diary

Here is the diary for everything I have planned over the next few months, whether live or online, which I do not record as I prefer the experience to be ‘in the moment’. I add things in as they become fixed so… watch this space!

Talks and tours…

After this list of upcoming events there is some important information – so please scan all the way down!

2 + 2 + 2 + 2 – this year and next
My talks seem to be coming in twos at the moment: after introducing two exhibitions at the National Gallery, and two which include just one painting, in the New Year, we will cover two exhibitions at Tate, and two about Scandinavian artists.

Monday 5 January, 6pm
Turner & Constable
Rivals & Originals
at Tate Britain,
27 November 2025 – 12 April 2026
An exhibition celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of two of Britain’s greatest painters.

Monday 12 January, 6pm
Theatre Picasso
at Tate Modern
until 12 April 2026
Art and theatre combined – the very essence of Picasso’s work.

Monday 26 January, 6pm
Anna Ancher: Painting Light
at Dulwich Picture Gallery
until 8 March 2026
A wonderful exploration of this superb Danish artist.

Monday 2 February, 6pm
Anders Zorn:
Travelling the World, Remembering the Land
at MAPFRE, Madrid
19 February – 17 May 2026
Having closed in Hamburg just after I saw it, this extensive exhibition of one of Sweden’s greatest artists will travel to Madrid.

After the various ‘twos’, there will be three talks relating to The Courtauld – although they will not all come together. This is just the first:

Monday 9 February, 6pm
The Barber in London:
Highlights from a Remarkable Collection
at The Courtauld
until 28 June 2026
The Barber Institute, part of the Univeresity of Birmingham, has one of the best collections in the country. While the building is being refurbished, a notablle group of paintings is on loan to the Courtauld Gallery.

Next year’s trips with Artemisia (the ‘adult’ group of Art History Abroad) have now been published. I will be taking groups to Strasbourg and Colmar, to see the remarkable Isenheim Altarpiece (5-8 June), and to Siena – picking up on all sorts of ideas from this year’s exhibition at the National Gallery (3-7 and 8-12 November – depending on whether you’re a fast or slow walker!). I will also repeat this year’s highly successful visit to Liverpool (21-25 September). If you would like to come, I would be grateful if you could mention my name when you book – thank you!

Important information:
The blue links above will give you more information about the individual talks – and here’s some general information that you might find useful. For all sorts of reasons I do not record my talks (I’m keeping this paragraph in because people keep asking!) I like them to be spontaneous, and ‘in the moment’ – which recording doesn’t favour: please accept my apologies if you are not available. Booking is done by Tixoom, via the blue links. They deal with all the ticketing, and will email you straight away – so if you don’t hear from them, you should let them know. The email they send includes the link for the talk itself. You will also receive a receipt from Stripe, who deal with the money. This sounds obvious, but if you don’t get the email with the ticket it is so much easier for me if you contact me more than 5 minutes before the talk is due to start – thank you! However, I will check my emails until at least 10 minutes beforehand if you do have problems…