MENU LECTURES
× Home Our Society Lectures Visits & Tours Special Interest Days News Diary Gallery Volunteering Web Page Links Contact Us


Click here for previous lectures



Click here for previous lectures

16 September 2026Picturing the City
21 October 2026A Picture a Day: Peggy Guggenheim and the birth of mid-century Modernism
18 November 2026Gardens of the Restoration: garden design and garden-themed embroidery 1660-1720
16 December 2026The Curious History of Christmas Food
20 January 2027Notre Dame de Paris: its iconic status in French history
17 February 2027The 'Incomparable' Empress Josephine: collector, gardener, idon

Click on a row and scroll to display more details about the lecture

Picturing the City Cindy Polemis Wednesday 16 September 2026

From the 19th century the city became a symbol of modern life - a place of social and sexual drama and a force of energy both emotional and physical. Join me on a visual urban journey to explore how artists have engaged with the idea of the city as a rich, sometimes surprising, source of inspiration. The lecture is divided into certain themes and artists include Monet, Pissarro, Caillebotte, Bomburg, Edward Hopper, Hogarth, as well as some contemporary artists.

Image: Le Pont de l'Europe. Gustav Caillebote.


Cindy is an art historian, independent lecturer and art guide. She has a BA in Modern History from Oxford University and as a mature student she went back to university to study first for a BA and then for a Masters in History of Art at Birkbeck College, London University. Before that she spent many years as a radio producer and presenter for the BBC World Service working in news and current affairs. Since 2016 Cindy has worked as  a lecturer and an official art guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. She has also been a trustee at the Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum. Cindy has accumulated a wide range of art historical knowledge ranging from 18th European and British art to the contemporary international art scene. She has been an official guide for  Frieze Masters art fair in London. She is particularly keen to draw parallels with art and social history and her lectures are accessible and engaging, drawing out the stories of art and artists which are steeped in human emotions and experiences which we all share.