The day starts with a painting of the Thames and Tower of London in 1500. We continue with Dutch views of Tudor Palaces on the Thames in the 17th century, and then look at 18th century paintings by Canaletto and his English rival Samuel Scott, who deserves to be equally well known.
Next, we turn to Constable, Turner and Tissot, including three French Impressionists. The more modern landscapists include Lowry and Stanley Spencer. Artists who portrayed the Lower Thames (below London Bridge) include many who showed Rochester, including Sandby, Cotman, Wyllie, and Turner himself. Several others showed Gravesend. Then there was the dramatic Dutch Raid on the Medway in 1667, painted by many artists.
In the afternoon, we examine in detail some of the one hundred paintings of the Thames when it froze, from the 12th century down to 1814. Activities on the frozen Thames, apart from skating, included musical and theatrical performances set up on the Thames.
Nicholas Reed, BA (Oxon,) MA (Manc), M Phil (St A) is the author of books on Monet on the Thames, Sisley on the Thames, Pissarro in West London, and Frost Fairs on the Frozen Thames.
"Most people are aware about '1066 and all that' without necessarily knowing the exact facts about this momentous event. This Special Interest Day will present in detail the historical, cultural and artistic aspects of that unique masterpiece, the Bayeux Tapestry, which provides posterity with such a startling testimonial of peoples' lives in the late Viking Age."
Eveline studied art-history in London ... first at the Study Centre for Fine and Decorative Arts (linked to the V & A where Patricia Fay had the idea to found NADFAS) and then at the Courtauld Institute where she received her BA Hons. Degree. A teaching spell at Surrey University deepened her knowledge, and then as she says "NADFAS/The Arts Society accepted me as a lecturer in 1990! My life changed... my hobby became my 'job' - what a marvellous opportunity to pass on my enthusiasm for my subjects to so many art-lovers in Britain, Continental Europe, USA, South Africa and Australia!"