Human beings have been making visual depictions of human life for tens of thousands of years. Fascination with our own likeness is one of the great constants of human history – and the portrait has long been the focus of that fascination. What can portraits tell us about the world? And what can they tell us about ourselves? In today’s episode – originally recorded live in Sotheby’s in the week that the National Portrait Gallery reopened in London – Helena Newman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, sat down with Barbican Art Gallery curator Eleanor Nairne, and the award-winning art historian Simon Schama, for a conversation about the enduring power of the portrait. 

To see any of the portraits discussed in this episode, or to watch an extended version of this talk, visit https://www.sothebys.com/en/series/sothebys-talks-celebrating-portraiture

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.

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