Tim Stimson
B.A. (Hons), P.G.C.E., M.A.
Tim’s involvement in art began with the practical; for a number of years he was a professional painter/ ceramicist in Scotland and Wales, before returning to university to study literature and the history of art, then training to teach adults.
For the last 30 years Tim has been a freelance cultural/art historian, specialising in 17th and 19th century art and society. Tim has recently completed a second lecture tour of Australia.
Tim now lectures for Cambridge University, the WEA, The Arts Society (previously known as NADFAS) and The Art Fund, and presents residential study courses in Britain and Europe.
NEW COURSES FOR SPRING & SUMMER 2020
To book a place now on these courses please click on the underlined venue name to book directly
Cumbria
Cartoonery: English Attitudes
Tuesday 21st - Thursday 23rd July 2020
From the witty and genteel to the vicious and scurrilous, these pithy encapsulations of the recognisable, continue to have relevance today. They are miniature masterpieces, ephemeral yet enduring through time.
From the Georgians; Gillray & Rowlandson, to Punch and Strand cartoonists, Tenniel, Sambourne, Leach and Dickie Doyle and from Thelwell to Scarfe these visual drolleries have lost none of their appeal.
Laura Knight, The Exuberant Realist: Her Art & Life
Friday 24th July - Sunday 26th July 2020
Laura Knight is probably the only truly popular British painter of the early 20th century. Once renowned for her spirited depictions of gypsies and circus folk, she began her career at the Staithes and Newlyn artists’ colonies, where she developed her typically vigorous and colourful style.
Yorkshire Dales
Cartoonery: English Attitudes
Tuesday 21st – Thursday 23rd April 2020
From the witty and genteel to the vicious and scurrilous, these pithy encapsulations of the recognisable, continue to have relevance today. They are miniature masterpieces, ephemeral yet enduring through time.
From the Georgians; Gillray & Rowlandson, to Punch and Strand cartoonists, Tenniel, Sambourne, Leach and Dickie Doyle and from Thelwell to Scarfe these visual drolleries have lost none of their appeal
Laura Knight and English Impressionism
Tuesday 25th – Thursday 27th August 2020
‘Laura Knight's career began in earnest at Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, with her husband-to-be, Harold, and other artists inspired by outdoor painting. In paint and prose she expressed her admiration and solidarity with the hardy fisher folk of Staithes whilst developing her own painting techniques. The Staithes painters were part of the 'plein air' movement that erupted in the 1870s.
At Newlyn on the Cornish coast Laura Knight discovered herself and her art. At the artists' community revolving around Stanhope Forbes and other talented artists her brightly coloured poster like clarity and optimism ensured her increasing popularity. Her move to London with Harold opened the subject matter for which she has become famous - gypsies, the ballet and circuses. Between the wars Dame Laura Knight R.A. was undoubtedly the most popular British painter, interest in whom has re-emerged recently.’
NEW W.E.A. Local Courses for the Autumn Term 2019
& Winter Term 2020
"Gustave Klimt and Vienna's Golden Age"
At The Peter Harrison Room, Beverley Minster, Beverley,
Starting Monday 7th October 2019 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Cartoonery - English Attitudes"
At The Friends Meeting House, Bean Street, Hull,
Starting Tuesday 8th October 2019 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Every Picture Tells A Story - Victorian Narrative Painting"
At Age UK, Porter Street, Hull
Starting Friday 11th October 2019 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Spirit of the North - Nordic Romantic Painting"
At Grimsby Central Hall, Duncombe Street, Grimsby,
Starting Friday 11th October 2019 and running for 10 weeks,
2.30 - 4.30pm
"Introduction to Victorian Art" A NEW COURSE at Waltham Library Starting Thursday 9th January 2020 and running for 7 weeks
2.15 - 4.15pm
"Gustave Klimt and Vienna's Golden Age PART II"
At The Peter Harrison Room, Beverley Minster, Beverley,
Starting Monday 6th January 2020 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Cartoonery - English Attitudes PART II"
At The Friends Meeting House, Bean Street, Hull,
Starting Tuesday 7th January 2020 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Every Picture Tells A Story PART II"
At Age UK, Porter Street, Hull
Starting Friday 10th January 2020 and running for 10 weeks,
10.30am – 12.30pm
"Spirit of the North PART II"
At Grimsby Central Hall, Duncombe Street, Grimsby,
Starting Friday 10th January 2020 and running for 10 weeks,
2.30 - 4.30pm
PLEASE NOTE YOU ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND ALL 'PART II' COURSES WITHOUT HAVING ATTENDED IN THE AUTUMN TERM
To book a place on any of these courses please click on the underlined W.E.A link above and contact the venue directly.
Hull
UK City of Culture 2017
The Ferens Art Gallery re-opened in 2017 following a £4.5m makeover and is the venue for Tim's annual lecture.
The Ferens Annual Public Lecture - A Lecture by Tim Stimson
A free lecture for the people of Hull hosted by The Friends of the Ferens
Saturday 9th November 2019
from 1 - 2pm
"Atkinson Grimshaw, The Master of Moonlight"
This lecture is a ticketed event and can be booked online through Hull Culture and Leisure
ADFAS 2016 - TOUR OF AUSTRALIA
My first tour of Australia in 2010 took me from Perth to the Blue Mountains outside Sydney via many exotic and outlandish places. As an inexperienced traveller I fully expected my lecture in Wagga Wagga to be housed in a corrugated iron roofed hut!
Of course,that was not the case and the Art Societies of Australia are very civilised and hospitable, and they certainly appreciate British lecturers making the long journey to speak to them.
In May 2016 my travels took me back to Sydney and thence to Cairns with a much clearer idea of what to expect of the landscape and the people.
Being a straight talking Yorkshireman myself, I feel a definite affinity with the straight talking Aussies!
Early May in Sydney was like a hot Midsummer's Day in England, though the first place I visited, Mudgee, a good many miles inland, surprised me by having frost overnight and the clearest skies I have ever seen; the Milky Way like a grey band across the sky. My hosts in Mudgee were wonderful and so welcoming.
I then travelled on to some of the towns and cities of the East Coast, Brisbane and finally to Cairns, where my itinerary included a free day, which I took advantage of by Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef - just as wonderful as you might expect!
The most popular subject, as it was on my previous tour, was GUSTAV KLIMT, who is a great favourite amongst the Australian Art Societies.
It was after my first lecture in Mudgee that a member of the audience informed me that he had been part of the committee trying to keep the one and only Klimt painting in Australia from being sold abroad.
The history of the portrait of Hermine Gallia is fascinating. Tim Bonyhady's book ‘GOOD LIVING STREET- THE FORTUNES OF MY VIENNESE FAMILY’ tells the story of how the Gallia sisters fled Nazi persecution in 1938, arriving in Australia with not only the portrait but the whole of their Vienna Workshop interior furnishings with them.
The sisters' furniture and personal effects are now housed in the Art Gallery in Melbourne, but the portrait by Klimt eventually left Australia despite the best efforts of the Australian people to purchase it and is now in the National Gallery, London.
Many thanks to my hosts in Australia and to ADFAS for their excellent organisation and hospitality during my tour. It was a delight and a pleasure!