SPECIAL INTEREST DAY
March 26, 2024, 10.00 for 10.30 
Mary Alexander: Riviera Paradise. The fusion of art and design on the Cote d'Azur in the 1920s and 1930s; its style, artists, textiles, fashion and printed ephemera; a period that preserves a place and its people in memory in an almost totemic fashion. When prompted, we probably all conjure similar, poster-like images of the bays and scenery of the Cote D’Azur and the fashions of the period. This day will fill in some of the remaining gaps.
Mary has provided the following reading list for further study
Riviera Paradise: Art Design and Pleasure in the 1920s and early 30s
Memoirs/autobiographies: Out of print books often available on abe.com
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Echoes of the Jazz Age (1931) 'autobiographical pieces' in Penguin's The Crack-Up with other Pieces and short stories, check other editions
F Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night (1934) Penguin Classics 2000, 2010
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, Arrow Books 2011 (the restored edition)
Edith Wharton, A Backward Glance, (first published in USA in 1933). Ensure that you find the full version, not abbreviated, Constable London 1972 hardback is a good one
Paul Poiret, My First Fifty Years (memoirs)
Calvin Tomkins, Living Well is the Best Revenge; Viking Press NYC, 1962 (based on interviews with Gerald and Sara Murphy)
Lydia Sokolova, Dancing for Diaghilev (edited by Richard Buckle), John Murray, 1960
Bibliography
Amanda Vaill, Everybody was so Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy A lost generation love story; 1998
Calvin Tomkins, Living well is the best revenge, Viking Press NYC, 1971
Mary E Davis, Classic Chic: Music, Fashion, and Modernism; Univ of California Press, 2008
Mary Blume, Côte d'Azur: Inventing the French Riviera; Thames & Hudson, 1992
Kenneth E Silver, Making Paradise: Art, Modernity, and the Myth of the French Riviera, MIT Press, 2001
Hilary Spurling, Matisse The Master , Vol Two 1909-54: Penguin, 2005 (earlier volume One is The Unknown Matisse, Man of the North 1869-1908)
Richard Buckle, In the Wake of Diaghilev, Harper Collins, 1982
Charles Spencer, Leon Bakst, Academy Editions, 1973
Dora Perez-Tibi, Dufy, Thames & Hudson, 1989
Werner Schmalenbach, Leger, Thames & Hudson,
Fashion Sourcebook 1920s, edited by Charlotte zmmanuelle Dirix, Fiell Publishing 2011
Poiret, exhibition catalogue, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007 (large folio edition)
Thierry Coudert, Café Society: Socialites, Patrons and artists 1920 - 1960, Flammarion, 2010 (section on the new resorts Cap d'Antibes)
'Light and enjoyable reads'
Naomi Wood, Mrs Hemingway, fictional account based on his diaries and four wives, Picador, 2014
Mary S Lovell, The Riviera Set 1920-1960, Little Brown, 2016 - covers the later years. Enjoyable and gossipy.
Museums and Galleries: (some mentioned in lecture)
Musée de Beaux Arts, Nice (also referred to as Jules Cheret)
Matisse Museum, Cimiez, Nice
Chagall Museum, Cimiez, Nice
Musée Picasso at Antibes (includes his ceramics)
Musée National Fernand Léger at Biot
Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (recently opened)
The Fondation Maeght, St Paul de Vence - a must. Stunning sculpture and painting collection (including Braque, Chagall, Miro, Picasso etc)
Eileen Gray's Villa E1027 at Cap St Martin Roquebrune (restored and open since 2015 - check website Cap Moderne for opening times) Pre-booking essential, small groups.
Chapelle du Rosaire, Vence (Matisse, a 'working convent' check opening times)
Musée Jean Cocteau (collection Séverin Wunderman) Menton, and small bastion, and Salle de Mariage murals in the old Hotel de Ville in Menton
Useful general 'off-track' places/retail//restaurants
'111 Places on the French Riviera that you must not miss' by Ralf Nestmeyer, publisher Emons Verlag GmbH, 2015
May 23 2024
Outing to Belvoir Castle - 23rd May 2024.
You may now register for the outing to Belvoir Castle on 23rd May. Belvoir Castle dates back to the 11th century and has been the seat of the Dukes of Rutland for nearly 1000 years. As well as the castle, visitors may tour the parklands and formal gardens. Numbers booked so far are in the low to mid 20’s so costs per head are forecast to be £65.00. That figure includes travel, an admission fee of £19 and also £16 for coffee on arrival plus a light lunch. It will only require a small number of extra attendees to enable us to reduce that cost per head. Please let Jill Horberry know if you are interested and would like to book.
ANNUAL HOLIDAY
Thursday, September 19 for FOUR days
HISTORIC HOUSES & GARDENS OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE
ITINERARY
THURSDAY
We journey to Barnsdale Gardens, voted the UK’s Best Garden to Visit 2018/19. Famed
as the home of the BBC Gardeners’ World TV programme it has been dubbed ‘a theme park for
gardeners’ because of its uniquely designed collection of 38 individual, yet realistic, small gardens
that guide you round this 8 acre site. From here we make our way to the hotel for our three night
stay.
FRIDAY
Today we head to Anglesey Abbey, a Jacobean-style house full of rich history, evolved from a
monastic priory to 20th century home. The celebrated garden, with its sweeping avenues, classical
statuary and flower borders offers captivating views with vibrant colours and scents, whatever the
season. We enjoy a guided tour here, as well as time at leisure to further explore. En route back to
the hotel we visit The Manor, Hemingford Grey, one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in
Britain. This moated house is surrounded by 4 acres of garden renowned for its collection of over
200 old roses and irises, and many hidden corners to explore.
SATURDAY
Today we travel to Ely, and start with a visit to Ely Cathedral, with its unique 14th century
octagonal lantern tower, counted among the wonders of the medieval world. The cathedral
showcases Ely’s rich art heritage, with sculptures, stained glass and painted ceilings from the 19th
and 20th centuries. On then to Oliver Cromwell’s House. As one of the most divisive individuals in
British History, Cromwell spent a decade of his life living in Ely. We tour his family home and
experience what domestic life would have been like in the 17th century.
SUNDAY
We depart the hotel and head to Holdenby House, one of the largest prodigy houses of the
Tudor period, rivalling in size both Audley End and Theobalds. This Royal Palace with a distinguished
history is now a historic home for everyone to enjoy. In addition to the house there are substantial
grounds to explore too, including the Elizabethan Garden, Kitchen Garden, Palace Garden, King
Charles Walk and Elizbethan Pond. From here we depart in the afternoon for our homeward
journey.
HOLIDAY INN HUNTINGDON
Huntingdon Racecourse, 3-star
Three nights dinner bed & breakfast
Set in the grounds of the famous racecourse, the hotel offers modern and comfortable
accommodation. Facilities include: Open Lobby restaurant, bar & lounge; and complimentary WiFi.
Thursday 19 September 2024
4 days
From £499
Limited single rooms with no supplement
*Please note the order in which the attractions are listed are subject to change.
For further details please contact Jillian Horberry on 01427 752230 or 07771 430400 or at jillian.horberry@zen.co.uk
SPECIAL INTEREST DAYS
October 15, 2024, 10.00 for 10.30
James Wright: Mediæval Myth-busting: unpicking the fact from the fiction behind masons' marks and carvings.
March 25, 2025, 10.00 for 10.30
Dave Wright: The influence of the arts on popular perceptions of historical icons such as Cleopatra or St. George