Lecture Course: The Country House: Art, Politics and Taste (London, 13 October – 1 December 2016)

We are pleased to announce the 2016 Public Lecture Course, The Country House: Art, Politics, and Taste. The course has been developed in conjunction with the research project, ‘Country House: Collections and Display’, and both will explore various facets of the collections and display of art in the country house in Britain and Ireland from the sixteenth century to the present day.
‘The Country House’ course will be taught by Martin Postle, Deputy Director of Grants and Publications; Jessica Feather, Allen Fellow at the Paul Mellon Centre; and other distinguished scholars from the field.
This year’s course will run for eight lectures and will continue to be held weekly on Thursday evenings starting with an informal reception at 18.30. Lectures will then begin at 19.00 followed by a discussion session until 20.30.
The course requires some preparation on the part of the participant. Each lecture will have at most two readings, which will be provided electronically ahead of the start of the course, that participants are strongly encouraged to read in order to have some background knowledge on the topics being discussed in class each week.
As an educational charity the Paul Mellon Centre strives to promote and support academic research into the history of British Art. The Public Lecture Course, which will be free to attend, offers an exciting opportunity to broaden our audiences and to communicate the newest and most original research on British art in an engaging and accessible way.
The Country House will take place on Thursday evenings between 13th October and 1st December 2016 in the Lecture Room at the Paul Mellon Centre.
The course syllabus will be made available in July. Registration will open to the public on 1st August 2016 through this website. The reading list will be circulated to participants in September.