Vashon Allied Arts will kick off its 2015-16 art history series, “Subjects that Matter: Artists as Agents of Change,” at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Vashon High School theater. Art historian Rebecca Albiani will return to Vashon to deliver a talk about the intersection of the visual arts and social justice as exemplified by the French artist Honoré Daumier.

As a caricaturist, Daumier expressed his political convictions through his art, including his scatological 1831 image of King Louis-Philippe gobbling up the taxes of the poor, which earned Daumier six months in jail.

Albiani said, “He ridiculed the wealthy and powerful throughout his life and maintained deep empathy for the vulnerable. And although his livelihood depended on printmaking, he devoted his spare hours to ‘fine art’ —  his powerful, personal paintings.”

Tickets are available at the Blue Heron or vashonalliedarts.org.