The Arts Society Hampshire & Isle of Wight Area

🎨✨David Hockney never just painted the world; he taught us how to truly see it. ✨🎨

Celebrated British artist David Hockney dies aged 88 The painter's style was one of the most recognisable in the modern era.

✨Welcome back to British shores! After an incredible 900-year journey, the epic story of 1066 is finally returning to its roots. ✨

The 950-year-old tapestry will be leaving Bayeux for only the third time in its history before being put on display for nine months at the British Museum. Find out more: https://bbc.in/49Dhax7

A huge, heartfelt thank you to all the incredible The Arts Society volunteers across the UK! Your passion for preserving and sharing our shared heritage makes such a profound difference in local communities. 🎨✨

Lecture: Art Inspired by Wine
Lecturer: John Ericson
Friday 19 June 2026

'Great wine is a work of art. It produces a harmony of pleasant sensations, which appeal directly to the aesthetic sense, and at the same time sharpens the wit, gladdens the heart and stimulates all that is most generous in human nature' H Warner Allen

In this lively presentation John shares his knowledge and lifelong enthusiasm for wine in general and the huge contribution that ‘wine art’ makes to our colourful world.

Many of today’s imbibers now seek out wine accessories from the past such as corkscrews, bin labels, drinking glasses and bottle tickets to adorn their ‘cellars’.

There are numerous wonderful paintings of wine being made and wine being drunk in celebration, especially by many of the Impressionists.

Wine or rather the drinking of it also lends itself to wicked and sometimes very funny cartoons.
Finally, we shall explore wine labels from around the world. Today the high standard of graphic art displayed on wine labels is amazing.

This month marks the 250th birthday of John Constable, born on 11 June 1776. Here’s three things we learnt from our latest ‘Become an Instant Expert’ newsletter:
- Constable loved unassuming sights, such as ‘willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork’ (as he put it)
- To make everyday scenes of Suffolk seem monumental, he painted on a grand scale, creating what he called ‘six footers’. Seen here is The White Horse (1819)
- After his wife died, Constable’s work became far darker than the sunny landscapes that many associate with him

Each ‘Instant Expert’ is penned by an Arts Society Lecturer as a monthly gift to our members – the latest is by Constable expert Nicola Moorby. Find more in your inbox and in our forthcoming Summer issue, where Moorby picks up the story in print. Find out how to become a member here: https://theartssociety.org/join

A message from our President, Hilary Kay, for Volunteers’ Week.

Since becoming President in April 2025, I’ve been continually inspired by the passion and commitment of our volunteers across the UK and beyond.

This Volunteers’ Week, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who gives their time, whether you’re running Societies and Areas, supporting local arts projects, creating Trails of Discovery, or helping to record and conserve our heritage in places of worship, museums and historic buildings across the country.

Your time, skills and energy make a real difference. You help preserve, celebrate and share the arts and heritage in communities everywhere - and you are vital to everything we do.

Happy Volunteers’ Week, and thank you.

Find out more about volunteering: https://theartssociety.org/volunteering