Class details
Join Nick Pearson for a new series of art history lectures focusing on the development of modern design. From the time of the Great Exhibition in the mid-19th, throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries modern design has been largely parallel with the development of modern art; and many artists from the period have not only been influential in design works, but have worked in design themselves.
Monday
10am – 12pm
13 October – 15 December (NO session on 27 October)
12 – 26 January 2026
Fee : £10 per session
Notes only : £5 per set
In this history, we’ll see such names cropping as the Pre-Raphaelites, Alphonse Mucha, Toulouse Lautrec, Cubism, Tamara Lempicka, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Jean Arp, Alexander Calder and more.
Topics we cover
13 October : The Beginnings of Modern Design
The Arts & Craft Movement and Art Nouveau
20 October : Into the 1920s
De Stiji, Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism
3 November : The 1920s and 30s
The Paris International Expo and Art Deco
10 November : The Modern Movement Spreads (Part 1)
Architecture and Design Styling in the 1920s–50s in Britain and the USA
17 November : The Modern Movement Spreads (Part 2)
Hollywood and fashion, Charles and Ray Eames, wartime austerity and the possibilities of plywood
24 November : 1940s–50s Austerity to Optimism
The ’New Look’ and the Festival of Britain
1 December :
America, Robin and Lucienne Day and 1960s Design Icons
8 December : Scandinavian Modern Design
The early years
15 December : Scandinavian Modern Design
The triumph of Mid-century Modern and new architecture
12 January 2026 : Post-Modern design
Neville Brody, Vivienne Westwood and other mould-breakers who looked beyond the avant-garde
19 January : A partial history of Graphic Design in 19 & 29 Centuries
We’ve seen a lot of designed ‘things’ by now, plus a handful of posters and other graphic works. This lecture deals with the history of graphic design; particularly how visual messaging developed across the period. We expand on some of the work by graphic designers already mentioned and add a whole lot more!
26 January : Advertising in the Art Deco Period
Some say the ‘golden age’ of poster design was the 1920s and 30s Art Deco period. It was certainly a very rich, very beautiful seam. Join me on this visual feast of advertising art!
Support notes are included
After each lecture Nick will send you a copy of his comprehensive, illustrated notes via email.
Not able to make the lecture but still want the notes? For a fee of £5 we can email you a copy of the notes.
We look forward to seeing you at Nick’s latest series of well informed and entertaining art history lectures.
