AHI London meet up: How artists look, learn and interpret

Free informal event for members and non members

Join AHI members and friends for an afternoon exploring two exhibitions at the British Museum and National Gallery, followed by informal drinks in Trafalgar Square.

With the two galleries only around a 20-minute walk apart, we’ll visit two small exhibitions that offer very different perspectives on how artists observe, develop ideas and interpret the world around them, and consider what this might tell us about interpretation itself.

13:00 | Meet at the British Museum
Meet at the Great Russell Street entrance.

13:00–14:30 | Early Netherlandish Drawings
Explore the exhibition in Room 90, with time to visit the wider museum independently.

14:30 | Leave the British Museum
Regroup at the Great Russell Street entrance.

14:30–15:00 | Walk to the National Gallery

15:00–15:45 | Monet and Renoir: Painting Side by Side
Visit the display in Room 41, with time for close looking and discussion.

16:00 onwards | Drinks at The Admiralty
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DS.

How artists look, learn and interpret:

At the British Museum, Early Netherlandish Drawings explores drawing in the Low Countries between 1400 and 1600. It traces the changing role of drawing from a practical workshop tool, used for training, preparation and design, towards something increasingly valued as an artwork in its own right. Recent curatorial, conservation and scientific research also offers new insights into how these drawings were made, used and understood.

At the National Gallery, Monet and Renoir: Painting Side by Side jumps forward to 1869, bringing together paintings made by the two friends at La Grenouillère. Painting the same subject, in the same place, at the same time, Monet and Renoir nevertheless produced distinctly different responses. Seen together, the works invite us to look closely at their brushwork, choices and individual ways of seeing.

Taken together, the exhibitions provide an opportunity to think about how artists learn to see, how individual perspectives shape the way a subject is represented, and how interpretation can help audiences notice and understand that creative process.

As ever, the afternoon is also a chance to meet other AHI members and friends, exchange ideas and continue the conversation over a drink afterwards.

Please let us know you are coming by using the booking link so we can ensure we have enough space reserved.

*Please keep an eye on updates for any changes to the date and time.’