On Tuesday 9 December, ARTS SOCIETY WOKING’s talk is In the Frosty Season. How the Romantics Invented Winter.“But when first the ice fell on the lake, and the whole lake was frozen…O my God! What sublime scenery have I beheld.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1799 During the Romantic period, there was a surge of artistic interest in the season of winter. The coldest months of the year inspired a number of writers and artists; the poet William Cowper wrote pleasurably about the season from the warmth of his fireside; Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Caspar David Friedrich were both inspired by the sublimity of the winter landscape; while William Wordsworth and Henry Raeburn created iconic ice-skating scenes in verse and painting. This seasonal lecture will explore why Romantic writers and artists were so keen on ‘the frosty season’. The talk will be given by Annalie Talent. Following a career in teaching, she spent several years working on education programmes at museums and literary houses across the UK, including the Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; Wordsworth House in Cockermouth; Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. On Tuesday 13 January, the talk is David Hockney - "Blondes Have More Fun". David Hockney has become a ‘national treasure’. Although a fine draughtsman, he first came to fame in the early 1960s for his graffiti-like paintings. The late 1960s and early ’70s saw him painting in a number of different styles, from the precise naturalism of Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy to extremely unnaturalistic works paying homage to his great hero, Pablo Picasso. With all his media and style changes, Hockney continues to delight and enchant people from all walks of life. The talk will be given by Frank Woodgate. Talks start at 10.30am but doors open 9.45am for tea, coffee & biscuits. Normandy Village Hall, GU3 2DT. Members may bring a visitor, who may want to make a donation to the Society of £10.

www.wokingdfas.org.uk/talks-arts-society-woking-2025.htm