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, an early self portrait by an artist whose place within the modern canon needs no qualification. Sam Valette explores the remarkable trajectory of Pablo Picasso’s Yo, Picasso. Sam is Sotheb...

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 monumental arachnid that marked a record-setting moment for a sculpture by a woman artist. Katia Mindlin Leite-Barbosa examines the Louise Bourgeis 21-ft Spider and the intrepid voyage...

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 coveted Fabergé egg whose interior reveals an intricate surprise. Helen Culver Smith, Sotheby's Head of Decorative Arts Worldwide and Head, traces the remarkable journey of the Imperia...

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 extraordinary saga of the 1933 Double Eagle, America’s last gold coin; stolen, smuggled, and seized. Selby Kiffer is Sotheby's Senior International Specialist of Books and Manuscripts....

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 female pioneer of abstract expressionism whose lyrical compositions came to reset market expectations. Courtney Kremers examines King of Spades, Joan Mitchell’s formative masterpiece,...

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 Frederic Edwin Church’s elusive magnum opus, The Icebergs (The North). This painting was hidden from view for nearly a century. Stefany Morris, Sotheby's Head of American Art,...

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, Emily Bierman, Sotheby's Global Head of Prints & Photographs, examines Edward Steichen’s The Pond - Moonlight, a seminal turn of the century photograph whose technical innovation transform...

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, Morgane Halimi takes us into the world of Jane Birkin and the birth of the iconic bag that bears her name. Morgane is Global Head of Handbags and Fashion and brings a decade of expertise,...

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, Frank Everett, Sotheby's Vice Chairman, Jewelry Americas, discusses the string of faux pearls that belonged to the legendary Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Estimated at $500-$700, it was the...

 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 the Manet self-portrait at the heart of the Goldschmidt sale - a moment of innovation in the art market as the first ever evening auction, told by Harry Rosebery, Honorary Ch...

 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: two Tiffany Studios windows, two recording-breaking sales, and the story of the creators behind them both - Louis Comfort Tiffany, pioneer of American stained glass, and Agnes Northrup, o...

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 Codex Sassoon, which set a historic record in 2023 as the most valuable manuscript ever sold at auction. Once part of collector David Solomon Sassoon’s legendary Judaica library, it is...

 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, we acknowledge with great respect the recent passing of the visionary philanthropist, Agnes Gund. Her extraordinary patronage – from her leadership at MoMA to her unwavering support of co...

 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, Selby Kiffer, Sotheby's Senior International Specialist of Books and Manuscripts, tells the story of an original copy of the Declaration of Independence found in a flea market and the met...

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, Florent Jeanniard, Sotheby's Chairman, Co-Worldwide Head of Design, Paris, dives into the surreal world of François-Xavier Lalanne. Le Bar aux Autruches, a whimsical fusion of sculpture an...

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 pivotal collector relationships that keep the market for rare watches ticking. Sam Hines, Sotheby's Global Chairman, Watches, explores the landmark sale of the only first-series Patek...

 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, what happens when a work of art is so enigmatic that you think about it for 60 years? Alex Bell, Chairman Emeritus of Sotheby's UK and Old Masters Worldwide, tells the story of how a myst...

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, Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s Vice Chairman & Worldwide Head of Science and Natural History, examines the turbulent journey of the bag that brought back the first sample of the Moon — collec...

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. In today’s episode, Julia Fischel, Vice President, Head of Sale Sotheby's London, examines the trailblazing impact of Dame Magdalene Odundo and collector Sydney Denton. A Kenyan-born British potter, Odundo ha...

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, an auction built overnight - Virgil Abloh’s reimagining of the iconic Nike Air Force 1 for Louis Vuitton. The auction became a global phenomenon, with two hundred pairs sold exclusively th...

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 impri...

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 becomin...

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 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...

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 Sy...