Time Machines Subject of Next Arts Society Talk
Christina Faraday to discuss clocks in art and literature
"Portrait of a Man, Possibly an Architect or Geographer". Picture: Peter Paul Rubens
June 27, 2026
The Arts Society Chiswick will welcome art historian Christina Faraday to POSK on Thursday 9 July for an evening exploring the many meanings of clocks in art and literature, from their earliest appearance in the thirteenth century to the present day.
The talk, titled “Time Machines: Clocks in Art and Literature from 1300 to now,” examines how these everyday objects have carried far more significance than their practical function might suggest. While today clocks often fade into the background of daily life, their arrival in medieval Europe introduced a new way of measuring, imagining and understanding time. Over the centuries, artists and writers have used clocks to express ideas about mortality, the soul, industry, capitalism and the moral value of using one’s time well.
An experienced lecturer and historian of art and ideas, Christina Faraday specialises in Tudor and Stuart Britain and the wider sixteenth‑ and seventeenth‑century world. She is a Research Fellow in the History of Art at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she also teaches for the university’s History of Art Department.
Alison Watson, Chair of The Arts Society Chiswick, said the evening promises to be a richly engaging journey through visual culture and literature, revealing how clocks have shaped artistic imagination for more than seven hundred years. The event will also see the launch of the latest Outside Art Trail of Discovery, this time focusing on Brentford.
Doors open at 7pm, with the private bar available from the same time. The talk begins at 8pm. Guests are warmly welcomed, with entry priced at £15 on the door. The fee will be deducted from the annual subscription for anyone choosing to join on the night.
Membership of the Arts Society Chiswick includes ten expert lectures on the second Thursday of every month (except August and December) and the opportunity to participate in tours, visits, social events and Special Interest Days. Half year Membership available from 1 July. For more information see the society's web site.
The Arts Society Chiswick brings people together through a shared curiosity for the arts, to create opportunities for everyone to be part of a diverse community in which they can enjoy, learn about, participate in, and preserve the Arts and Cultural Heritage.
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