Sotheby’s is delighted to present Can we Have a Moment? Three Decades of Photographs in Britain, a selling exhibition of photographs by Mary McCartney. Featuring over thirty works spanning the artist's 30-year career, this exhibition is the first major survey of McCartney’s work in the UK.
 
Since the beginning of her photographic practice in the 1990s, McCartney has focused on capturing rare moments of unguarded, emotionally charged intimacy. Her photographs are powerful personal records of people and places close to her. Arresting in their spontaneity, they tell stories about her immediate environment and own life, revealing a deeply emotive visual diary of friendship, love and self-discovery. 

"I'm always working to make a connection with the person I'm photographing.”     - Mary McCartney

For this exhibition McCartney has transformed Sotheby’s St George Street Gallery into an overall installation. By selecting some of her earlier as well as more recent portraits, still-lifes and landscapes in various sizes and arranging them non-linearly across the walls, McCartney injects a certain playfulness into the grand exhibition space. When viewed together, her photographs form an impactful personal album that offers a glimpse into the artist’s intimate world. This is also reflected in the title of the exhibition, which is taken from McCartney’s life motto, “can we have a moment?”, and invites viewers to pause and appreciate moments of beauty in the everyday.

‘Can We Have a Moment? Three Decades of Photographs in Britain’ forms part of Sotheby’s ‘(Women)Artists’ campaign, running from 22 February through to the end of March 2023. In celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March), Sotheby’s will be staging a series of related events, panel discussions and sales, culminating in a “takeover” of its London galleries, with a public exhibition dedicated exclusively to the work of female artists - including ‘Can We Have a Moment’. 

McCartney will also appear as a guest-speaker for the talk, “Women in Art: From Image to Image-Maker”, which is free and open to all (although a ticket is required). For further information on Sotheby’s ‘(Women)Artists’ campaign, please click here.

PREVIEW

QUOTE

“This exhibition is a reflection of my personality and the feelings I like to embrace. But, it is also very much about the viewer’s experience and the emotions that I hope they will experience while exploring the show. These photographs all have meaning to me, and I hope that by exhibiting them, they can have meaning for someone else too.”

-	Mary McCartney

VIDEO

THE LONDON SALES GALLERY TOUR

EXHIBITION DETAILS