ArtsNational lecture with Barry Venning

Next date: Saturday, 25 July 2026 | 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

LECTURE TITLE:   PAINTBRUSHES AT DAWN: The world’s greatest artistic feuds, rows and quarrels
The celebrated controversialist, Christopher Hitchens, once wrote that a first rate bust up requires one of at least two things: a clash of strong personalities, and a conflict of principles. The history of art is peppered with first rate bust ups: between the Renaissance artists, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, between Constable and Turner in the early 1830s, between Salvador Dali and the Surrealist leader, Andre Breton in the 1930s and, most recently, between the graffiti artists Banksy and ‘King’ Robbo, who painted over each other’s works. There are many more. They are highly entertaining,
but they also highlight key issues in art history.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published
books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and
European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in
postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and
associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC
TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and ABC Australia,
and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.

When

Location

The Lighthouse Baptist Church is part of the Lighthouse Christian School, next to Juds Park on Norman Road.

Lighthouse Baptist Church, 480 Norman Road,, Norman Gardens, 4701, View Map