On 2 April, surrounded by nearly 200 works from our upcoming Photographs sales, guests enjoyed a stimulating conversation between four panelists who share a passion for imagery. Emily Bierman, Head of Sotheby’s Photographs department in New York, moderated, and speakers included collector and private dealer Michael Feldschuh, Alexander Nowak, Executive Creative Director of cutting-edge advertising agency Droga5, and photographer Timothy McGurr, known as 13th Witness, who also chose his favourite works from the sale. Topics ranged from analogue versus digital photography to the increasing need for curatorial expertise. “Looking at great photos accesses a part of the consciousness we don’t normally engage with,” said Feldschuh, who always considers an image within the arc of photography’s history – Margaret Bourke-White’s photo of the 1937 Louisville Flood, for example, is “a biting commentary still central to the discourse of society.” The conversation concluded with a Q&A and discussion on photography’s future. “There’ll always be an urge to take things back to how they used to be,” said McGurr, who likened the enduring appeal of early photos to that of vintage cars. Click ahead for images from the afternoon. –Stephanie Sporn