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​Thursday 10th April 2025 at 2.00 pm
​‘Riviera Paradise: Art, Design and Pleasure in the 1920s
Lecturer Mary Alexander
Roger Broderss - Soleil toute l'annee 1920s
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Since the C19th, English high society had ‘wintered over’ on the Cote d’Azur, but always left by April. In the 1920s however an intoxicating mix of artists, writers, musicians and international visitors created a new summer season.
Suntans and sportswear soon became de rigeur in the chic new coastal resorts, villas and hotels. A liberating playground of ideas across the visual design arts was stimulated by impressarios Serge Diaghilev and Paul Poiret. Traditional boundaries were torn down. Matisse. Picasso, Dufy, Cocteau and Chanel merged the worlds of fashion, theatre and interiors. Cole Porter and Scott Fitzgerald introduced an American perspective and attracted an influential new set of discerning patrons and collectors.
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We will ‘time travel’ to meet them all.​
Mary trained as an art historian at UCL where she obtained a BA and MA in the history of art. She lectured on art history at the Open University and Leeds and Manchester Universities and at Christie’s Education in London.
Mary contributes articles to magazines, newspapers and professional journals and as an experienced speaker lectures regularly for the Arts Society.
Palais de la Mediterranee, Nice - poster by Maurice Lauro
​​Everyone warmly welcome - members free, visitors £7.
Refreshments available at the end of the lecture.
​For further information on membership, contact our membership secretary on 01892 861015
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