Spotlight Talk | Skin. John Singer Sargent and the scandal of Madame X
Saturday 23 May 2026, 11am – 12noon | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
By 1883 John Singer Sargent was establishing what would become a glittering career as the go-to portrait painter of high society. As a young artist in Paris he implored a beautiful socialite to allow him to paint her. Over the following year Sargent laboured over what he later considered to be his masterpiece, the portrait of Virginie Gautreau. The painting, exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1884, shocked its viewers with its connotations of sexual impropriety, and the breaking of class taboos in the artificial colouration of his subject’s skin. It ruined Virginie’s reputation and ended Sargent’s career in Paris, but he would quickly create a new life in England as the portrait painter of the era, creating visions of beauty and swaggering privilege.
In his second talk for Worcester’s exhibition on Sargent’s work, art historian Justin Reay discusses Sargent’s approach to painting Virginie Gautreau, including how the sexuality of the artist played a role in this portrait; he describes the public response to the painting now known as ‘Madame X’ and the reasons for the scandal which ensued, and discusses how the painting arose from the self-identity of the sitter which resonates today with modern society’s fascination with how we recreate ourselves as we wish to be seen.
If you’d like to visit the exhibition too, advance booking is available online. There are a variety of admission options to choose from. The rest of the Art Gallery and Museum is free to visit as usual.
Spotlight Talk | John Singer Sargent: landscapes, low life and high society
Saturday 25 April 2026, 11am – 12noon | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
In this talk, given in the context of the exhibition of Worcester’s collection of Sargent’s drawings, art historian Justin Reay explores the artist’s approach to his subjects, his use of light and colour, his unusual composition, and his significance as a painter who engages us with the person or the scene depicted.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was born to American parents in Italy, travelled extensively in Europe and the USA throughout his life, established a successful career as a portrait painter in Paris and London, and became a celebrated and influential artist. Although living for many years in London, based in James McNeil Whistler’s former studio in Chelsea, Sargent frequently stayed with friends in Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, walking the hills and meadows around Broadway, painting the upper Thames, the Avon and the Cotswold countryside as well as informal paintings of family and friends.
He is perhaps best known for his compelling, often sumptuous portraits of British and American high society figures and celebrities, showing the character as well as the likeness of his sitters, but his figurative work includes the genre of real life, depictions of ordinary people at work to whom he gives the same degree of dignity. His landscapes and architectural scenes, in oil and watercolour, are notable for their attention to detail, interesting composition and an increasingly free mark-making. His style developed from initial formality towards Impressionism, and finally to a more relaxed, painterly depiction, even for portraits, and his landscapes achieve, at their best, a languid romanticism.
If you’d like to visit the exhibition too, advance booking is available online. There are a variety of admission options to choose from. The rest of the Art Gallery and Museum is free to visit as usual.
About Justin
Justin Reay FSA FRHistS
Retiring from a long career in business in 2001, Justin studied the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oxford, for whom he became a senior academic manager at the Bodleian Library, advising research scholars, editing manuscripts and consulting on the university’s collections of maritime paintings. He is a published historian and a qualified teacher. He delivered courses in the university’s international residential programmes, and tutors the History of Art and Classical Studies for private students and colleges in Oxford.
Justin is an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society, and a Member of the Walpole Society.
Spooky House Family Mornings
Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 October, 10.30am – 12noon | The Commandery
Where better to be in the October half-term holiday than one of Worcester’s oldest buildings?!
In these fun family mornings, children can decorate their own spooky doorway to take home. Who lives behind it and what would their door be like? From witches’ cottages to Dracula’s den, we can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Delve into the messy play tables, create a bubbling cauldron picture and make a spooky puppet too!
Then, explore the rest of The Commandery with the Spooky House trail which will take you through Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian eras, and more.
Every session includes a spooky story, drink, and a biscuit. Aimed at children from pre-school ages to 11 years.
Admission info
The family morning is £5 per child. General admission also applies and can be paid for on arrival or booked online.
You can get free admission to The Commandery if you have a season or Worcester Residents’ pass (£5 for crafts still applies) – find out more and plan your visit.
Potion Bags of Fun
Saturday 25 October – Sunday 2 November (closed Mondays) | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
This October half-term holiday is all about potions at the Art Gallery and Museum!
Pick up an activity bag and get creative in the Activity Space. From creating your potion ingredient garden, magical power spinner wheel, and a fantastic potion book for your own recipes, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
Each activity bag has multiple themed activities inside along with colouring and puzzle sheets. The Art Gallery and Museum is fully equipped for young creatives to get going on their making.
£2.50; purchase from the shop. Free entry to Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum. Plan your visit.
You might also enjoy…
Potion Panic! Family trail on all week
Potion Making – family sessions on Saturday 25 October
DURUFLÉ - REQUIEM
REQUIEM AND ENIGMA VARIATIONS IN STORE AT MAJOR CATHEDRAL CONCERT FROM TOP COUNTY CHOIR
A choral and orchestral spectacular is coming to Worcester Cathedral on Saturday 22 November, featuring the glorious sound of 140 voices and a symphony orchestra – with favourite works by composers Elgar, Duruflé, Haydn and Boulanger all on the bill.
The season-opening evening concert is being presented by the region’s leading large classical choir, Worcester Festival Choral Society.
It includes the ethereal Requiem by French composer Maurice Duruflé, widely considered one of the finest works in the choral repertoire. Written in 1947 it blends the silken tones of Gregorian chant with the rich harmonies of French impressionistic music, creating a luscious musical experience that stirs the soul.
There’s also an unmissable orchestral treat to savour – Sir Edward Elgar’s beloved Enigma Variations, including the deeply emotional ‘Nimrod’. Completing this musical feast are two more choral gems: Haydn’s dramatic motet, Insanae et Vanae Curae, and Boulanger’s mystical Vieille Prière Bouddhique (Old Buddhist Prayer.
Choral Society chairman Susan White said: “There’s no other experience like hearing a large, top quality choir sing such incredible classical music in a setting like Worcester Cathedral. Our Society has been bringing the ‘choral greats’ to Worcester for 164 years – in fact, in the 1890s we were often conducted by Elgar himself – so this will be an especially exciting concert to open our 2025-26 season. It’s one not to be missed!”
Appearing alongside Worcester Festival Choral Society are acclaimed soloists Alexis Hutchinson (alto) and Charne Rochford (tenor), as well as the Meridian Sinfonia orchestra. Worcester Cathedral’s director of music Samuel Hudson conducts.
The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets from www.wfcs.online or TicketSource 0333 666 3366 (local call rate).
Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden – The Wassail Christmas Tour 2025
Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden – The Wassail Christmas Tour 2025
Tuesday 18th November 2025, 7:30pm (doors open 7pm)
Location: Huntingdon Hall, Crowngate, Worcester, WR1 3LD
Tickets: £28.00 – available from the Worcester Theatres Box Office or call 01905 611427
Before there was carolling, there was wassailing, where seasonal songs were exchanged for money, food and ale. In the countryside trees were blessed, while in the towns wassaillers went house to house with their songs and calls for Christmas treats. Coming from the Anglo Saxon waes hael, ‘wassail’ is a toast wishing good health with a ‘be well’.
In November/December 2025 Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden combine their considerable talents and reputations within the UK folk scene, touring as a duo once again, for a nationwide wassail across key venues. Presenting seasonal, traditional material on a stage decorated for the occasion, they will take audiences back to some of the oldest songs in the English canon, telling Christmas tales, spreading good cheer and lighting up the darkest days of the year, ahead of Christmas Day itself.
In 2023 The Wassail hit the road for its first full tour, supported by the release of the seasonal album, ‘Glad Christmas Comes’ (Hudson Records):
‘Beautiful music from two of our very finest and most valuable artists currently working; Glad Christmas Comes is a very easy album to love.’ Folk Radio UK
The tour sold out in venues across the UK, with over 90% of tickets sold across the whole tour.
After a two year break, The Wassail returns to a host of very special venues in November/December 2025. Get your tickets while they are still available.
Jon Boden
One half of Spiers & Boden, lead singer of the mighty Bellowhead and with his own successful career as a soloist and with Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings and Jon Boden & The Remnant Strings, Jon has been a major name in English folk music for over twenty years with more BBC Folk Awards than any other artist. Add in a performance in the Hollywood movie About Time, his role singing/playing the theme tunes of both the BBC Radio 2 Folk show, The Archers and the Beyond Paradise TV series, and his place as a respected singer songwriter for both theatre and the folk scene, there is no question that Jon is a musical force to be reckoned with. Together with John Spiers, he also did a stint in The Ratcatchers, the backing band for Eliza Carthy in the mid-noughties, so has a long association and friendship with Eliza that has led naturally to the creation of The Wassail project.
‘The stand out performer of his generation’ The Guardian
‘Alone, Boden still has the energy of a twelve piece band’ EDS Magazine
Eliza Carthy
Twice nominated for the Mercury Prize and winner of innumerable other accolades over a 20-year career, Eliza has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists including, Paul Weller, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Patrick Wolf and Bob Neuwirth. Eliza grew up immersed in the world of traditional music. She still divides her time between touring and recording with her legendary parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson as well as engaging in numerous pioneering solo and band projects. She has co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, been a regular guest-presenter on the BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show and has made many appearances on BBC TV’s 'Later…with Jools Holland'. Eliza was awarded an MBE for services to folk music in 2014.
‘Eliza Carthy is one of the figureheads of the English folk revival.’ Evening Standard
‘Brave and anything but predictable’ **** The Guardian www.eliza-carthy.com / www.jonboden.com
More info & music:
✨ Book your tickets now and celebrate the season with two of the UK’s finest folk voices.
For more information contact: Terry O’Brien, Playpen Agency | 01953 850 810 | 07932 720 058 | terry@playpenmusic.co.uk
Body Snatching and Grave Robbing in Worcestershire
Saturday 15 November, 4 – 5pm | The Commandery
Hear from medical historian Kevin Goodman in a fascinating talk at The Commandery this autumn.
The body snatchers and grave robbers: their trade was to keep the ever-demanding medical schools supplied with the bodies of the recently deceased. But they weren’t confined to Edinburgh and London. They ranged across the West Midlands including Worcestershire. Discover the secrets behind their trade, the doctors who supported them, and their identities.
About Kevin Goodman
Kevin Goodman is an author and medical historian who has appeared in documentaries for the Smithsonian Channel (Mystic Britain), Channel 5 (The Great Plague and The Black Death) and History Hit, and specialises in the history of health and disease in the West Midlands.
£8. Book your spot.
Bite-size Talk | Illustrating Discworld
Tuesday 11 November 2025, 2 – 2.30pm | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Paul Kidby is best known for his art based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series of fantasy novels and is celebrated in the exhibition Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: 30 Years of Paul Kidby’s Illustrations.
This talk by our museum curator will take a look behind the scenes of the exhibition, and also delves into Worcester City’s own art collection to show examples of work by other illustrators such as Randolph Caldecott to explore the importance of this wonderful artform.
£4.50 for the talk; book via the link below. If you’d like to visit the exhibition too, advance booking is available online. There are a variety of admission options to choose from. The rest of the Art Gallery and Museum is free to visit as usual. Online booking isn’t available on the day of your visit, but you are welcome to pay in the shop when you arrive.
Check out the full programme of Bite-size Talks 2025.
Christmas wreath making at The Commandery (ages 16+)
Christmas wreath making at The Commandery (ages 16+)
Saturday 29 November, 10.30am – 12.30pm | The Commandery
Settle in for a cosy morning at Worcester’s Commandery as you create a rustic wreath to decorate your door this December. ❄️
In the beautiful wooden-beamed room upstairs at The Commandery, you’ll use natural materials from the surrounding gardens to create your wreath – either following an example or creating your own design.
Sip a tea, enjoy a coffee, and munch mince pies as you craft your wreath.
£25. All resources supplied. Ages 16+ years.
I thoroughly enjoyed making my Christmas wreath. It was very relaxing and therapeutic. Everyone was able to “put their own spin” on their decoration, so was really inclusive. It was a present from my son and I think we will make it our Christmas tradition. Wreath-making attendee, 2024.
Book your spot. If you’d like to look around The Commandery, you can get half-price general admission from the shop on the day of the workshop.
You might also enjoy Autumn Wreath Making on Saturday 4 October 2025!