Watts Symposium
Register Your Interest
To receive notification of further speakers, details of papers and booking information, please register your interest by emailing symposium@wattsgallery.org.uk or call 01483 810235.
Watts Symposium 2009
26 February 2009, Guildhall, London
27 February 2009, St. Paul's Cathedral
£75 for two days / £40 for one day
Concession - £55 for two days / £35 for one day
(Concessions include - unwaged, senior citizens, students, Friends of Watts Gallery, Friends of Guildhall ArtGallery, Friends of St Paul's Cathedral and Clergy from the Diocese of London.)
Watts Gallery is delighted to confirm details of the 3rd annual Watts Symposium, which has been timed to coincide with two major exhibitions of Watts’s work at The Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral. The list of speakers includes Professor Sir Christopher Frayling.
The 2009 Symposium will explore the life and work of G. F. Watts within the context of the Victorian age, taking into consideration the artistic, literary and spiritual movements influential at the time.
Speakers confirmed to date include:
Dr Caroline Arscott
Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century British Art, Courtauld Institute of Art
Mark Bills
Curator, Watts Gallery
Judith Bronkhurst
Art Historian, Courtauld Institute, London
Dr Stephanie Browne
Lecturer, Newcastle University
Barbara Bryant
Consultant Curator and Co-Author GF Watts Victorian Visionary (Guildhall 2008-2009) and Author of GF Watts: Portraits – Fame & Beauty in Victorian Society (NPG 2004-2005)
James Dewar
Administrator, Lincoln’s Inn
Veronica Franklin Gould
Author of G. F. Watts: The Last Great Victorian (Yale University Press, 2004) and Curator of The Vision of G. F. Watts (Watts Gallery, 2004)
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling
Vice-Provost and Rector, Royal College of Art, Chairman, Arts Council of England
Janet Lee
MA History of Art and Design (Bristol), unpublished MA dissertation: Spirit, Symbol and Devotion: the Watts Chapel (1895-1904); Jungian Psychotherapist
Leonée Ormond
Professor Emerita, King’s College, London
John Price
Historian, King’s College, London
Professor Ben Quash
Professor of Christianity & the Arts, King's College London
Allen Staley
Professor Emeritus of Art History, Columbia University
David Stewart
Art Historian, UA Huntsville
Dr. Colin Trodd
Director of Post-Graduate Studies in Art History, University of Manchester
Hilary Underwood
Tutor in the History of Art, University of Surrey and Curatorial Advisor, Watts Gallery
Martin Warner
Treasurer, St Paul’s Cathedral
Previous Events:
Watts Symposium 2007
G F Watts, Art and Social Concerns
Thursday 20 September
Watts Gallery, Compton, Surrey
Friday 21 September
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Presented by Watts Gallery with the support of The Courtauld Institute of Art
“My intention has not been so much to paint pictures that will charm the eye, as to suggest great thoughts that will appeal to the imagination and the heart, and kindle all that is best and noblest in humanity.” G F Watts
A two-day Symposium exploring the impact of key social issues on the work of the Victorian artist, George Frederic Watts OM RA. Bringing together experts in the fields of Victorian art, history and literature to consider how Watts and his contemporaries reacted to these concerns and how the legacy of their pioneering responses can be felt today.
The Watts Symposium 2007 was a great success with more than 50 people attending on each day. A fuller report of the results of the two day symposium will be be published here in due course. Thank you to everyone who attended the event and to The Courtauld Institute of Art for their support.
Speakers Inlcuded:
Anne Anderson – Senior Lecturer, Southampton Institute
Mark Bills – Curator, Watts Gallery
Barbara Bryant – Consultant Curator, Author GF Watts: Portraits of Fame & Beauty in Victorian Society
Julia Dudkiewicz – Assistant Curator, Watts Gallery
Veronica Franklin Gould – Author of G. F. Watts: The Last Great Victorian and Curator of The Vision of G. F. Watts’.
Christopher Jordan – Curator, South London Gallery
Paul Nelson – Course Leader, Fine Art, UCCA
Leonée Ormond – Professor Emerita, King’s College, London
Julian Treuherz – Former Keeper of Art Galleries, National Museums Liverpool
Alex Werner – Senior Curator, Museum of London
Professor Michael Wheeler – Chairman, Ruskin Society and Visiting Professor
Through the generosity of The Derek Hill Foundation we were able to offer a small number of bursaries for this Symposium. We would like to thank them for their support.