British Art of the 20th Century

5 weekly sessions on campus, on Fridays at 11am - 1pm, starting from Friday 13 November.

Overview

Our ideas of British Art in the early 20th Century are often framed by Roger Fry and his circle, the infamous Bloomsbury Group, whilst the later decades of the century are commonly associated with those ‘modern’ works, often reviled by the media and misunderstood by most audiences. 

This course seeks to debunk and demystify the modern approaches adopted by British artists during this tumults century, it explores often forgotten artists and challenges the idea that British artists engaged with the forces of modernity only minimally. The aim is to challenge those preconceptions detailed above and to demonstrate that there’s much more to British 20th Century Art that what you might appreciate.

This course offers a general introduction, hence no specialist knowledge is required, only an interest in the visual arts and a willingness to share your opinions and to discuss the ideas explored in the seminars. The course is supplemented by a tour of the Walker Art Gallery’s collection of 20th Century British Art.

Syllabus

• Week 1 - The Avant Garde Rebels and Artists of the Great War
• Week 2 - The Inter-War Modernists.
• Week 3 - The Post-War Modernists.
• Week 4 – The Post-Modernists.
• Week 5 – A Tour of the Walker’s Collection of 20th Century Art.

Course lecturer

Ed Williams is an Art Historian who studied under Prof. Janina Ramirez at Oxford. He works at TATE Liverpool, he is a regular contributor to on-line publications, writing in the field of art history and art critique. His work involves regularly leading groups through exhibitions and giving public lectures, he previously taught undergraduate and postgraduate students at a number of Universities including the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Liverpool.

Course fee

• Standard fee: £85
• Concession fee: £45.