PAINTING CONTEMPORARY OXFORD ARTIST TALK

Thu 27 Mar, 2.30–3.45pm

At the Museum and Online

An Exclusive Talk for Members of the Ashmolean

In-person event will take place in the Headley Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom.

Teas, coffee, and cake will be served in the Headley Lecture Theatre from 2pm, when the doors open.

Booking is essential

With Francis Hamel, Magdalen College Resident Artist

Ahead of exhibitions in Oxford and London, the artist Francis Hamel will talk about his recent experience of painting the city, from the challenges of capturing the character of such a well-known and beloved city across the seasons, to the more practical issues of avoiding the traffic wardens, dodging the tourists and how to manage white vans!

Francis Hamel painting an Oxford college garden scene with his easel looking out at blooming white hydrangeas

Francis Hamel painting with an easel inside one of the Oxford colleges looking out at the sun and shadows

Painting of a leafy tree in an Oxford alleyway

Painting a colourful Oxford street scene on an easel

Francis Hamel at work with some of his Oxford paintings

An alumnus of Magdalen College and the Ruskin School where he teaches life drawing, this, his third collection of Oxford paintings will be accompanied by a book and shown in London and Oxford. Recent projects include Thirty Gardens, painting trips to China in 2019 an exhibition of portraits at the V&A of the professors of Contemporary Theatre commissioned for St Catherine’s College.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Francis Hamel is a painter based in the UK and working between studios in Oxfordshire and Le Marche in central Italy. He trained at The Ruskin School of Art whilst at Magdalen College, Oxford. He is known for his landscape painting and portraiture. His practice involves painting and drawing from observation, and also includes paintings of the circus and theatre, flowers, still life and monumental tree paintings.

In 2019 Francis exhibited a collection of 28 portraits of leading figures in film and theatre at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London together with a collection of theatre paintings. This coincided with the publication of his book 'Francis Hamel: Paintings and Drawings', which features a wide selection of the artist’s work with essays by Sir Richard Eyre, Professor Niall Ferguson, Colin Harrison, Joanna Kavennah, John Martin and Rosy Runciman.

More about Francis Hamel >

This event will be recorded and the recording will be shared with ticketholders following the event.