Vectis Decorative & Fine Arts Society: Doors open at 7.15pm. Tea, coffee and bar are available before the lectures which begin at 8.00pm. We ask you to be seated by 7.55pm. They finish at approximately 9.15-9-30pm Guests are welcome at a cost of £7 and £2 for students.

A lecture marking the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, 1815

NB. AGM 7.30pm Lecture 8pm

This lecture complements a major exhibition to be held at the Royal Academy in Autumn 2015. The decisive allied victory over Napoleon brought to an end a series of wars that had convulsed Europe.

Most people of the time experienced these conflicts not on the battlefield but through art. This lecture explores the contrasting views presented by British and French artists, including such masters as J. M. W. Turner and J.-L. David. We also consider the insatiable public appetite for rather less elevated art forms, ranging from ladies’ fans illustrated with the latest military news, to full re-enactments of naval battles played out on real water at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Lecturer Profile:
Dr Lois Oliver studied English Literature at Cambridge University and history of art at the Courtauld Institute, completing an MA in Venetian Renaissance art and writing her doctoral thesis on The Image of the Artist, Paris 1815-1855.