Marlborough Decorative & Fine Arts Society (MaDFAS)

Welcome to MADFAS. Each lecture is delivered by our international and New Zealand experts and offers a wide range of fine arts including, art history, sculpture, design, porcelain, craft, archaeology and ceramics. Lectures are lively, interesting and beautifully illustrated.

Our lectures start at 6.15pm in the Marlborough Research Centre, 85 Budge Street Blenheim. Lectures are an hour long and finish with a glass of wine and a sandwich and an opportunity to meet the lecturer.

our 2025 programme

In 2025 we offer seven The Arts Society lecturers and one Australian-based lecturer. Six of these will be with us in person and two will come via live broadcast from the UK. With the online lectures, there are opportunities to view additional topics from home, tuning in to the lectures hosted by the other Societies around the country.

We hope that things will run smoothly but will be ready to adapt our programme arrangements if necessary.

Membership

New members: The 2025 annual subscription is $160.00 per person, or $290.00 for a couple. To join Marlborough DFAS, please complete the MaDFAS 2025 Membership Application Form and mail with your internet payment to the Membership Secretary, PO Box 296, Picton, 7250.

Membership is limited and if the Society is over-subscribed there will be a waiting list.

Membership is not transferable.

Guests

We have limited door sales available at $25.00 per lecture. Members wishing to bring guests are given priority for spare seats, provided you contact us by the Monday preceding the meeting date. After that date supporters and casuals will be accepted on a ‘first request’ basis.
The cost for a casual attendee is $25.00 and the fee for visiting DFAS members is $20.00.

For more information or to notify changes of contact details please email
marlboroughdfas@gmail.com

MARLBOROUGH – 2025 LECTURER BIOGRAPHIES AND TOPICS

Peter McPhee

Marlborough Date : Thursday 6 March 2025 – 6.15pm

Peter McPhee was appointed to a Personal Chair in History at the University of Melbourne in 1993. He had previously taught at the Victoria University of Wellington in 1980-87. He has published widely on the history of modern France, most recently Liberty or Death: the French Revolution (2016); and An Environmental History of France: Making the Landscape 1770-2020 (2024). He was appointed as the University of Melbourne’s first Provost in 2007-09. He was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to education in 2003 and became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012. He is currently the Chair of the History Council of Victoria, the state’s peak body for history.

PAINTING THE FRENCH LANDSCAPE, 1770-2020: FROM WATTEAU TO COGNÉE

The French landscape has undergone many changes over the past 250 years, and so have artistic ways of capturing it. This lecture explores the paintings of Watteau, Millet, Courbet, Van Gogh, Monet, Soutine, Cognée and others less well known in the 1770-2020 period. Why did they paint the countryside, when this was not always the fashionable thing to do? And how did they paint it?

Christopher Garibaldi

Marlborough Date : Thursday 10 April 2025 – 6.15pm

Christopher Garibaldi MA (Oxon), MBA, MPhil (Cantab), is an independent researcher and scholar. He recently completed an MPhil in the History of Art and Architecture at St John’s College, Cambridge where he is currently studying for his doctorate on aspects of the history of royal patronage.
2010–2019 Director of Palace House, Newmarket (National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art: 2008–2010 Co-Director of the Attingham Summer School for the Study of Historic Houses and Collections. 1998–2003 Senior Curator & Assistant Keeper of Art (Decorative Art) at Norwich Castle Museum: co-curator of Flower Power – The Meaning of Flowers in Art and Eat, Drink and Be Merry, the British at Table 1600 to 2000. 1994–1997 Catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal residences.

FROM BISCUITS TO BLOUSES: GARIBALDI AND THE BRITISH

Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) was one of the leading figures in the fight for the unification of Italy during the nineteenth century. During his lifetime he attracted almost fanatical devotion. He was a romantic and heroic figure who captured the imagination of Italians but also of the British. His interest to the British prompted a fashion for everything from Staffordshire figurines, biscuits and blouses to the famous red shirts that became symbols of the Risorgimento and Italy’s fight for freedom. This fascination on the part of the British culminated in a triumphant visit in 1864 when over 500,000 Londoners turned out to see him in Trafalgar Square. This lecture looks at the amazing life of Garibaldi through the art of the Risorgimento and uses paintings, documents, newspaper accounts and the many representations of him in popular British culture to trace the reasons for his popularity in this country. It looks at the many links he had with Britain and how he fits into the contemporary artistic fashions of the period.

Lars Tharp

Marlborough Date : Thursday 15 May 2025 – Broadcast Live from the UK – 6.15pm 

Since my 1986 debut on the BBC Antiques Roadshow (and all series since), I have spoken widely, within and beyond the UK. With over 40 years of experience in ceramics and other areas, I aim to combine several compelling narratives with enthusiasm and humour. Born in Copenhagen, I studied Archaeology at Cambridge and joined Sothebys where, as a director and auctioneer (1977-1993), I specialized in Chinese and European ceramics. Today my consultancy devises and curates exhibitions, advises on the acquisition, care and disposal of ceramics and other fields. I also speak a lot: many of my most popular talks concern the vast universe of clay and ceramics as well as the world and works of William Hogarth

OF MEISSEN MEN – THE EMERGENCE OF EUROPE’S FIRST PORCELAIN FACTORY

The extraordinary fairy story of how Europe’s first true porcelain factory was created and installed in a German high security castle, perched high on a rock overlooking the mighty river Elbe. The Saxon king of Dresden had hoped that his imprisoned young alchemist (who had just escaped from the employ of the Brandenburgs in neighbouring Berlin) would fulfil his promise to make gold. But failing in this, with contributions from other scientists, and using massive smelting mirrors, alchemist Böttger finally succeeded, and the great Meissen porcelain factory was born. A frequent guide in the city of Dresden, Lars tells some of the remarkable story, offering superb close-up photos revealing. -even to those not “into” porcelain figures why this factory, the first of its kind, remains so highly regarded today.

Note: With his online speaking circuit, Lars will be delivering a variety of unique talks to all the NZ Societies so there is an opportunity to view additional topics from home. Details and links will be sent in advance.

Chris Aslan

Marlborough Date : Thursday 19 June 2025 – 6.15pm

Chris Aslan was born in Turkey and spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying Media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries, and becoming the largest non-government employer in town. He was kicked out as part of an anti-Western purge and took a year in Cambridge to write A Carpet Ride to Khiva. Chris then spent several years in the Pamirs mountains of Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down. Next came a couple more years in Kyrgyzstan living in the world’s largest natural walnut forest and establishing a wood-carving workshop. Since then, Chris has studied and rowed at Oxford, lived in Cambridge, but is now based in a mountain village overlooking the sea in North Cyprus. Chris writes fiction and non-fiction, and his most recent book is called Unravelling the Silk Road. Chris lectures for the Art Society during the first quarter of each year, and leads tours with Indus Experiences to Central Asia, having left a large chunk of his heart there.

THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND – THE ARCHITECTURE, ART AND TEXTILES OF UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistan in the heart of Central Asia boasts glittering mosques, madrassahs and minarets in the Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. These contrast wonderfully with the brutalist Soviet buildings of Tashkent, Urgench and Nukus. This lecture is an overview of the country, and a primer for anyone thinking of visiting. We explore the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, with the second largest collection of Russian Avante Garde Art, collected at a time when these artistic styles were banned by the state. We explore the revival of Islamic miniature painting in Bukhara and the resurgence of handicrafts all over the country that ceased during the 1930s and the Soviet drive to make everything factory-based. Embroidered suzanis from Nurata, stunning ceramics from Rishton, and the production of silk and velvet in Margilan. Plus, what are the ways that tourism is helping and hindering the production of high-quality handicrafts?

Alice Foster

Marlborough Date : Thursday 24 July 2025 – 6.15pm

Alice has lectured for Oxford University, Department of Continuing Education since 1998. She lectures at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. Her busy freelance career also includes organising themed study days with colleagues, and regular weekly classes in Oxfordshire and Worcestershire. In 2004 Alice joined The Arts Society and has lectured in Great Britain and Europe. Formerly President of Northleach Arts Society, she is also President of Banbury Fine Arts Society. Since its inception in 2003 Alice has led study holidays with Learn Italy Ltd to Italy and other parts of Europe. In 2024 she joined the team at the Argyll Hotel, Isle of Iona, Scotland, and runs History of Art Study weeks, specialising in the work of Scottish artists.

THE GLASGOW BOYS

In the early 1880s this group represented the beginning of modernism in Scottish painting. Led by James Guthrie and John Lavery, they painted contemporary rural subjects rather than the academic topics preferred by established training academies. The group were inspired by the fresh realism of Dutch seventeenth century and French nineteenth century art, and also by the American J.A.M. Whistler. They were fortunate to have an art dealer who promoted their style to the wealthy industrialists in and around Glasgow at that time. These painters were instrumental in forging a modern art oeuvre in Scotland.

Pamela Campbell-Johnson

Marlborough Date : Thursday 28 August 2025 – broadcast live from the UK – 6.15pm

With an MA Hons Art History, St Andrew’s University, Pamela has over 30 years of lecturing experience to undergraduates, adult groups, and to Friends and Patrons of the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the RA’s Adult Education Department. She has also conducted numerous guided tours, residential trips and focused gallery talks on individual works of art. Specialising in British Domestic Architecture and Modern British Art – Pamela has a particular love for the 1920s and 1930s. She’s had permanent career at Royal Academy of Arts for 12 years and work experience also undertaken at Bonhams, Art Loss Register and National Trust. Now a freelance art consultant and lecturer, she recently curated a collection for the Lansdowne Club.

AROUND THE WORLD: ICONIC ART DECO BUILDINGS

Following the 1925 Paris Expo, the influence of the Art Deco Movement on the style adopted for the design of many new buildings was immense. As a consequence, there are very few major cities in the world that don’t boast some examples of Art Deco Architecture. We explore iconic Art Deco buildings in New York, Miami, Vancouver, Napier, Mumbai, London, Lisbon and of course, where it all started, Paris. We learn about key architectural features and how architects embraced modern materials that were adopted in to eye-catching geometric patterns and shapes.

Note: With her online speaking circuit, Pamela will be delivering a variety of unique talks to all the NZ Societies so there is an opportunity to view additional topics from home. Details and links will be sent in advance.

Clare Blatherwick

Marlborough Date : Thursday 9 October 2025 – 6.15pm

Clare Blatherwick is an independent jewellery consultant based in Scotland. She has over twenty-five years of experience in the jewellery business, ten of which were spent as Head of Jewellery for Bonhams in Scotland, a role which saw her travel internationally searching for wonderful jewels to be auctioned around the globe. She has a keen interest in the historical aspect of jewellery and has lectured extensively on her subject both in the UK and internationally, including Europe, South Africa and Australia. She has also appeared on various TV programmes in the UK and US as a jewellery expert. Clare is a member of The Society of Jewellery Historians.

THE STORY OF THE CULLINAN DIAMOND MINE

This talk deals with the fascinating story of a diamond mine in South Africa which remains the source of the largest piece of diamond rough in history. From the creation of diamonds deep within the earth’s crust to images taken by the speaker as she travelled 750m underground to examine the workings of the mine and of course a look at some of the famous diamonds it has produced, this talk gives a behind the scenes look at something most of us only ever see in shops.

Note: With her online speaking circuit, Pamela will be delivering a variety of unique talks to all the NZ Societies so there is an opportunity to view additional topics from home. Details and links will be sent in advance.

Anne Sebba

Marlborough Date : Thursday 13 November 2025 – 6.15pm

Anne Sebba FRSL is the prize-winning author of ELEVEN books including the best-selling biography THAT WOMAN, a life of Wallis Simpson based on her discovery of 15 unpublished letters locked away in an attic trunk. Her next book was Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved and Died in the 1940’s about a wide variety of women and how they behaved in wartime Paris published in the US, UK, China, France and the Czech Republic, winner of the Franco-British award. She has also written biographies of Jennie Churchill, Mother Teresa and Laura Ashley among others.
She makes regular television appearances and has presented programmes for BBC R3 and R4 including two about the pianists, Harriet Cohen and Joyce Hatto. She began her working career as a foreign correspondent for Reuters news agency, the first woman accepted on their graduate trainee scheme, and has also worked for the BBC world services in their Arabic department, although she does not speak a word of Arabic. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, a Trustee of the National Archives Trust and a former chair of Britain’s 10,000 strong Society of Authors Management Committee.
Her most recent book is a life of Ethel Rosenberg, electrocuted in 1953 aged 37 for conspiracy to commit espionage following a trial with multiple miscarriages of justice, optioned by Miramax and shortlisted for the Wingate Prize. She is currently writing about the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, due for publication in March 2025, the 80TH anniversary of the liberation of the camps and also works as a reviewer, journalist, after dinner speaker and lecturer for the Arts Society as well as various other institutions and schools in the UK and US including the British Library, Royal Oak, English Speaking Union and the National Trust.

JENNIE CHURCHILL – STYLE ICON, PUSHY MOTHER OR AMBITIOUS SEDUCTRESS?

Jennie Jerome, (1854 – 1921) was born in America with a belief that it was her destiny to make a great marriage and achieve something in the world. She learnt in Paris as a teenager the importance of dressing well and being noticed often dressing up often in outrageous outfits. In 1874, aged 20, she married Lord Randolph Churchill thinking she was making a glittering marriage. When it turned out otherwise she threw all her energies into her son Winston, her No1 creative project – and great love – throughout her life. However, in an age when women were expected not to earn a living she soon discovered she had to do just that. She wrote plays, founded magazines and indulged in projects that lost money. Eventually she hit upon a method of tapping into her natural good taste which succeeded; she bought and sold houses, redesigning the interior. But all the while she defended, supported and promoted her beloved first son Winston. Jennie Churchill has been treated unfairly as a woman who had 200 lovers but in the 21st century, 100 years since Jennie’s tragically premature death, surely time to re-evaluate her legacy. Are American women like Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, still misunderstood?