Saunders Lecture

The School of Art History hosts the annual Saunders Lecture in honour of Octavia Elfrida Saunders, who graduated in Modern Languages from St Andrews in 1914 and, in the same year, became one of the first women to be appointed to a Lectureship at the University. She subsequently developed a research interest in Art History and went on to publish two important books in the field of English medieval art. The Octavia Elfrida Saunders Lecture series has hosted distinguished speakers in the fields of art, art history, and visual or material culture since 1974 and plays an important role in the research life of our community.