Harold Riley was the only artist in the world granted a sitting to capture Nelson Mandela on canvas. The unique portrait was unveiled in 2005 and raised over $1m for South African children's charities at an auction held at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.

Mandela sat for the English artist six times in Cape Town and Johannesburg over 18 months which Harold Riley described as "one of the greatest experiences" of his life.

This programme was produced and presented by Reena Stanton-Sharma using archive.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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(Photo: Harold Riley's portrait of Nelson Mandela. Credit: Stephen Lovekin/WireImage for AOL Time Warner - Corporate Communications)

Harold Riley’s 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela

Witness History