Arts4Kent is a fund-raising charity which raises funds for the arts by organising an annual programme of events in London and the South East, including art- and architecture-related walks, lectures, visits to art exhibitions, historic homes and buildings (many not normally open to the public) and also the occasional foreign trip.
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NEWS
Thank you so much for your support of recent events. Our visit to Firle Place was so popular we are planning a return visit next year and the 3 day visit to Suffolk was also a huge success. The October lecture, given by Antony Penrose was a fascinating insight into the life of his mother the photographer, Lee Miller and the roll of Kate Winslet in the making of the recent film Lee.
Booking is now open for the Kippington lecture in February. It will be given by Sarah Burles who will be talking to us about “Les Trois Grandes Dames” of Impressionism.
More details and how to book can be found below.
An outline of our 2026 events can be found at the bottom of this email.
BOOK NOW
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
“LES TROIS GRANDES DAMES” of IMPRESSIONISM:
Marie Bracquemond, Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot
A LECTURE GIVEN BY SARAH BURLES
The Kippington Centre, Sevenoaks
Friday 13th February
Time: 1.30 for 2.00 pm
The Impressionists were an innovative and radical group of artists who took Paris by storm in the 1870s. Using new colours and techniques, they created paintings of modern life which shocked and horrified the art establishment. From the start the group included women artists but their contribution to Impressionism has often been overshadowed by their male contemporaries. Marie Bracquemond, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt all exhibited regularly at the Impressionist exhibitions alongside artists such as Monet, Renoir and Degas. In 1894 they were given the title “Les Trois Grandes Dames d’Impressionisme” by the art critic Gustave Geffroy. This lecture will discuss the lives of each of these artists and their work, revealing their skill and originality as well as their willingness to take risks, despite the additional obstacles they faced as women.
TIckets: £27.50 per person
To enjoy this lecture please contact Clare Seymour at cvseymour@hotmail.co.uk
DATES FOR THE DIARY: EVENTS PLANNED FOR 2026
March: George Smart & Tunbridge Ware Private Tour
Friday 20th March: Canterbury Cathedral and Archives
Thursday 30th April: Ian Swankie – Walk tour around King’s Cross
Monday 15th June: Guided walk around Lewes with Alison Finlay
Thursday 4th June: Tate Britain Exhibition – James McNeil Whistler lecture and exhibition
Thursday 9th July: Farleys House and Gallery - Home of the lives and work of the photographer Lee Miller and the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose
Wednesday 29th July (6.00pm): Deutsche Bank art collection. A private tour of this global collection of contemporary works
September: Firle Place
September: 4/5 Day Tour of North-East England
Wednesday 21st October: Kippington Lecture. Lynne Creasey, harpist, will be giving us a lecture on the history of the harp interspersed with musical extracts
Tuesday 17th November: Tate Britain - Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant lecture and exhibition
RECENT EVENTS
WHICH ARTS4KENT MEMBERS HAVE ENJOYED
ANTONY PENROSE: Lee AND LEE, The Making of the Film
Antony Penrose, the son of American Photographer Lee Miller, the fashion model for Vogue and Vanity Fair, surrealist photographer, fashion photographer, war correspondence, combat photographer and later chef, gave us a wonderful lecture about the making of the film. The movie is based on Antony’s biography of his mother, The Lives of Lee Miller published in1985. He told us about Kate Winslet’s unwavering dedication in portraying his mother accurately, and becoming producer shaping the movie as a result of the weeks she spent immersed in the Lee Miller Archives, the lengths the film team went to in copying artefacts accurately, for example, making replicas of Lee’s Rolleiflex Camera and the special effects made by a young team, were truly inspirational. Antony was closely involved with the production as Factual Consultant. Our thanks to Antony for his dedication and Sky Arts’ for their permission to do so.
SUFFOLK: A 3 day tour
20 Arts4Kent members enjoyed a wonderful tour around Suffolk visiting the Ickworth Estate, Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury, Long Melford, Flatford for a guided tour of Constable Country and The Munnings Art Museum in Lavenham. They are also enjoyed a private tour of Kentwell Hall which is in private hands.
FIRLE PLACE
Our guided tour of Firle Place the home of the Gage family for over 500 years was hugely popular andvery interesting. The Grade 1 Listed House contains an exquisite collection ofart treasures including Old Master portraits by Van Dyck, Reynolds,Gainsborough and Zoffany. There is a curated ensemble of English and Europeanfurniture and a significant collection of Sevres porcelain.
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