Saturday 5 July 2025
12.30 - 2.30pm or 3 - 5pm

Join us for a multisensory journey into the captivating world of scent at Watts Gallery.

Begin with a curator’s tour of Scented Visions, a unique exhibition exploring the role of fragrance in Victorian art. Discover how scent influenced artistic expression and was interwoven with the culture and creativity of the 19th century.

Then indulge your senses further with the Silent Pool Aroma Masterclass. Delve into the aromatic world of Silent Pool Gin, uncovering the botanicals behind their signature spirits. Explore the fascinating connection between aroma and taste, and then, under expert guidance, blend your own Aroma Garnish – a bespoke mix of botanical oils to elevate your Silent Pool G&T.

A perfect day for lovers of art, fragrance, and fine spirits.

Dr. Christina Bradstreet

Dr. Christina Bradstreet is an art historian specialising in Victorian art. She is Head of Programmes at the Association for Art History. Her book Scented Visions: Smell in Art, 1850-1914 was published by Penn State University Press in September 2022.

“Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian Aesthetic paintings are so often described as ‘multisensory’, but smell and its significance has been overlooked, despite being ‘under our noses’ all along. Many 19th - and early 20th-century ideas about smell and smelling, such as the belief that smell is disease or that rainbows emanate the sweet scent of fresh, wet meadows after a rainstorm, seem outlandish today. Yet this contextual information lends a new and vital perspective for understanding some of the most iconic Victorian paintings.”