Howard Foundation Lecture: Professor Frank Salmon

The past that never dies…..

The 5th Howard Foundation Lecture will be given by Professor Frank Salmon, Downing alumnus and Director of Studies in History of Art, who will speak on 'Neoclassical Architecture from Wilkins to “Swedish Grace” and Plečnik'.

Professor Salmon will focus on neoclassical architecture from Downing to Sweden and the work of Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of his death in January 2027. The lecture will also look at the current major exhibition on Plečnik being held at Bratislava Castle, Slovakia, in 2026.

Speaker biography:

Professor Salmon specialises in the history of classical architecture from the ancient Graeco-Roman world to the present day, his area of particular focus being neo-classical and Italianate architecture in Britain and Europe from 1700 to 1900. Since 2021, he has been Director of the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture (CSCA), based in the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art in collaboration with the Faculty of Classics and housed at the neo-classical Downing College.

He has been a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge since 2006 and was President of the College from 2015 to 2019.

Event details:

The lecture will run from 6pm to 6.45pm in the Howard Theatre, followed by a 30 minute Q+A.

A reception will take place afterwards in the Grace Howard from 7.15pm to 7.45pm.

This lecture is free to all.