Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533. National Gallery, London.
This ARTscapades lecture looks at Britain’s enduring fascination with foreign artists and how they came to have such a profound impact on British art and artistic practice. Tracing foreign artists from the Tudor through to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, art historian, author and lecturer Leslie Primo examines questions such as why foreign painters were preferred by patrons and why they came in the first place, how they were greeted by native-born artists and what innovations they brought to Britain?
Primo also highlights, using contemporary parallels, the impact that foreigners had on British society and how the contributions of foreign artists, from Holbein to Kauffmann, influenced the British School of painting and changed the course of British art.
The Foreign Invention of British Art by Leslie Primo is published by Thames & Hudson (June 5 2025). Ticket holders will receive a special offer off the retail price via their website. UK orders only.
Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.