Intelligence Squared: Arts & Culture

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today’s episode, the spark that led Nicolas Chow, Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, and Head of Asian Art Worldwide, to rediscover of the Qianlong Yulan Zhi Bao Seal. The carved soapstone seal has left its imprint upon some of the greatest works of Imperial China.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 
To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today’s episode, the story of Marie Antoinette’s pearl and diamond pendant, told by Andres White Correal, Chairman, Jewellery, Sotheby's EMEA. The pendant was hidden, smuggled, and reclaimed before becoming the star lot in one of the most important royal jewelry ensembles ever to appear on the open market.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today’s episode, an episode from our friends at Sotheby's exploring the remarkable collection of Leonard A. Lauder, one of the greatest collectors and benefactors of the arts in America. At its centre is Gustav Klimt's celebrated Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, alongside works by Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh and other luminaries of modern art. Ahead of Sotheby’s landmark sale of this extraordinary collection this October, Curatorial and Collections Director at the National Portrait Gallery Flavia Frigeri, Sotheby's Chairman Impressionist and Modern Art Worldwide Helena Newman, and award-winning author James Stourton will join Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum Will Gompertz for a special discussion.

Together they will explore Klimt's enduring allure – from his luminous portrait of Elisabeth Lederer to the lyricism of the Attersee landscapes – as well as Leonard Lauder's vision and insights into his once-in-a-generation collection.

This podcast was recorded at Sotheby’s London in October 2025. 

And, to step further into the world of Sotheby’s, you can visit any of our galleries around the world; they’re open to the public. For more information, visit Sothebys.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today's episode, Lulu de Creel, Chairman, Sotheby’s Latin America, tells the extraordinary journey of an anonymous 17th-century portrait believed to be the only surviving likeness of Moctezuma II, the last Aztec emperor. Lulu reveals how the painting was passed down through noble families, vanished into obscurity, and then resurfaced centuries later in a Paris apartment before being repatriated to Mexico.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today’s episode, Global Head of Watches Geoff Hess gives us a behind the scenes look at the rare Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, one of the most complicated wristwatches in the world and once owned by Sylvester Stallone.

⁠Further details about the episode subject.⁠

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at ⁠sothebys.com⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today's episode, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her iconic 'One Black Sheep' jumper. First worn to a Windsor polo match in 1981, the jumper was rediscovered in an attic after forty years and meticulously authenticated by Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's Global Head of Handbags and Fashion in Zurich.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On today’s episode, the story of Four Eggs on a Plate, a small but powerful painting by Lucian Freud. Hidden away for years at Chatsworth House, the painting was unearthed by Tom Eddison, Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s London, and went on to become one of the surprises of the Contemporary Art Evening Auction in 2015.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, your weekly dose of wonder. In The Specialist, explore the significance and journey of an extraordinary work through the eyes of those that know it best.

On this episode, the extraordinary story of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé — a car so rare and revered that few believed it would ever leave the Mercedes museum. Yet it went on to become the most expensive automobile in history. To tell this story to full effect, this episode will feature both Gord Duff, President of RM Sotheby’s in Blenheim, Ontario, and Marcus Breitschwerdt, Executive Vice Present of Mercedes-Benz and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, producing by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's.

On today's episode, George Wachter, Sotheby's Americas Chairman, and Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings Worldwide, takes us back over 50 years to the start of his career to tell the tale of the discovery of two remarkable Brueghel paintings, hidden in plain sight — one at the back of a wardrobe.

Further details about the episode subject.

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an episode of The Specialist, producing by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Sotheby's.

On today’s episode, how a paper brochure began a treasure hunt to authenticate a masterpiece of modern Indian art – Jagdish Swaminathan’s “Homage to Solzhenitsyn”. Manjari Sihare-Sutin, Head of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Worldwide, shares the story and how it culminated in a record-breaking sale that redefined the artist’s place in the market. 

Further details about the episode subject

The Specialist is brought to you by Sotheby's Financial Services. SFS offers asset-based loans to unlock the value of your fine art, automobiles and other luxury collectibles. 

To step further into the World of Sotheby’s, visit any one of our galleries, which are open to the public. Explore more at sothebys.com. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices