Thursday 16th June at 6.30pm BST / 1.30pm EDT. Presented on Zoom by John Hilary.
The Messels were a distinguished German-Jewish family who enhanced British culture in numerous ways. John Hilary, author of From Refugees to Royalty: The Remarkable Story of the Messel Family of Nymans, explores their artistic impact from their arrival in Britain to the present-day. He will discuss artist and stage-designer Oliver Messel and photographer Tony Armstrong-Jones, as well as the family's wider collection of paintings and objets d'art. He will also touch on the Messels' sociocultural background as German Jews and what this means for understanding their contribution to British culture.
John Hilary is a great-great-grandson of Ludwig Messel, who came to Britain in 1865. John is an Honorary Professor at Nottingham University and a participant in an Oxford University-led initiative on Jewish Country Houses. His main focus is German-Jewish immigrants' art collections in Edwardian Britain and their cultural influence.
The event was recorded and is now available on our website.
