Art History Talk – Whistler – A Butterfly with a Sting in its Tail!

Date: Thursday 27th February 2025

Timings: 2.00pm for the Lecture, followed by Tea & Cake in the Pavilion Gallery at 3pm (doors open from 1.30pm)

Venue: Penarth Pier Pavilion

Ticket/s: £15.75per person (+ booking fee) - Ticket price includes Tea & Cake

Join us in February to hear acclaimed art history lecturer, Stella Grace Lyons's illuminating talk on Whistler.

Whistler could be both exasperating and enchanting at the same time.

Accounts describe him as arrogant, pugnacious and difficult. Even he acknowledged this, calling his autobiography 'The Gentle Art of Making Enemies'.

His paintings were as delicate as his personality was aggressive. Influenced by the Art for Art's Sake movement, he aspired to a style of painting inspired by musical composition, calling his paintings Nocturnes, Arrangements or Harmonies. His best paintings shimmer with colour and emotion.

This talk will explore a selection of his works, including the work at the centre of one of the most scandalous legal trials in Art History. Expect some fireworks!

'Without sacrificing scholarship, Stella Grace Lyons has a most engaging way of hooking an audience into sharing her passionate interest in art history, drawing three dimensional human stories and experiences from the two-dimensional canvas'

- Maev Kennedy, Guardian Arts Correspondent

Following the talk, please stay for tea and cake, served in the Pavilion's beautiful Gallery.