Come on a pogonographic journey into the history of facial hair in art! A few years ago I was commissioned to give several lectures and tours of the National Portrait Gallery about hairy history, and this resulted in my book Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards, inspired by the gallery’s collection. It’s a fun look at history … Read more
Last year, I was invited to become a Patron of the De Morgan Foundation. On 31 July, I’m doing my first event for them. Obviously it has to be online, but the great news about that is that you can join from anywhere in the world! I’ll be talking about Lizzie Siddal with Sarah Hardy, … Read more
On Monday 6 July, I’m doing an online lecture on ‘Lizzie Siddal, The Original Supermodel’. It starts at 6pm UK time, and is joinable from all over the world – as long as you’ll be awake at that time! I have been doing regular online lectures during the pandemic lockdown. Please also check my Twitter … Read more
My article on the artist Kate Perugini (née Dickens, also known as Kate Collins) has been published by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. It’s long overdue. In common with so many female artists, she has been unfairly forgotten for so long, and I’m so glad that Katey finally has an ODNB page. The pictures … Read more
9 June 2020 is the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s death, and commemorative events had been planned for all over the world, which have sadly all needed to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be, however, many online events happening, including an online conference, in aid of the Charles Dickens Museum in … Read more
I’ve started a series of online lectures to help us through this strange time of staying at home. The first was a virtual tour of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection and the second is about Katey Dickens – aka the artist Kate Perugini – and it’s happening at 6pm London time on Wed 3 June. … Read more
Tomorrow I was supposed to be taking alumni from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, on a tour of the National Portrait Gallery in London. Now, we’ll be doing this online tour of the gallery instead, via Zoom. If you know anyone else who might be interested in an online lecture / gallery tour please get in touch. … Read more
If you’re looking for something to listen to during this strange time of lockdown, here’s a link to the podcast I made with Philip Mould, Emma Rutherford and others about the Lost Portrait of Charles Dickens. It’s in 3 episodes. https://browse.entale.co/show/790c94fe-cc89-45b5-90f3-b0defc7c7e24
The last booking date for my Life Writing course at the Verrocchio Arts Centre in Tuscany is 29 Feb 2020. The course is taking place 25 June-2 July 2020. Find out more here: http://www.verrocchio.co.uk/cms/index.php/2020-courses or email Hannah on [email protected] for more information.