Well-known historian, critic and award-winning broadcaster, Professor Sir Christopher Frayling will speak at this year’s Clare Hall Tanner Lecture Series at the University of Cambridge on the 11th and 12th November.

Described as ‘a one man department of cultural history’, Professor Frayling is a passionate campaigner for the importance of education in and through the creative and performing arts.

Educated at Churchill College in 1979, he was appointed Professor of Cultural History at London's post-graduate art and design school, the Royal College of Art. Since 1996 he has been Rector in charge of the College.

He was the Chairman of Arts Council England until 2007, previously Chairman of the Design Council; Chairman of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, and was awarded a knighthood in 2001 for "Services to Art and Design Education".

The main lectures will take place on Wednesday 11th November at the Auditorium, Robinson College and will begin at 5pm.

Professor Frayling will give two lectures, the first of which ‘An instinctive sympathy?’ will explore the moments in the late nineteenth century when the relationship between art and religion seems to have been particularly close, and will speculate about what might really have been happening within it.

The second lecture ‘To do the right deed for the wrong reason’ will explore the richness in European art around the middle years and will question what has been happening since.

The final session of the series offers the opportunity for responses from selected experts who have particular interests in the topic being presented, and also for the audience to participate in an open discussion.

The Tanner respondent’s session will take place on Thursday 12th November at Robinson College, Umney Theatre and will begin at 9.30am.

Respondents will be:

• Richard Cork, award-winning art critic, historian, broadcaster and exhibition curator who will speak about ‘Francis Bacon and the Crucifixion’.

• Professor Frances Spalding, Art historian, critic, biographer and Professor of Art History at Newcastle University, will question if artistic freedom is a help or a hindrance to religious art.

• Very Rev. John Drury, Chaplain and Fellow of All Soul College Oxford will respond with ‘Ruskin: what lasts?’

• Richard Humphreys, Editor of Tate 'British Artists' series, will be responding with a discussion on ‘Heretical Thoughts of the Enemy: Wyndham Lewis, Art and Religion’.

The Tanner Lectures were established by the American scholar, industrialist and philanthropist, Obert Clark Tanner at Clare Hall in 1978.

In 1986, in recognition of his help to scholarship in the college, Tanner was elected as an honorary fellow of Clare Hall.

The purpose of the Tanner lectures is to advance and reflect upon the scholarly and scientific learning related to human values.

Clare Hall, Cambridge is one of nine institutions worldwide to be honoured with a permanent Tanner Lectureship.

Clare Hall is a College for Advanced Study, it is a community that welcomes graduate students and senior scholarly visitors and their families from all over the world.

Clare Hall’s new President Sir Martin Harris has served as Chancellor of the University of Salford, Vice-Chancellor of two universities - Essex and Manchester - and as Chairman of the Committee for Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), now Universities UK.

Booking is advised for the lectures on Wednesday 11th November, to book tickets please call: 01223 332 368 or email: tanner.admin@clarehall.cam.ac.uk

For more information please use the links top right of this page.


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