The Scene

Stars Turn Out at RADA

David Harewood and Alex Kingston were among the actors and alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) who attended a cocktail party at Sotheby’s London. Harewood is an actor and presenter known for his role in Homeland, while Kingston’s notable roles include ER.

At the event, guests enjoyed performances by RADA graduates and took part in a charitable auction to support the drama school. The event, which took place on June 1, came almost exactly a year after Sotheby’s hosted a reading with performances by RADA graduates for the Jubilee Arts Festival.

Shanghai Is Go

A new venue has opened in Shanghai as Sotheby’s celebrates 50 years in Asia. The multi-functional hub showcases fine art and luxury items and hosts exhibitions, talks, and other events. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on May 19. Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s chairman, Asia, worldwide head and chairman of Chinese works of art, Nathan Drahi, managing director, Asia, and Yu Jinsheng, secretary general of the art committee of the China Association of Auctioneers attended.

Diamonds For Annabel’s Jubilee

Diamonds were the focus of a talk led by Kristian Spofforth, Sotheby’s head of department, Jewelry, at Annabel’s private members’ club. Spofforth explored colored diamonds and other market trends and offered a peek behind the scenes of some of the most famous ever diamond sales.

The event, which took place on June 6, was held as part of a wider month-long celebration in honor of 60 years since the opening of Annabel’s, marking its diamond jubilee. The establishment has hosted celebrities, presidents, and even royalty— it is the only nightclub that Queen Elizabeth II ever visited-—since it opened in 1963.

Pride in Music

“A huge number of important classical composers and performers, past and present, are from the LGBTQ+ community,” says award- winning conductor Oliver Zeffman. “But, for whatever reason, there has never been a Pride concert in Europe dedicated to classical music before. So, I thought, ‘I should do one’.”

Members of the world-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, an LGBTQ+ community chorus and top international soloists took part in a public performance led by Zeffman at Sotheby’s London on June 30. An expanded program, which featured the world premiere of composer Julian Anderson’s Echoes, was then performed at the Barbican Centre, London, on July 7.

Artist Jenny Saville with Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, in front of Saville’s Shadow Study, 2007–08

Jenny Saville: Facing Forward

Contemporary British artist Jenny Saville and the chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, Oliver Barker, were among the guests at a collectors’ dinner at Sotheby’s London in June. Saville was the official guest of honor at the dinner in the Bond Street galleries, surrounded by works such as Alberto Giacometti’s Buste de Diego au col roulé, 1951, and Lucian Freud’s Night Interior, 1968–09. These works were highlights from the Face to Face: A Celebration of Portraiture subsection of the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction, held on June 27.

A Celebration of Portraiture

Nicholas Cullinan and Bella Freud

Freud and Cullinan on Freud

Woman in a White Shirt, 1957, was one of three portraits by Lucian Freud from the Devonshire Collections at Chatsworth that were explored in a talk between his daughter—fashion designer Bella Freud—and Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery. The talk was part of Sotheby’s summer celebration of portraiture and coincided with June’s reopening of the National Portrait Gallery and the loan exhibition Portraits from Chatsworth, which was on view until July 4. The pair also discussed Bella’s relationship with her father, her experience of sitting for him throughout her childhood, and what it means to be the subject of a portrait.

Adam Gopnik, Megan Fontanella, and Simon Shaw

Picasso’s legacy

Writer and critic Adam Gopnik once wrote that, apart from his 15-year Cubist period, Picasso’s career was “a vast sea of kitsch.” This statement opened a discussion on Picasso’s legacy, during which Gopnik reflected on his earlier words and noted that he has changed his opinion since his controversial 1996 essay. The talk marked the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. Megan Fontanella, curator of Young Picasso in Paris at the Guggenheim, New York, and Sotheby’s vice chairman of global fine arts, Simon Shaw, also took part in the discussion on May 13.

Jamie Hawkesworth, Helen Rosslyn, Sarah Knights, Lily Cole, and Harry Dalmeny

The power of an image

What makes an iconic portrait? Model and author Lily Cole and artist Sarah Knights discussed the power of the portrait as part of a panel at Sotheby’s London. Helen Rosslyn, arts editor of Tatler, and photographer Jamie Hawkesworth also took part in the talk, which was chaired by Harry Dalmeny, Sotheby’s UK chairman. The panelists discussed the factors that make a significant portrait and why some have remained popular. The event took place on June 8 as part of Sotheby’s summer celebration of portraiture.

Sotheby’s Talks are all available to stream at sothebys.com

Photos: Lara Arnott; Jack Williams; Bizzy Arnott Photography; Chris Smith Photography; Alice Coverage