Smart Talks 2026
Smart Talks | 6pm – 8pm
Join us for our monthly Smart Talks – a series of talks by learned academics, non-academics, and smart people across a variety of topics.
Tickets cost £30.00 per head which includes the presentation, supper and a drink.
Find our full programme below, how to book tickets and a synopsis of our next talk.
| May 21st | Elizabeth Goldring | ‘Holbein: Renaissance Master’ |
| September 17th | Tony Bray | ‘The fall of Ében-Émael’ |
| November 19th | Corina Apostu | ‘A New Addition to Our Collections: A Book from Robert Dudley’s Private Library’ |
May Smart Talk | 6pm – 8pm
‘Holbein: Renaissance Master’ by Elizabeth Goldring
Professor Elizabeth Goldring introduces her critically acclaimed new book Holbein: Renaissance Master (2025) with a beautifully illustrated talk about the life and art of Hans Holbein the Younger: court painter to Henry VIII and the man who, more than any other, has shaped our views of the Tudors.
Praise for Holbein: Renaissance Master …
‘Splendid … richly illustrated, readable yet highly scholarly.’ – Martin Gayford, The Spectator (‘Best Art Books of 2025/Recommended Art Books for Christmas 2025’)
‘A magnificent celebration of the artist who, more than any other, shaped our vision of the Tudors … A huge, sumptuous feast of a book’ – Laura Freeman, The Times (‘Books of the Year/The Ten Best Art Books for Christmas 2025’)
‘Magnificent … [Holbein’s] great achievement was to bring before us the living, breathing men and women who plotted, suffered, contrived and triumphed through the most terrifying decades of English history. And it is Goldring’s achievement to show us the magic by which this happened.’ – Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian
‘Definitive’ – Arts Society Magazine
A ‘Book of the Year/Book for Christmas 2025’ – The Daily Telegraph
About the Speaker
Elizabeth Goldring (MA, MPhil, PhD Yale) is an Honorary Professor at the University of Warwick, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a Member of the Consultative Committee of the Burlington Magazine, and a Member of the Athenaeum’s Works of Art Committee. An expert on Tudor art and court culture, her books include Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist (2019) and the just-published Holbein: Renaissance Master (2025). She regularly contributes book and exhibition reviews to The Spectator, Literary Review, Times Literary Supplement, and London Review of Books, among other publications. Professor Goldring has been interviewed about her research on the Tudors on Radio 4’s ‘Today Programme’ and ‘Start the Week’, as well as on numerous fact-based television programmes, including Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1), Stories from the National Portrait Gallery (Sky Arts), and Lucy Worsley’s Fireworks for a Tudor Queen (BBC4).
May Smart Talk Menu