No booking required

Essential information

Type Talks and tours
Location
Date and times Selected Wednesdays between November 2025 – January 2026 | 1pm-1.30pm
Prices Free

The term ‘salon’ was used historically to describe social gatherings in the domestic sphere. Participation was open to a range of individuals, and women often acted as hosts. Salons were alternative spaces for learning, debate and the exchange of ideas. We continue to explore this tradition with a series of free lunchtime talks at the Queen’s House.

Speakers at our Salons series include artists, researchers, curators and creative practitioners. Taking inspiration from the history of the Queen’s House and its collections, their talks bring to light new insights and share different perspectives.

What’s on

See all upcoming talks in this season.

Talks and tours | Salons in the Queen's House

Salons in the Queen’s House: A ‘murky veil’? Exploring J.M.W. Turner’s water through an ecological lens

In this free lunchtime talk, artist, researcher and curator Martha Cattell will explore how representations of waterways, seas and streams in Turner’s work relate to contemporary environmental debates
Wednesday 17 December 2025 | 1pm–1.30pm
Free
Queen's House
Talks and tours | Salons in the Queen's House

Salons in the Queen's House: Victory at all costs

In this free lunchtime talk, curator Fern Aldous will explore the economics and logistics that went into maintaining the Royal Navy’s ‘wooden walls’
Wednesday 7 January 2026 | 1pm–1.30pm
Free
Queen's House
Talks and tours | Salons in the Queen's House

Salons in the Queen's House: From Turner’s tars to Chinese nannies

In this free lunchtime talk, curator Dr Aaron Jaffer will discuss an ambitious project searching for images of Black and Asian people in the Museum's collections
Wednesday 21 January 2026 | 1pm–1.30pm
Free
Queen's House

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