Gold Coast (Bundall)

Saturday 7 March 2026
ALBRECHT DURER: Life, Ego and Afterlife.
Presented by Albert Godetzky
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

In his day, Albrecht Dürer was a larger-than-life figure. Through the high quality of his woodcutting, and the facility with which printed culture could be disseminated, Dürer became an international success. Not a stranger to a mode of self-fashioning that would sit comfortably in today’s social media channels, Dürer crafted a lasting legacy for his art through his prints, paintings, and copious writing. Yet, the words he wrote – as much as the images he invented – reveal a man in profound search of his identity, especially at a time when social and religious values were in radical flux. Albert traces the artist’s origins in his goldsmith father’s workshop in Nuremberg, his ambitious travels in Italy and subsequent patronage by the Habsburgs.

Albert Godetzky received his PhD on Haarlem Mannerism from the Courtauld Institute where he was Associate Lecturer in Early Modern Art until 2025. He has worked at several European institutions including the National Gallery, London, as the Harry M. Weinrebe Curatorial Fellow, where he contributed to exhibitions including Rembrandt: The Late Works and Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure. In 2022, he was guest curator of Silent Rebels: Polish Symbolism around 1900 at the Munich Kunsthalle and co-authored its catalogue. His research has appeared in The Burlington Magazine, Art in America, Art History, The Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art, and the ‘Visual Commentary on Scripture’ among others. He is currently a lead researcher for a private collection in the Netherlands and is also preparing a book-length biography of the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius for Reaktion Press.

Saturday 11 April 2026
DEGENERATES AND PERVERTS: The 1939 Herald Exhibition on Modern Art
Presented by Steven Miller
Venue & Time: Cinema 1, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

In 1939 an exhibition of art came to Australia which became legendary. The 1939 Herald Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art has been called the single most enlivening event in Australia’s modern cultural development. Opening when Australia was undergoing profound change, not only in art but also socially, this exhibition became the focus for the opposing forces of cultural conservatism and innovation which marked the time. This lecture will examine the many and competing claims made for this exhibition. It will examine how the show was organised and selected, where and how it was displayed in Australia and what reception it received. Finally, it will attempt to evaluate its impact upon Australian art and society, at a time when conservatives were accused of perverting progress and progressives were accused of degeneracy.

Steven Miller was the head of the National Art Archive at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 2009 to 2023. He has worked in commercial and public galleries since the late 1980s and published widely on art. The book he co-authored on the first blockbuster exhibition of modern European masters to visit Australia was awarded the NSW Premier’s History Award. His 2015 publication Awakening: Four lives in art is an exploration of the creation of national identity through art. The popular and informative Dogs in Australian Art is now into its third, expanded edition. He wrote the first history of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was published to celebrate its 150th anniversary. He has a Masters degree in theology, as well as qualifications in art history and archives. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW.

Saturday 16 May 2026
AUGUST RODIN AND 19TH CENTURY SCULPTURE
Presented by David Worthington
Venue & Time: Cinema 1, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

Rodin is one of the heroic figures of 19th century art history and was internationally celebrated during his lifetime. But after his death his reputation slipped and there were questions about his use of the female image. Now that is very much being reassessed and he is seen as having in one career taken sculpture on a revolutionary path equivalent to what the Realists, Impressionists and Post Impressionists did with many careers. This lecture surveys his work showing why he is one of the greatest sculptors ever, looking at his work in relationship to 19th century sculpture as well assessing his continuing relevance.

David Worthington has been drawn to abstract sculpture since seeing a Barbara Hepworth in a school
history book aged 10. He graduated from Oxford University in 1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, then studied Fine Art in London, Barcelona and New York. David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors and was Vice President in 2010-13. He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America and Japan.

Saturday 13 June 2026
ON THE WILD SIDE: Filming Creatures Great and Small
Presented by Pieter de Vries
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

“In this lecture, I’ll share my techniques for capturing extraordinary images for Sir David Attenborough and National Geographic. From playful Macaque monkeys in China to majestic Cassowaries in Northern Australia, I’ll illustrate my presentation with segments from my nature documentaries.”

Sydney filmmaker Pieter de Vries is one of the leading documentary cinematographers in the world, travelling six months of the year to every imaginable location. His career has seen him filming the Red Army in China, rats in the sewers of New York, and the wreck of the Titanic with director James Cameron. Pieter has contributed to programs hosted by Sir David Attenborough and was Director of Photography for Darwin’s Lost Paradise. His numerous awards have included Cinematographer of the Year, and an Emmy nomination. His work has featured on NBC, BBC, History, Discovery and National Geographic Channels, as well as on ABC Television.

EXTRA LECTURE
Saturday 13 June 2026
JOURNEY TO THE TITANIC: A Deep Dive
Presented by Pieter de Vries
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 11:15am – 12:15pm

“I collaborated with Academy Award-winning director James Cameron on a 3D Imax film that recounts our expedition to revisit the wreckage of the Titanic. I’ll recall the exhilaration and the initial apprehension of descending nearly 14,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in submersible crafts. This talk features behind-the-scenes stories along with segments of my work on this amazing documentary which revealed Titanic’s eternal beauty.”

Sydney filmmaker Pieter de Vries is one of the leading documentary cinematographers in the world, travelling six months of the year to every imaginable location. His career has seen him filming the Red Army in China, rats in the sewers of New York, and the wreck of the Titanic with director James Cameron. Pieter has contributed to programs hosted by Sir David Attenborough and was Director of Photography for Darwin’s Lost Paradise. His numerous awards have included Cinematographer of the Year, and an Emmy nomination. His work has featured on NBC, BBC, History, Discovery and National Geographic Channels, as well as on ABC Television.

Cost: Members $25 / Guests $35

Saturday 11 July 2026
CARTOONS AND CONTRAPTIONS: The Wonderful World of W.Heath Robinson
Presented by Barry Venning
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

W. Heath Robinson became famous for designing bizarrely complicated devices for the simplest of tasks like wart removal or pancake making. He and his gadgets became so famous that Bletchley Park named one of their wartime code-breaking machines after him. Later still, some of the contraptions in Wallace and Gromit’s The Wrong Trousers are based on a gadget filled house that he made for the Ideal Home Show in 1934. Heath Robinson was also a fine painter, an outstanding literary illustrator and a brilliant satirist, who poked gentle fun at modern life in cartoons that are still hilarious…

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and ABC Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.

EXTRA LECTURE
Saturday 11 July 2026
PAINTBRUSHES AT DAWN: The World’s Greatest Artistic Feuds, Rows and Quarrels
Presented by Barry Venning
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 11:15am – 12:15pm

The celebrated controversialist, Christopher Hitchens, once wrote that a first rate bust up requires
one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of
art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti,
between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader,
Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo,
who painted over each other’s works. There are many more. They are highly entertaining, but they
also highlight key issues in art history.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and ABC Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.

Cost: Members $25 / Guests $35

Saturday 8 August 2026
THE WORLD OF HOMER
Presented by James Renshaw
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

This talk examines the history and cultural legacy of the two earliest works in the western literary canon: the Iliad and the Odyssey. After an outline of each plotline, the talk will focus on how and why these poems have cast such a spell on artists and writers ever since, from ancient Greek tragedy and vase painting, through renaissance artists such as Botticelli and Bernini, and up to modern authors such as James Joyce and Madeleine Miller. Understanding the world of Homer is an essential element for understanding the history of western art.

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James Renshaw has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998, including early in his career at Sydney Grammar School. He currently teaches at Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he runs the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society. Since 1998, James has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including In Search of the Greeks and In Search of the Romans. James has also lectured for the V&A Academy, most recently on their Classical World and its Afterlife and Classicism from the Ancients to the Renaissance courses. James is a keen traveller and photographer of ancient sites.

Saturday 8 August 2026
THE FASCINATION OF JEWELLERY: Important Women Collectors
Presented by Claire Blatherwick
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

Looking at the collections of four very different women and their approaches to jewellery, how their backgrounds influenced their choices, and the messages jewellery can send in respect of status, wealth and politics. Marjorie Merriweather Post, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Madeleine Albright and Elizabeth Taylor are the subject of this richly illustrated talk.

Clare Blatherwick is an independent jewellery consultant based in Scotland. She has over twenty years of experience in the jewellery business, ten of which were spent as Head of Jewellery for Bonhams in Scotland, a role which saw her travel internationally searching for wonderful jewels to be internationally on her subject as well as having appeared on various TV programmes in the UK and US as a jewellery expert. She is a member of The Society of Jewellery Historians.

EXTRA LECTURE
Saturday 12 September 2026
THE STORY OF THE CULLINAN DIAMOND MINE
Presented by Claire Blatherwick
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 11:15am – 12:15pm

This talk deals with the fascinating story of a diamond mine in South Africa which remains the source of the largest piece of diamond rough in history. From the creation of diamonds deep within the earth’s crust to images taken by the speaker as she travelled 750m underground to examine the workings of the mine and of course a look at some of the famous diamonds it has produced, this talk gives a behind the scenes look at something most of us only ever see in shops.

Clare Blatherwick is an independent jewellery consultant based in Scotland. She has over twenty years of experience in the jewellery business, ten of which were spent as Head of Jewellery for Bonhams in Scotland, a role which saw her travel internationally searching for wonderful jewels to be internationally on her subject as well as having appeared on various TV programmes in the UK and US as a jewellery expert. She is a member of The Society of Jewellery Historians.

Cost: Members $25 / Guests $35

Saturday 17 October 2026
OPIUM: Seduction, Greed, Art
Presented by Amanda Herries
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

The source of the stuff of dreams, the poppy is a beautiful, fragile flower with immense power. Opium (from the Greek ‘opion’ – poppy juice) is a hypnotic bringer of sleep, delightful lethargy and relief from pain. It is also highly addictive. Greed led to the introduction of this hugely desirable substance first to China, and then to Europe. The beguiling seduction of its effects led to its use to quieten troubled minds and calm agitated children and babies. Its use – often by those with troubled minds – led to the creation of great works of art in music, art and literature. Social and art history meet as this lecture unfolds.

Amanda Herries read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge. 1978-1988 she was Curator at Museum of London specialising in the decorative arts 1714 to present day, exhibitions, lectures, booklets, broadcasts. 1988-1995 Amanda moved with family to Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. 1995 she returned to UK, fundraising for arts companies, writing, lecturing and guiding tours to Japan and curating exhibitions. Most recent publications on Japanese plant and garden influences in the West and the life of Henry Raeburn, Scotland’s foremost portrait painter.