The reign of Nicholas 11 saw a creative explosion. Carl Fabergé opened a branch of his jewellery store in London and Diaghilev created the Ballets Russes, Paris. 

Rosamund Bartlett is a writer, lecturer and translator. 

Andy Warhol is remembered as the king of pop art who embraced celebrity and consumerism, and would become an American icon. Yet there is a lesser-known side to him: the shy gay son of immigrants whose prolific, experimental and inclusive artistic practice enabled a counterculture that would play a part in trnsforming modern art. 

Image MOMA

The depiction of parties has always been popular in the history of Western Art.  We trace the variety of banqueting, dances and music in a feast of colour.

Alice Foster has lectured for many years at Oxford University. She also lectures regularly at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The illustration - Hip, Hip, Hurrah! Artists' Party in Skagen, 1887-88 Peder Severin Kroyer

The Gulbenkian is Lisbon's finest museum; the collection includes Lalique, Rembrandt and Renaissance paintings. Gulbenkian was an enigmatic figure, holding 5% of Middle East oil production.

Jonathan Conlin is an historian and author particularly interested in history and great museum collections.

(photograph by Alvesgas par-own work)

After giving a fascinating lecture on 'Seeing Blue' we are now exploring the origins of the colour RED. Was it created by adding the blood of a feuding elephant with that of a dragon?

Lynne Gibson is now working as a freelance lecture in the history of art. 

Seeing Red - Mark Rothco. MoMA

We uncover the life and work of the great Scottish genius and his tragic early death. In Glasgow we explore the buildings, art and the influence on his European contemporaries.

Adrian Sumner is a professional painter and illustrator. He lectures in universities and higher education institutions. 

Side Chair 1887 MoMA

What is a fake and why are they so prevalent in the international art market which is worth billions of dallars a year? See how we value art and how we do not.

David Haycock is an established freelance art historian and curator. He has also written many arts related books.

There are many interesting and romantic stories associated with ancient buildings of the Welsh Marches. Through folklore, history and archaeology, James Wright will try and separate truth and fiction. 

Dr. James Wright is a building archaeologiest, author, lecturer and broadcaster.

Ludlow Castle

The modern garden changed by the 19th century. Innovations such as glass houses and foreign travel were part of the period of great change to which artists responded from the 1880's onwards.

Lydia Bauman has taught at the National Gallery among others for over 15 years. She is a lecturer and painter. 

Woman in Parasol by Claude Monet. The National Gallery, London