Art has long grappled with violence—from the mythological and biblical to the disturbingly real. In this illustrated talk, Clare Smith explores how murder has been portrayed in fine art, and how, in some cases, murderers themselves have turned to artmaking.

The evening will feature the unsettling work of Richard Dadd, who killed his father before creating intricate paintings as a patient in Bedlam, now held in Tate Britain. It will also look at how Victorian society consumed crime through objects like Staffordshire pottery figurines of notorious killers, displayed proudly on mantelpieces. The controversy surrounding the 1997 Royal Academy portrait of Myra Hindley, pelted with eggs by an outraged public, offers a modern example of how murder in art still provokes strong reactions. From Walter Sickert’s dark rendering of Jack the Ripper’s Bedroom to the delicate ceramic figure of Maria Manning, the so-called Lady Macbeth of Bermondsey, Clare traces the enduring link between artistic expression and society’s morbid fascination with murder.