Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Society Mornington
Peninsula Inc.
ADFAS Mornington Peninsula provides for its members a yearly program of nine illustrated lectures given by overseas and Australian lecturers chosen for their communication skills and expert knowledge in their fields. Occasional half day sessions are also held when topics can be examined in more detail.
An account of the principal deities of the Hindu pantheon, their common manifestations and some of the associated legends, as depicted in temple sculpture, mostly from South India but with some examples from central India and SE Asia.
An outline of the evolution of the Hindu Temple from early cave temples and monoliths to elaborate and richly decorated free standing temples
Friday April 13 - lecture
John Payne, Senior Conservator, National Gallery of Victoria
The Art of the Bugatti Family
John Payne was joint curator of the Bugatti Family Exhibition at the NGV in 2009.
He will speak about the unusual furniture of Carlo Bugatti, the father, several of whose works have been acquired recently by the NGV, the motor vehicles of Ettore Bugatti, one of the sons, the beautiful little sculptures of the other son, Rembrandt and of Jean Bugatti, son of Ettore.
Friday 11 May – lecture
Mrs Anne Sebba BA (Hons)
NADFAS lecturer
“That Woman” – Wallis Simpson
This lecture is based on at least three years of research into why this Baltimore woman, born in 1896 into relative obscurity, was so demonised by the British establishment and wider Commonwealth and how, after she married the ex king and became Duchess of Windsor, she turned her exile and hatred into a platform from which to launch herself as one of the world’s best dressed women who entertained in the most elegant homes fit for a king – or an ex King.
How did the “Windsor Style” come to be personified in That Woman and who exactly was she and what was she really after?
Was she simply a clothes horse for dress designers and jewellery makers or did she have a heart that has never been fairly understood? Anne will include many slides in this lecture on Wallis and the clothes and jewellery she had made especially for her as well as the homes in which she lived. Who taught her how to dress and who were her favourite designers? But she will also try to understand, in the context of the 1930’s, who was this woman with three husbands and what was the power she had over King Edward VIII. Seventy-five years since the abdication in 1936, it is time now to reassess “that woman.”
Friday June 15 – lecture
Ted Egan AO BA MA
Australian Speaker
Outback Culture and Kutju Australia
Ted Egan is a former Administrator of the Northern Territory,
a writer, historian, poet, singer, song writer and TV presenter. He speaks several aboriginal dialects and was declared a
Living National Treasure in 2002.
Ted will speak on the culture of the outback and the children of the outback, together with an aboriginal translation of our
National Anthem.
Saturday June 16 - A Special Interest Morning An Informal Morning with and Outback Legend – Ted Egan
Friday July 6 - lecture
Ms Linda Smith BA (Hons) MA
NADFAS lecturer
Rossetti’s Women
Dante Gabriel Rossetti exerted a tremendous influence over British art towards the end of the nineteenth century. Women were enormously important in both his life and his art. This lecture looks at the many images of languid, sensuous femmes fatales he produced and explains who they were, putting them into the complicated context of attitudes to
women in time.
Saturday July 7 Special Interest Morning
Ms Linda Smith BA (Hons) MA Great Tarts in Art: High Culture and the Oldest Profession
A mixture of art history analysis and scandalous anecdote, this morning takes a generally light-hearted look at changing attitudes to sexual morality down the ages. It examines the portraits and careers of some of history’s most notorious mistresses and courtesans. It also charts the rather complex and ambiguous attitudes of art and society towards the numerous anonymous working girls at the lower end of the scale, by investigating how they have been represented in art at different times and places
from the 17th to the 20th century.
Emma Hamilton
Friday 10 August – lecture
Dr Geri Parlby BA (Hons) MA PhD
NADAS lecturer
Angels, Saints and Virgins – The Extraordinary Art of the Hispanic Andes
When the Spanish tried to Christianise the peoples of South America and teach them how to paint; little did they know that native peoples would learn their skills but make the religious art distinctly their own. The results are Angels with muskets slung over their shoulders, Virgin Marys shaped like mountains and Saints of all Shapes and sizes.
Friday 7 September - lecture
Mr Charles Hajdamach BA (Hons) FSGT
NADFAS lecturer
The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851
This humorous talk looks at the history of the Crystal Palace from Joseph Paxton's original design on blotting paper, his work at Chatsworth, Prince Albert's involvement, contemporary views of the building in Hyde Park, a selection of exhibits including glass by British firms and the disastrous fire in 1936. The impact of this iconic glass and steel building continues through trashy novels, the museums around South Kensington and the origin of the saying to "Spend a Penny."
Friday October 12 - lecture
Mr Keir Davidson B.Ed
NADFAS lecturer
Lancelot "Capability" Brown and Humphrey Repton – English Landscape design in hanging Times 1738 – 1816
"Capability" Brown (1716-83) and Humphrey Repton (1752-1818) were the two most important designers of the "English" school of landscaping. This movement developed during the times of great uncertainty following the Hanoverian Succession in1712 and during which there was a determined and wide ranging effort to re-define "Englishness" in an attempt to bring the nation together again under the new constitutional monarchy. This process is evident right across contemporary culture and in a world of landscaping it is reflected in the move away from French and Dutch influence in gardening towards something more uniquely and identifiably "English."
Yet the period between 1738 when Brown first started landscaping and 1818 when Repton died was also one of enormous social and economic change in Britain, a time when the Industrial and Agricultural revolutions changed urban and rural existence for ever and this speed of change is reflected in the very different approaches they had towards the English
landscape.
Friday November 9 - lecture Melbourne Cup Week
Roger Cameron
Australian Speaker
Jockey Silks and Superstitions
Roger Cameron's company has been making jockey silks since 1905. There are many stories to be told about the colours of silks and flags and of the many superstitions in this arena.
Venue and Time of Lectures
Lectures start at 5.30 pm, at the Peninsula Community Theatre, Cnr. Wilson Road and Nepean Highway, Mornington. Lectures last an hour and refreshments are served afterwards.
In addition to the nine lectures, there are three study mornings at Toorak College, Mt Eliza, starting at 10.00 am. Each of these interactive sessions runs for about 2 and a half hours with a break for morning tea midway.
Membership
Annual subscription is $125 for single membership and $235 for double membership. The cost of attending 9 lectures is included in the membership subscription and admission is by name badge.
Guests
Guest fees are $20 per person and guests may attend three times in any one year with prior notice to the Membership Secretary. The lecture guest fee for members of other ADFAS societies is $10.
Study mornings
Study morning fees are $40 for members and $45 for guests.
Excursions
Visits to museums, galleries, private collections and places of architectural or artistic interest are also arranged.
NADFAS twin
ADFAS Mornington Peninsula has a NADFAS twin in England, the Knole ADFAS based in Sevenoaks, Kent. We are very pleased to welcome each other's members to our lectures and other events.
