Explore the historical links between art and medicine and pharmacy in the capital through this immersive short course set across six London museums and galleries across three days in September 2025.

Wednesday 17 September

You will spend a morning at Apothecaries' Hall in Blackfriars, the oldest extant Livery Hall in the City of London, which has served the medical and pharmaceutical communities for over four hundred years. Attendees will enjoy a lecture led by Andrew Wallington-Smith on the stunning collection of stained glass at the Hall and a tour focussed on portraiture and the Hall’s notable Armada Painting. There will also be displays of ceramic pharmacy jars, botanical illustrations and archives relating to the Hall’s painting collections.

The focus for the afternoon session will be ceramics and participants will be hosted by the Museum of the Order of St John at St John’s Gate. The museum tells the unique and fascinating story of an ancient religious military order, from its origins caring for sick pilgrims in eleventh-century Jerusalem, through to its modern-day role with St John Ambulance. The visit will include a specialised tour of the museum led by curator Rebecca Raven and a talk by Elisa Sani, who published Italian Maiolica and Other Early Modern Ceramics in the Courtauld Gallery in 2023. Elisa will speak on ‘From Venice to Malta - pharmacy jars for the knights of the Order of St John’.

Thurs 18 September

Participants will begin the day at the Science Museum in South Kensington with an art-focussed guided tour of Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries. Throughout the galleries you’ll find specially commissioned artworks, including 'Self-Conscious Gene', by Marc Quinn, a bronze sculpture by Eleanor Crook, a series of portraits by award-winning photographer Siân Davey and an installation by Studio Roso, as well as interactive displays, films and audio recordings. A ceramic artwork by celebrated artist Grayson Perry, ‘Alan Measles – God in the time of Covid-19’, is now part of the COVID-19 display in the gallery. Participants will enjoy a curator-led talk and have the opportunity to explore five vast and visually stunning galleries containing more than 3,000 medical artefacts, striking artworks and immersive experiences.

The afternoon session will be hosted by the Royal College of Surgeon’s Hunterian Museum at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Dawn Kemp, Director of Museums and Special Collections, will give a talk introducing art in the Hunterian, with a focus on new research. Participants will have time to explore the museum and its collections, with expert staff on hand. There will also be a talk by Bruce Simpson on War, Art and Surgery with a focus on the work of First World War surgeon-artist, Henry Tonks.

19 September

The day will start at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum in Smithfield with a tour of the museum’s collections led by Catherine Walker, Museum Manager. Participants will be able to explore the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s collections of Herbals, in a session led by Karen Horn, Librarian. Over time, medicine and pharmacy have provided caricaturists with a wealth of material. Bizarre treatments, exaggerated medical conditions and massive doses of pills have all provided artistic fodder. This will be explored in a talk by Briony Hudson, Independent Pharmacy Historian: ‘An Art to Cure: Pharmacy in Caricatures’.

The final afternoon will be spent at Bethlem Museum of the Mind in Beckenham. The museum records the lives and experiences and celebrates the achievements of people with mental health problems. Its art collection comprises around 1,000 works, including paintings, drawings, ceramics and textiles. David Luck, Archivist, will provide an overview of the history of Bethlem Royal Hospital, founded in 1247. Colin Gale, Museum Director, will introduce the museum displays, with artists ranging from well-known Bethlem patients such as Richard Dadd and Louis Wain to McGlashan, the otherwise unknown creator of the Little Traveller. There will be free time to explore the museum and an artwork analysis workshop based on William Kurelek’s ‘The Maze’.

A full programme will follow in mid April. 

Due to capacity we are limited to just 25 places per day. Participants can select to attend the full three days; a combination of two days; or a single day of their choice. 

Coutesy of the British Society for the History of Pharmacy, we are able to offer a subsidised rate for up to 8 places per day for students (those in full time or part time education as of 17 September 2025). Contact Matt AcademicTraining@apothecaries.org for more information.