The Cotswolds became one of the most vibrant rural centres of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by William Morris's retreat at Kelmscott Manor, several groups of designers and makers settled in the region, from Ernest Gimson and the Barnsley brothers to C R Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft, and designers and artists drawn south from the Birmingham School of Art. They were followed by friends and admirers to create a region-wide craft community that lasts to this day.

With the exception of Munch, it’s only in the last forty years that Nordic art from 1880 to 1920 has made an impression on the wider world. Exhibitions and books have traditionally focused on the supposedly unique Nordic light and evocative national landscapes painted in this era.  But this was also a period of heady experimentation, of vastly different genres and painting styles, influenced by wave after wave of the French avant-garde.

This lecture focuses on the work and achievements of, and challenges faced by leading sculptors based in Britain in the 20th century. They comprise Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro, Elisabeth Frink and Antony Gormley. In their different ways, they all embraced modernism, but some more than others. Some looked to African, Oceanic and pre-Columbian cultures, while others looked to Paris. Some embarked on direct carving, while others modelled or shaped their materials. Some embraced social and humanitarian themes, while others opted for abstraction.

This talk is a celebration of how the Ancient Greeks and Romans created our love of wine.  How wine's popularity spread, how wine production has and has not changed, what wine connoisseurs 2,000 years ago thought made a wine great!    

As an archaeologist who has excavated a Roman wine-producing warehouse, I promise that this talk will refresh your palette!