Noosa

Saturday 14 March 2026
BETTER THAN A MIRROR – FRANS HALS AND FINE ART OF PORTRAITURE
Presented by Albert Godetzky
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

Characterised by quick, bravura brushstrokes, Frans Hals’s portraits of nobles, merchants, actors, friends and family members created a sensation in seventeenth century Holland. In order to ‘breathe life’ into his subject, Hals incorporated vanguard modes of representation into his practice, which reveal his and his society’s understanding of time and of human life itself. This lecture builds on new research, exploring Hals’s art in wider historical as well as scientific contexts. We will examine the ways in which Hals engineered his portraits to suit his clientele — the citizens of Holland, a society radically transformed by the Dutch Revolt. Finally, we will consider the impact of Hals’s painterly style and his innovations in portraiture on later generations of artists.

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. He is currently a lead researcher for a private collection in the Netherlands and is preparing a book length biography of the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius for Reaktion Press.

Saturday 18 April 2026
FROM CARNIVAL TO MASQUERADE: FASHION AND FANCY DRESS
Presented by Professor Peter McNeil
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

One of the most popular pastimes in the Victorian and Edwardian period was the costume ball. They continued the 18th century obsession with the masquerade, at which both costumes and masks were worn. They were popular with all classes, but for the rich, they offered the chance to really flaunt wealth without limit. The scandal caused by the opulence of the Bradley-Martin Ball of 1897 led to the host fleeing abroad. This talk will consider their enduring role in art and culture. Dresses, jewels and even food will be considered.

Dr Peter McNeil FAHA, is a Distinguished Professor of Design History, and a leading international scholar in the fields of design history, fashion studies and material culture. He was Foundation Professor of Fashion Studies in Sweden, and Academy of Finland Distinguished Professor, Helsinki. He has published widely, including Pretty Gentlemen on the 18th century’s Macaroni Men, and has worked with communities and museums around the world.

Saturday 23 May 2026
CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI AND 20TH CENTURY SCULPTURE
Presented by David Worthington
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

Brancusi was the son of a peasant from a mountainous province of Romania yet he became an internationally famous artist and is now seen as one of, if not the most, important sculptors of the 20th century. Brancusi combined the Romanian wood working tradition with a Belles Arts fine art training. He also had an intuitive understanding of the significance of engineered products. Brancusi is an enigmatic contradiction, and this will be explored in this lecture, along with his relevance to 20th century sculpture.

David Worthington has been drawn to abstract sculpture since seeing a work by 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 27 June 2026
INSIDE TITANIC: UNVEILING TITANIC’S INTIMATE DETAILS
Presented by Pieter de Vries
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

De Vries collaborated with Academy Award-winning director James Cameron on a 3D Imax film that recounts his expedition to revisit the wreckage of the Titanic. He will recall the exhilaration and the initial apprehension of descending nearly 14,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in submersible crafts. This talk includes segments of his work and behind-the-scenes stories about how cutting-edge remote camera technology unveiled Titanic’s intimate secrets.

Pieter de Vries ACS is a renowned documentary cinematographer whose incredible journey has taken him from the heights of the Space Shuttle to the depths of the North Atlantic. He has captured extraordinary moments around the world. Regarded as one of the leading documentary cinematographers, Pieter’s films have garnered numerous accolades, including Emmys and BAFTAs.

DOUBLE PRESENTATION

Saturday 18 July 2026
PAINTBRUSHES AT DAWN: The World’s Greatest Artistic Feuds
Presented by Barry Venning
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 2:30pm start

 Artists, Critics and the Royal Academy
The history of British art during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was particularly rich in rows and disputes, as artists in the newly established Royal Academy (founded 1768) jockeyed for position, influence and sales. This session looks at, among other things, attacks by William Blake and others on the first President, Sir Joshua Reynolds. It also considers the painter Benjamin Robert Haydon’s career-long, self-destructive war with the Royal Academy, and Turner’s dispute with his fellow landscapist, John Constable. The nineteenth century also witnessed the rise of the critic as powerful tastemaker, most notably John Ruskin, who accused the painter, Whistler, of ‘throwing a pot of paint in the public’s face’; it was a slur that led to the most famous (and funniest) libel trial in British legal history.

‘Dust-ups’ in Modern Art
During the twentieth century, the academies became increasingly irrelevant as the most exciting and challenging art was produced by a host of avant garde groups and artists, many of whom were at loggerheads with one another. This final session looks at some of the strangest disputes in the history of modern art, including Salvador Dali’s spat with the Surrealist leader, Andre Breton, the artist John Latham’s brilliant take-down of the American critic, Clement Greenberg, and finishing the day with the bitter but wonderfully entertaining feud between the graffiti artists, Banksy and Robbo.

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 on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. 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.

Saturday 15 August 2026
TROY – CITY IN ART AND MYTH
Presented by James Renshaw
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

The Trojan war is the central myth of the Greek tradition, and the tale has influenced art and literature down the ages. When was the ancient city of Troy first identified by archaeologists and what do we know about it? Was there really a Trojan War fought over a kidnapped Greek queen? How has the city of Troy been depicted in art and literature ever since? Why does the city and its story continue to cast such a spell in every generation, even so far as inspiring acclaimed theatrical performances by Syrian refugee women in our own times?

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James 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 19 September 2026
THE USE OF NATURALISM IN THE WORK OF FABERGÉ
Presented by Claire Blatherwick
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

“Fabergé” conjures up images of pre-revolutionary Russia, opulent Easter eggs and exquisite pieces found in the most important world collections. This presentation analyses the use of naturalism by Fabergé, focusing on lesser-known experiments in Art Nouveau, as well as animal representations in hardstone carvings and flower studies. It also highlights the naturalistic imagery incorporated into objects d’art such as desk seals and caviar dishes.

Clare Blatherwick is an independent jewellery consultant and historian based in Scotland, with over twenty years of experience in the jewellery business. As Head of Jewellery for Bonhams in Scotland, Clare has travelled extensively, searching for jewels to auction worldwide. She has lectured internationally, appearing on TV programs in the UK and US and is a member of The Society of Jewellery Historians.

Saturday 24 October 2026
DIVERSE RICHE AND COSTLYE JEWELLS: 17th CENTURY TRADE, TREASURE AND THE CHEAPSIDE HOARD
Presented by Amanda Herries
Venue & time: St. Mary’s Church,17 William Street, Tewantin. 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start

‘Diverse riche and costlye Jewells’ is a perfect description of the unique collection of jewels known as the ‘Cheapside Hoard’. Unearthed, by chance, in 1912 in one of the most historic parts of London, it seems it was lost, or buried, between 1640 and 1666. More than 400 pieces make up this remarkable Hoard, including a unique walnut-sized emerald contacting a watch movement, a slithery emerald studded salamander to earrings shimmering with suspended amethysts. These are rare, but not royal, jewels. Pieces demonstrate remarkable skills and stones mined in every part of the world. What does the collection represent? Why was it brought together? What are its secrets?

Having read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge, Amanda was a Curator at Museum of London 1978 -1988, specialising in decorative arts since 1714. From 1988-1995 she lived in Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. Back in the UK, Amanda has fundraised for arts companies, written, lectured and guided tours to Japan and curated exhibitions. Recent publications cover Japanese plant and garden influences in the West.

Saturday 28 November 2026
AGM AND SPECIAL EVENT

Program to be advised.