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Some of the world’s most popular paintings are portraits. So are some of the most expensive works sold at auction. Why?

You might buy a portrait because of a chance encounter with a mesmerising painted face. That face may remind you of a person or of attributes you admire. You may be drawn by associations with the time when it was painted, or interested in the artist or the personality and background of the sitter. Your initial attraction can result from a range of emotional responses — but the image stays in your mind.

Portraiture itself is about the passing of time, about transience. Portraits are declarations, commemorations, records, keepsakes, adornments. At their heart is what the artist says at a particular moment about the sitter and the sitter’s life. Even centuries after they were painted, portraits have stories to tell.