Richard Kay Lecture, hosted by Somerton and Langport RNLI

How much do we really know about familiar pictures? Some great works of art offer up intriguing insights when we stop to consider them just a little more closely.

In this talk, which covers a wide range of paintings from the 15th Century to the present day, Richard Kay considers what Holbein was doing with his skull, why Gainsborough's boy was dressed in blue, whether Manet's most infamous picture was really anything new - and what Sir Peter Scott might have seen in a famous Scottish loch.

After a degree in Art History at St Andrews, Richard joined Sothebys in 1987 and worked for them until joining Phillips as an Associate Director in 1995. Between 1999 and 2025, he was a Director at Lawrences Auctioneers in Crewkerne. Earlier this year, he joined Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury, one of the largest auction houses in the country outside London.

The evening will start at 6:30pm with canapes and a complimentary drink. There is a bar to buy additional refreshments and there will also be a raffle.

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