Art First – Themed London Gallery Tours with Leslie Primo

Fine Art Lecturer, Author & Broadcaster

Ever been to an art gallery and wondered around looking at paintings wondering what on earth they could possibly be all about? Ever felt ill equipped and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of works on display? If so my 10-week themed London gallery tours are just the ticket for you. Bookings are now open and one payment of £250 per person will secure you a place on all 10 visits of my London gallery tour including themes such as: What Makes a Masterpiece, The Sacred and the Profane – Secular and Religious Iconography in Art, Facial Recognition and the Art of Portraiture, and Whose Story is it? – Narrative Painting and the Art of Story Telling. My once weekly tours will impart the knowledge necessary for you to survive in any art gallery in the world, but also the language that will help you decipher your favourite pictures so you can speak confidently about such works at your dinner party or just out and about with friends. Each week a group, limited to a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 participants, will join me for a 2 hour session at principle London institutions including: The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Wallace Collection, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, and the Victoria and Albert Museum where we will discuss major works of art.  The next 10-week themed tour will be The Sacred and the Profane – Secular and Religious Iconography in Art.  When take up for this tour reaches its minimum number of participants it will be programmed to commence on Tuesday afternoons between 14:30 – 16:30 from the 16th January 2024. Please be advised the 10-week run will have two breaks, on the 20th February, and a further break on 19th March, thereafter it will run until the 2nd April 2024. Click on: Gallery Tour to register your interest.

News

Turner – Light and Landscape

First Broadcast on BBC4 24 January 2021

There is now another chance to catch my BBC presentation on JMW Turner, which has now returned to BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0013vd0/art-on-the-bbc-series-2-4-turner-light-and-landscape

Art historian Leslie Primo examines six decades of BBC archive to explore what makes JMW Turner such a beloved name in British art. Almost everyone has good things to say about Turner – after all, he’s responsible for some of Britain’s greatest artistic treasures, like The Fighting Temeraire, and Rain, Steam and Speed. But exactly what makes him great is where opinions can differ.

Leslie discovers the TV art historians behind each theory. Was Turner great because he reinvented landscape painting, because he was a radical whose work marked the beginning of modern painting, or because he captured the extraordinary march of the industrial revolution? Through the archives, Leslie meets Fiona Bruce, Simon Schama, Andrew Graham-Dixon and Kenneth Clarke.

Leslie also finds that the disputed nature of Turner’s brilliance has made for some entertaining film-making, from a frock-coat- and powdered-wig-loaded reconstruction of his humble origins as the son of a barber in London’s Covent Garden, to modern art historian Tim Marlow lashing himself to a mast in the middle of a choppy ocean to recreate Turner’s inspiration for Fishermen at Sea.

Even if you think you know Turner, the programme reveals fascinating surprises about the complex man behind some of Britain’s most revered works of art.

Depicting the Magi:

Origins, gifts and representing men of colour
Read my Latest Essay

Fine Art Lectures

Accredited Arts Society lecturer

Leslie Primo has been an accredited lecturer at The Arts Society  since 2010 lecturing on a variety of subjects, and is not only available for The Arts Society, but also other local fine art societies, such as the Art Fund. If you would like a slide lecture for your society click on the repertoire link below, choose your lecture and contact Leslie Primo.

See my Lecture Repertoire

Private London Gallery Tours

London Gallery Tours

How about a one hour tour of art institutions such as the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The Victoria & Albert Museum or the Wallace Collection? Leslie Primo will be the perfect accompaniment for a corporate function, a special gift to a group of friends or an educational trip.

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Plaudits

Leslie Primo

Art Historian, Fine Art Lecturer, Author & Broadcaster

Art History Services for Groups and Individuals including study days, gallery tours, and Fine Art Society Lectures. Get in touch using the details below or send me a quick message here.

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