Welcome back to artfirst. You join me one again on a train concourse here at Paddington station at an ungodly hour of 06:48. And reason for this early foray? It must be the 'Cult of the South Pacific: from Cook to Gauguin'. This lecture seems to have a life of its own. I am giving this very popular lecture literally the length and breadth of the country.
So far I have visited, with this lecture: Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Sutton Coalfield, Newbury, Peterborough, and for this week, from today until Thurs, I shall be visiting: Shepton Mallet, Liskeard, Bodmin and Truro in the west-country, and then on to Guildford and Sevenoaks. Why on earth is this lecture so popular, if only I knew? Having given it first in 2007 at the National Portrait Gallery, it has grown and grown in popularity. If you want to know more about this lecture have a look at the synopsis on my website primoartdiscoverytours.co.uk
And so on with the tour, for those of you in the west-country the itinerant art historian, on route from Westbury, has just left Frome station, next stop Bruton Station, followed by my destination Castle Cary Station to begin my west-country odyssey. The lecture to Mendip DFAS near Shepton Mallet via Castle Cary now over, I now find myself on a train to Taunton, where I will pick up a train to Liskeard.
As the rolling hill and last flourishes of green rushes past out of my window I'm faced with an elderly man in a pin-striped suit asleep in front of his ipad with his Apple headphones in. The scene makes for an interesting juxtaposition with the landscape full of sheep and cows and the world inevitably rushing by. The odyssey continues, because with the Liskeard lecture but a distant memory, I am whisked away in car owned by an official of the Bodmin DFAS (Decorative and Fine Arts Society) to give my lecture to their society the next morning.
The next morning as I say farewell to the officials at Bodmin I almost forget where in the west-country I am, but there s no time for reflection because I am now standing on another train platform. This time it's Bodmin Parkway and I am expected in Truro to give my lecture to their DFAS. I arrive in time to give an evening lecture, which is well received, however there is not time to think about how it went, because I have a overnight sleeper to catch from Truro Station, the 22:27 Riviera Sleeper. As I get on board I am greeted by a very friendly train guard who shows me to my private berth complete with fold-away sink, bed and TV with a selection of movies and documentaries. It is a long overnight journey that will not get me into Paddington until 05:21 the next morning, am told I can sleep in until 07:00 if I like when the train arrives. I settle in for the night and the bumpy journey ahead.
Welcome back art lovers. You find me this morning enjoying the delights of the 1st class lounge at Paddington. Apparently one is entitled to such luxuries when a sleeper ticket is purchased. On offer in the 1st class lounge are various complimentary breakfast delights such as croissants, tea and coffee, newspapers, biscuits and fruit - I sample all and make myself at home. It has been a whirlwind odyssey around the west-country, from Castle Cary in the Mendips to Liskeard, then Bodmin and Truro. And as I wait here in the 1st class lounge with the TV chef Gary Rhodes and his bevy of women minders sat behind me, I realise that though I am back in London there is not enough time to go home, I prepare to set out on the next part of my mission to take art around the country. Next stop the 08:15 from Waterloo to Guildford, Surrey, luckily I was able to have a wash and shave on the sleeper.
In Guildford I will give a lecture to the Shalford DFAS at 11:00 am on Angelica Kauffman: An 18th Century Artists in England. Kauffman, originally from Switzerland spent 7 successful years in England wowing audiences with her painting and intellectual prowess and was one of only two women founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 along with that other forgotten women hero of 18th century painting in England Mary Moser. From Guildford, Surrey I will take the train from Victoria to Sevenoaks, Kent to give a lecture on portraiture, entitled the Art of Portraiture: from Titian to van Dyck. I finally arrive back in London at 23:30 Thursday after setting out on Tuesday 11th October at 05:30, and at last get to sleep in my own bed - for a while. Because the week is not over, I have two 2 hour classes to teach one at the City Lit: Medieval to Renaissance and one at the Bishopsgate Institute: An Introduction to Western European Art. I arrive home at 21:15 on Friday night and finally end my week.
More adventures in art next week; where I will be once again at the National Gallery giving two free guided tours of the National Gallery's permanent collection on Monday 17th October. Tour one at 11:30 and tour two 14:30, each tour will last for 60 minutes and each tour will feature different paintings, and as usual I will not decided which paintings I am going to talk about until I get to the gallery. And don't forget, the meeting place is the same everytime - the ground floor Sainsbury Wing entrance by the NG shop.
See you there art lovers
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