Learning from the experts...

Among all the joys that the world of art brings – the pleasures of looking, discovering, appreciating and perhaps owning – one of the most delightful is learning about it from experts, be they connoisseurs and valuers or academics and artists.

Now in its 50th year, The Arts Society Newbury hosts events throughout the year, with expert lecturers sharing their specialist knowledge about the arts. Lecturers cover an astonishing range of subjects, from teaspoons to grand opera, from 200 years of plastics to the Swinging Sixties, from the Art of the Japanese Garden in the East to Indians and Buffaloes in the art of the 19^th Century West.

This season alone has heard about the development of baroque music, the craft of William Morris, the art of Marc Chagall and the garden sculpture sold at auction for £6million (have you checked among your roses yet?). The Society is supported by Dreweatts, who have prestigious salerooms in the town.

Celebrating its Golden Jubilee | 1974-2024

This year the Society celebrates its Golden Jubilee with an unbroken history of cultural pleasures – along with 50 years of tea, coffee and cake. It was set up in 1974 by a handful of friends, some of whom remain members today, to join what was then the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) until 2017 when it was rebranded as simply The Arts Society.

Now, as then, the Newbury society (which attracts members from across the Berkshire and Hampshire region) continues to celebrate the three pillars of the national society’s founding ethos. There is the programme of lectures given by specialists from across the arts, who are rigorously vetted not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to be engaging and articulate. Those who make the grade join the Arts Society Directory, a compendium of 350-plus experts on varied subjects. This year the Newbury Society has heard from, among others, musician and broadcaster Sandy Burnett on the music of the baroque period, and historian and curator Nicola Moorby on “Turner v Constable: The Great British Paint-Off”. Archaeologist and curator Louise Schofield gave an enthralling report on the race against time to rescue some of the world’s most beautiful mosaics from the rising waters of a Turkish dam. And for the deep dive into subjects, every year there are two Special Interest Days consisting of three lectures during the day.

Through Community Grants the Society also supports arts causes in the local area with the aim of encouraging children and young people to engage with the arts. Local school children have enjoyed theatre trips to see how a play is produced, a visit to the Ashmolean in Oxford, and funds have paid for a visiting peripatetic arts teacher.

And thirdly, there are the visits to houses, gardens and galleries, both in this country and abroad. This year there have been visits to William Morris’s Kelmscott Manor, Sir Frederic Leighton’s remarkably restored home in London and a five-day cultural tour based in Arles in Provence, the inspiration for so many of the Impressionists.

As it celebrates its 50^th year with a reception at historic Shaw House, Newbury, in July,  the Society is looking forward to its 51^st year and another series of lectures and visits. The Society and its 460 members aim to be a friendly society ready to welcome friends of the arts. Lectures are based in the capacious Arlington Arts Centre at Mary Hare School, Snelsmore Common, Newbury, RG14 3BQ and many can be joined on Zoom. The waiting lists of the society’s early days are long gone, but the tea, coffee and friendly chat remain.

As does the idea that art, as well as being deeply serious, is also fun. Who knew that Renoir narrowly escaped a firing squad, or that Mahler was miffed by a rival arriving in America to greater applause? The new season opens in September with London Blue Badge guide and street art expert Pepe Martinez asking “Banksy: Fraud or Genius?” and a Special Interest Day on The History of Embroidery.

Dreweatts Partnership with The Arts Society Newbury

Dreweatts will be continuing its partnership with The Arts Society Newbury for the 2024/25 season. The company’s Managing Director, Vicki Wonfor, said: “Dreweatts is delighted to be working with The Arts Society again and looks forward to welcoming its’ members to our country house salerooms at Donnington Priory. 

"With a broad knowledge base and experience covering all auction disciplines including Fine Art, our specialists handle a wide variety of art, from Old Masters through to Modern British and Contemporary Art, bringing works by new and established artists to the open market, and offering buyers the opportunity to start or build their art collections.”

Arts Society Newbury Chair, Kate Harwood, said: “We’re always keen to welcome new members, so come for a coffee and a chat before the lecture to meet other members and the Team. We are proud to be celebrating our 50th year and will be holding special events to mark this important milestone. We have put together an eclectic, entertaining and thought-provoking programme of lectures and trips for the forthcoming year.

“We’re grateful for the partnership with Dreweatts, whose artistic vision sits so well with our own. We believe that the arts can enrich peoples’ lives, so we hope that through this relationship we can reach out to more people in the local community. Come and join us as we start the next 50 years.”

How to join

A year’s membership includes 10 lectures at either 10.30 or 1.45 for a fee of £60 per person or £115 for two people living at the same address. The interested-but-not-sure can come as a guest for just £10 - which is taken off the membership fee of those who then choose to join. Full information on lectures, Special Interest Days, and trips can be found at theartssocietynewbury.org.uk

For more information on The Arts Society: theartssociety.org