Bagshaw Art Lecture

The second in the Insiders v Outsiders series
Bagshaw Museum, Wilton Park, Batley WF17 0AS
Sunday 27 January: 2pm start
Cost: £3.50 per person; no need to book
Art historian Simon Poë presents the second lecture in his Insiders v Outsiders series on Sunday, 27 January, at Bagshaw Museum in Batley.
This talk focuses on the Royal Academy of Arts in London, its foundation in 1768 and who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out’. In particular, it looks at the rivalry between Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy and the ultimate ‘insider’, and William Hogarth whose pictures were teeming with rakes, drunks and harlots.
“Joshua Reynolds was on a mission to make British art in the eighteenth century respectable. William Hogarth was a genius but his pictures weren’t going to fit with Reynolds’ plan,” explained Simon.
“Needless to say, Hogarth never joined the Academy. For several years the two men lived on opposite sides of Leicester Square, so they could glare at one another out of their drawing room windows.”
The lecture starts at 2pm. The entry charge is £3.50 per person; there is no need to book.
In his final lecture on Sunday, 10 February, Simon will discuss ‘Lord Leighton and the Academy of the Undead’.
For further information contact Bagshaw Museum, Wilton Park, Batley, tel: 01924 324765.