December 19, 2025 • 13 mins
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 mysterious Renaissance altarpiece entered the collection of the National Gallery in London as the museum celebrated its bi-centenary.
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