Artists were never far behind the explorers who opened up the American West. Sometimes they painted what they saw and sometimes what they wished they saw - a powerful record of the country and people that the settlers found. It’s a story on a big scale and among the pictures illustrating the talk are some of the largest and most grandiloquent paintings of the era; whatever their artistic merits, they are above all great fun.

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again… Manderley, Wuthering Heights, Brideshead – just a few of the fictional houses that feature in some of our favourite novels. But these homes are more than just bricks and mortar - they are living presences in the stories they inhabit – forbidding or welcoming, hiding secrets, haunting dreams. Some houses are so important, their authors give them starring roles and name their books after them.

Snow transforms places, making them strange and magical, so it is no surprise that snowy scenes have fascinated artists throughout the ages. We will look at how artists have depicted winter to explore the landscape as they saw it and see how artists responded to them over the centuries. 

Enjoy some festive fun courtesy of a variety talented cartoonists, including Matt, Raymond Briggs, Reg Smythe (Andy Capp), Norman Rockwell, Giles and others from both Punch and the New Yorker magazine.