April 2026 lecture,'A Celebration of Nature; Antoni Gaudi ( 1852-1926) and other Catalan Architects' by Jacqueline Cockburn

'Once again another excellent subject and lecturer. Very informative with a very good presentation. No wonder membership is rising, keep up the good work please.'

March 2026 lecture, 'From Downton to Gatsby: Jewellery and Fashion from 1890 to 1929' by Andrew Prince

'Wow. A really entertaining and enjoyable lecture. Andrew Prince has missed his vocation. He was a very knowledgeable lecturer who delivered his talk with wit and good humour. I hope we can have him again. Hopefully a lecture of this calibre will encourage new members.'

November 2025 lecture, 'Now You See it Now You Don’t - The Art of Visual Deception' by Bertie Pearce

'A fantastic, thought provoking lecture with a very entertaining speaker. Brilliant images covering a wide historical range. Thoroughly enjoyable.'

September 2025 lecture, 'The Life Art and Times of John Craxton' by Jo Walton

' An interesting lecture about the life and work of Craxton, about whom I knew nothing previously. I was stunned by some of his work, which was very well presented, mixing many influences.'

July 2025 lecture, 'David Hockney - The Old Master of the Modern World' by Douglas Skeggs

'I have run out of superlatives! It has been another stupendous year of talks for the Arts Society and this one rounded off the year with another gasp at the brilliance of the speaker.'

June 2025 lecture, 'Colour in English garden design - why gardening can rank as a fine art' byTimothy Walker

'A brilliant presenter - one of the best Arts Soc lectures I've been to. He made what might have been an ordinary, rather dull lecture into something special. Loved his knowledge and style.'

April 2025 lecture, 'Britain as Workshop of the World. The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the establishment of the Victoria & Albert Museum' by Anna Warrillow

'Absolutely amazing lecture and lecturer, so informative (what a memory!) Visited V&A last year and will enjoy future visits armed with so much more information. Many thanks to Anna.'

February 2025 lecture, 'Sir Henry J. Wood: Founder of the Proms and Master Musician' by Professor Raymond Holden

'Wow. What a performance, enormous enthusiasm, knowledge and good humour. Enjoyed the lecture, was leaning forward in my effort to absorb everything. It all went very quickly; I could have listened to him for far longer.'

November 2024 lecture, 'Celebrating the Centenary of Winnie-the-Pooh' by James Campbell

'Another fantastic speaker and lecture. I really liked his speaking style, clarity, engagement, quality of slides and structure of presentation.'

September 2024 lecture, 'Caravaggio: a rebel with a cause' by Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe

'This was my first lecture and I really enjoyed it. Informative, humorous and food for thought.'

September 2024 Study Day, 'The National Gallery – 200 Years of the Nation’s Favourite Paintings' by Simon Whitehouse

'Fascinating from start to finish. Thank you for all the organisation, excellent as always.'

July 2024 lecture, 'Rome, Art and Emperors: the golden age of Roman art' by Dr Paul Roberts 

'An extremely informative and interesting talk which brought back memories of our visit to Rome last year. We realise we need to go back.'

June 2024 lecture, 'Drawn from Life: the extraordinary art and life of Augustus John' by David Haycock

'Thank you so much for providing this. A super lecture. I had heard of Augustus John and his rather scandalous life, but knew little of his art. Most informative, I have learnt a great deal.'

May 2024 lecture, 'The Rise of British Sculpture' by Anna Moszynska

'I invited a friend along and she was blown away by the quality of the speaker and how much she learned.'

April 2024 Study Day, 'Art Deco' by Pamela Campbell-Johnston

'Absolutely brilliant lecturer - superb mastery of her subject, fluent and descriptive delivery, really inspiring.'

March 2024 lecture, 'Turner vs Constable: the great British paint-off' by Nicola Moorby

'A superbly accomplished speaker - in charge of her technology - delivering a lecture packed with information and holding the attention from the opening remarks to the very end. Clearly in command of her subject matter.'

January 2024 lecture, 'The Classical Re-invented - the brilliant legacy of Sir Christopher Wren' by Ian Swankie

'I came expecting to learn some background to St Paul's Cathedral. I came away full of all kinds of fascinating detail about a remarkable man and some wonderful art/architecture. My friends/family are already sick of me saying "Did you know Christopher Wren created . . .?"'

November 2023 Study Day, 'Trees in Art from Giotto to Klimt' by Clare Ford-Wille

'Brilliant! A day to remember and plenty to research later.'

November 2023 lecture, 'Norman Rockwell and the heyday of the illustrator' by Rupert Dickens

'So interesting to see more of the work of Rosie the Riveter's creator, and to gain a wider understanding of his political and social positions.'

October 2023 lecture, 'The Life and Art of Georgia O’Keeffe' by Lydia Bauman

'I didn't know anything about Georgia O'Keeffe so really enjoyed hearing her background and enjoying seeing some of her work.'

July lecture 2023, 'Tate Modern - much more than just a pile of bricks' by Ian Swankie

'He made a 'difficult' topic come to life and offered a perspective that challenged assumptions. Thank you to everyone on the committee who has worked so hard this last year.'

May lecture 2023, 'Arts in 19th Century Venice - poets, painters and private lives' by Douglas Skeggs

'Probably the best lecture I have ever attended'

April lecture 2023, 'Picasso's Guernica' by Paul Chapman

'A fascinating, academic lecture about the painting with a clear story from background and analysis to it's "afterlife". I now have a much better understanding of why this is considered one of the greatest paintings in the world.'

March lecture 2023, 'Sorolla - Painter of Light' by Jacqueline Cockburn

'An informative and entertaining evening by a lecturer totally in command of her subject. I had never heard of Sorolla before last night and I was enthralled.'

February lecture 2023, 'Sir Edwin Landseer: the Shakespeare of Dogs' by Karin Fernald

'A thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and knowledgeable lecture. It was beautifully delivered with a really nice sense of humour, about an artist who was so famous in his day and is largely ignored today. As so often happens I learned a lot and was thoroughly engaged in a subject that I thought wouldn't interest me.'

January Lecture 2023, 'Palmyra: Bride of the Dessert' by Dr Paul Roberts

'A brilliant lecture delivered with profound knowledge and a real passion. What a delightful man.' 

September lecture 2022, 'The Ghent Altarpiece' by Paula Nuttall

'My first Arts Society lecture and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Paula was both informative and entertaining. My attention was held for the full length of the session and I went home with plenty to talk about.'

August 2022 Study Day with Andy McConnell on 5,000 Years of Glass

'Just wanted to say how excellent the glass study day was. Andy McConnell was outstanding in presentation skills, knowledge and entertainment and the most enjoyable of the study days I have joined. Well done for bringing him to Wokingham'