allum
Time & Venue: 11.45am-2.15pm, QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

This interest day is a fascinating time-line talk focusing on why we collect and how our predilection for collecting has evolved through history. It will be Illustrated with examples from the great historical collectors and illuminated with objects from Marc’s own eclectic collection. You may bring an object (not too large) for Marc’s comment and appraisal.

VITA SACKVILLE-WEST: Novelist, Poet and Creator of Sissinghurst
Presented by: Susannah Fullerton
Wednesday 30 April, 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 1 May, 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

Born to affluence in one of the great stately homes of England, Vita Sackville-West never really recovered from the fact that she had been born a girl and so could not inherit Knole, the house she adored. Her life was controversial and full of contradictions. She married Harold Nicolson, but eloped with Violet Keppel; she wanted to be a famous poet, but is best remembered for creating one of the loveliest gardens in England. Susannah Fullerton discusses the creation of Sissinghurst’s garden and the intriguing life story of Vita.

Susannah has been passionate about literature for as long as she can remember. She has a BA from the University of Auckland NZ and a post-graduate degree in Victorian literature from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She currently teaches literature courses in Sydney and lectures regularly at the State Library of NSW and the Art Gallery of NSW. In 2017 Susannah was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for Services to Literature and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW.

THE WORLD’S’ GREATEST PAINTINGS: 200 Years of the National Gallery
Presented by: Simon Whitehouse
Wednesday 14 May, 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 15 May, 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

This lecture tells the story of the establishment of the NG collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s Government purchased 38 paintings from John Julius Angerstein. In 1838, it was decided that a purpose-built gallery was required, giving us the William Wilkins designed building on Trafalgar Square. We examine the Gallery’s early years including suffragette sabotage, bombs and theft. We also look at some of the original ‘Angerstein 38’ paintings.

Simon is a (recovering) actor, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher, and award-winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide in-house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion, and art history but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it.

HALF INTEREST DAY 2

WILDE ABOUT OSCAR: Famous for Being Famous (& Infamous)
Thursday 15 May 2025
Presented by Simon Whitehouse
Time & Venue: 11.45am-2.15pm, QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

This lecture examines the life and times of Oscar Wilde from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity. We travel with him to the United States and examine his starring role within the artistic and theatrical worlds of late 19th century London. We visit his home in bohemian Chelsea and some of his favourite West End haunts. Finally, we learn how ‘tired of being in the heights, he plunged into the depths’ and became famous for being infamous.

JAPANESE WOODBLOCK MASTERPIECES BY HIROSHIGE
Presented by: Kathleen Olive
Wednesday 18 June, 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 19 June, 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

From conventional portraits of beautiful women and actors to series of landscapes, birds and flowers, Hiroshige’s career was distinguished by the use of line and the power of composition. Propelled by popular demand and enlivened by the subtle tweaks made possible by reprints, his prints demonstrate the refinement of Japanese tastes and the tradition of collaboration. With seasonality as our key, we focus on Hiroshige’s wintry scenes, exploring their appeal.

Kathleen’s PhD was a study of artisanal culture in Renaissance Florence, through the lens of a goldsmith’s commonplace book known as the Codex Rustici. She lived and studied in Italy for a number of years, and then taught Italian language, literature and history at the University of Sydney. Kathleen now works with Academy Travel, leading tours to Europe and, particularly, Italy.

SPECIAL EXTRA LECTURE

NORMAN MAGNIFICENCE IN SICILY
Thursday 19 June 2025
Presented by Kathleen Olive
Time & Venue: 12-1pm, QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane
Cost $40

It is often assumed that the art and architecture of Norman southern Italy should be strongly tied to the invaders’ own French or adopted Italian influences. In this lecture, Kathleen investigates the Islamic and Byzantine models for Sicily’s imposing monuments. We consider why the monarchy chose to conflate two such disparate aesthetics in its iconography and how this reflected or advanced the power and wealth of the dynasty. Considering Palermo’s glittering Palatine Chapel, for example, or Cefalù’s imposing cathedral we uncover the values and taste of the Normans in Sicily.

FRIEDA KAHLO AND DIEGO RIVERA: A Volatile Relationship
Presented by: Maria Chester
Wednesday 16 July 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 17 July 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

Eccentric artists, Frida and Diego, were both exceptional in so many ways. This lecture is about love and passion and the art they created in the first half of the 20th century. The focus will be on their artworks, but their creations are always linked to the political situation, health and their own relationship.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, multilingual Maria Chester studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor of Pre-Columbian Art. She taught in several South American universities and at private institutions. She is a Senior Lecturer and tutor on Art History for BEA – Berwick Educational Association in the Scottish Borders, where she lives. She also works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering conferences linked to art exhibitions complemented with guided tours. In May 2018, she was made a Visiting Research Fellow at CAUA Research Centre for International Elderly Education, Shanghai, China. She became an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society in 2018. 

HALF INTEREST DAY 3

THE ART OF ANCIENT EASTERN CIVILISATIONS: The Mesopotamian Civilisation of Persia
Thursday 17 July 2025
Presented by Maria Chester
Time & Venue: 11.45am-2.15pm, QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

The Persians were Indo-European and were inclusive and tolerant of different cultures. Their cuisine was sophisticated and elaborate. Persian women were active, enterprising, attractive and dangerous … Alexander the Great feared them! Trade was open to women as well as to men. The best art and craft examples came from the Treasury at Persepolis: gold, silver, and ivory pieces as well as jewellery and gems were found in different excavations.

PEASANT PASTIMES? The Art of Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Presented by: Sophie Oosterwijk 
Wednesday 20 August 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 21 August 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (d.1569) is probably best known for his colourful depictions of peasants making merry or toiling in the fields. Although these works lent him the epithet ‘Peasant Bruegel’, his work was more than just charmingly naive. He was very much a townsman with a great eye for landscape, who painted for discerning collectors. He also lived in a time of religious and political turmoil evident in some of his ‘darker’ works explored in this lecture.

Born in Gouda (Netherlands). Sophie has an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester), as well as an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden). Sophie has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and organised many study days, tours and visits. She is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University and travel companies, and Vice President of the Church Monuments Society, and has numerous publications to her name.

OH NO DEAR, THAT’S NOT FUNNY – Cartoonists on Cartooning 
Presented by: Harry Venning
Wednesday 17 September 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 18 September 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

Join award winning cartoonist Harry Venning as he escorts you through the peaks and pitfalls of his profession, supported by visual and verbal contributions from such luminaries as Matt Groening, Dr Seuss, Charles M. Schulz and Gary Larsen. Entertaining and informative in equal measure, the topics covered include rejection, procrastination, deadlines, artificial intelligence, professional envy, censorship and the cartoon community’s response to the Charlie Hebdo murders of 2015. Harry will also be drawing live on an A1 flip chart, the images filmed and projected onto screen for everyone to clearly see.

Harry Venning is a cartoonist, comedy writer and performer based in Brighton, UK. Harry’s cartoons have appeared in publications as diverse as Mathematics Today, Radio Times, Music Teacher and The Stage. For twenty-five years he provided The Guardian with the weekly strip cartoon Clare In The Community, about an unaware and empathy free social worker. In 2004 he developed Clare In The Community into a successful BBC Radio 4 sitcom which ran for twelve series.

MY SCRAMBLING AFFAIR: How Constable’s Late Paintings Changed the Face of Modern Art
Presented by Sarah Cove
Wednesday 22 October 7:30pm at Royal QLD Art Society 3/162 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Thursday 23 October 10am at QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane

Constable’s exuberant, almost abstract, brush and palette-knife work shocked audiences for a full 50 years before Impressionism. Constable only sold 20 or so paintings in England during his lifetime, as their rough and ‘specky’ surfaces horrified audiences. He sold many to forward-looking French art dealers and collectors. Consequently, his radical ‘late’ works influenced generations of French painters, making Constable a Forefather of Modern Painting.

Sarah Cove ACR is an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with several decades of experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She is a specialist in British portraits, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. She founded the Constable Research Project and is the leading authority on Constable’s materials and techniques. Her presentations are lively, enthusiastic and passionate about her work and research.  

SPECIAL EXTRA LECTURE

TUDOR & JACOBEAN COSTUMES BROUGHT TO LIFE IN PAINTINGS, FILM & THEATRE
Thursday 23 October 2025
Presented by Sarah Cove
Time & Venue: 12-1pm, QLD State Library, Auditorium 1 Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Brisbane
Cost $40 for members and visitors

While watching a play or film, have you wondered how the characters garments are made, historically or in modern reproduction? And how did painters of the period depict the clothing worn by royalty and aristocrats?

Sarah Cove is a painting conservator-restorer with a specialist knowledge of Tudor and Jacobean portraiture. A keen seamstress who first wished to be a costume designer, Sarah combines her professional expertise, interest and contextual understanding of clothes making and design. She describes the materials and techniques used by 16-17th century portraitists to depict luxurious fabrics, lace, furs and jewellery worn in this period.