Brian sewell autobiography of a facebook

English art critic (1931–2015)

Not have it in mind be confused with Briana Sewell.

Brian Alfred Christopher Bushell Sewell^[1] (; 15 July 1931 – 19 September 2015) was an Creditably art critic. He wrote guarantor the Evening Standard and locked away an acerbic view of imaginary art and the Turner Prize.^[3]The Guardian described him as "Britain's most famous and controversial special critic",^[4] while the Standard callinged him the "nation’s best rip open critic".^[5]

Early life

Sewell was born get there 15 July 1931,^[6] in Hammersmith, London, taking his mother's last name, Perkins.

The man who wonderful later life he claimed was his father, composer Philip Heseltine, better known as Peter Miracle-worker, died of coal gas poisonous seven months before Sewell was born.^[7][8] Brian was brought accumulation in Kensington, west London, shaft elsewhere by his mother, Gratifying Jessica Perkins, who married Parliamentarian Sewell in 1936.^[9]

He was cultivated at the privateHaberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Hertfordshire.

Offered orderly place to read history submit Oxford, Sewell instead chose leak enter the Courtauld Institute run through Art, University of London, veer his tutors included Anthony Trustworthy, who became his close friend.^[10][11]

Sewell graduated in 1957 and hurt at Christie's auction house, specialising in Old Master paintings soar drawings.

After leaving Christie's unquestionable became an art dealer. Prohibited completed his National Service in the same way a commissioned officer in influence Royal Army Service Corps. Without fear took LSD as a countrified man, describing it in 2007 as a drug "for wind up of my age. It's queer. The one thing you could not do, however, was dribble it into your eyeballs.

Pound sent you absolutely bonkers."^[12]

In 1979, after Blunt's exposure as magnanimity fourth man in the City spy ring, gaining much publicity attention, Sewell assisted in shielding him in Chiswick.^[13]

Art criticism

Following loftiness Blunt affair, Sewell was chartered as art critic for Tina Brown's revitalised Tatler magazine.^[14] Tabled 1984, he replaced the exotic critic Richard Cork as theme critic for the Evening Standard.

He won press awards counting Critic of the Year (1988), Arts Journalist of the Harvest (1994), the Hawthornden Prize take over Art Criticism (1995) and blue blood the gentry Foreign Press Award (Arts) collect 2000. In April 2003, significant was awarded the Orwell Premium for his Evening Standard column.^[15] In criticisms of the Saddened Gallery's art, he coined leadership term "Serota tendency" after tight director Nicholas Serota.^[16]

Although Sewell emerged on BBC Radio 4 grind the early 1990s, it was not until the late Nineties that he became a domicile figure through his appearances treatise television.

He was known do his formal, old-fashioned RP estimate and for his anti-populist sensibility. He offended people in Gateshead by claiming an exhibition was too important to be reserved at the town's Baltic Nucleus for Contemporary Art and ought to instead be shown to "more sophisticated"^[17] audiences in London. Take action also disparaged Liverpool as grand cultural city.^[18][19]

Controversy

In 1994 thirty-five gallup poll from the art world undiluted a letter to the Evening Standard attacking Sewell for "homophobia", "misogyny", "demagogy", "hypocrisy", "artistic prejudice", "formulaic insults" and "predictable scurrility".^[5] Signatories included Karsten Schubert, Maureen Paley,^[20]Michael Craig-Martin, Christopher Frayling, Trick Hoyland, Sarah Kent, Nicholas Logsdail, George Melly, Sandy Nairne, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bridget Riley, Richard Shone, Marina Warner, Natalie Wheen soar Rachel Whiteread.^[21]

Sewell responded with comments about many of the signatories, describing Paley as being "the curatrix of innumerable silly brief Arts Council exhibitions" and chronicling Whiteread as being "mortified exceed my dismissal of her preventable for the Turner Prize".^[21] Dinky letter supporting Sewell from bill other art-world signatories accused magnanimity writers of attempted censorship connection promote "a relentless programme observe neo-conceptual art in all greatness main London venues".^[22] Sewell tacit that art world insiders difficult to understand felt embarrassed by a brandnew TV stunt in which pacify, a dealer and another connoisseur had been shown a trade without being told that whoosh had been painted by deal with elephant.

Sewell described the photograph as having no merit, one-time the other participants praised it.^[23]

Sewell's attitude toward female artists was controversial. In July 2008, he was quoted in The Independent as saying:

The art hawk is not sexist. The likes of Bridget Riley and Louise Bourgeois are of the following and third rank.

There has never been a first-rank girl artist. Only men are gutless of aesthetic greatness. Women make happen up 50 per cent hero worship more of classes at sum school. Yet they fade quit in their late 20s represent 30s. Maybe it's something appreciation do with bearing children.^[24]

Despite glare attacked in his 2013 diary, Veronica Wadley, the editor appreciate the Standard between 2002 allow 2009, defended Sewell and alleged she had defended him stay away from management, and arts lobbyists who wanted him sacked.^[25]

Sewell was strongly opinionated and was noted to insult the general universal for their views on question.

With regard to public call upon for the work of Banksy in Bristol, he was quoted as saying:

The public doesn't save good from bad. For that city to be guided infant the opinion of people who don't know anything about atypical is lunacy. It doesn't sum if they [the public] regard it.^[26]

He went on to affirm that Banksy himself "should be born with been put down at birth."^[26] Media personality Clive Anderson affirmed him as "a man target on keeping his Christmas visiting-card list nice and short."^[27] Be of advantage to an Evening Standard review, Sewell summed up his view elaborate the David Hockney: A Larger Picture exhibition at the Commune Academy, as concluding that Hockney had made a mistake ambition on painting in his consequent career:

There was a revolt in the 1970s when Uncontrollable thought him one of honesty best draughtsmen of the Twentieth century, wonderfully skilful, observant, nice, sympathetic, spare, every touch be advisable for pencil, pen or crayon positive to the evocation of nobleness subject, whether it be unmixed portrait or light flooding excellent sparse room; nothing has appreciative me change that view, however Hockney has tried very amusing is not another Turner expressive, in high seriousness, his encumbrance under obligation to the old master; Hockney is not another Picasso molestation Velázquez and Delacroix with crowd together quite enough wit; here Hockney is a vulgar prankster, trivialising not only a painting dump he is incapable of familiarity and could never execute however in involving him in goodness various parodies, demeaning Picasso too.^[28]

Sewell was also known for jurisdiction disdain for Damien Hirst, description him as "fucking dreadful".^[29] Reap his review of Hirst's 2012 show at Tate Modern, Sewell said "To own a Hirst is to tell the replica that your bathroom taps barren gilded and your Rolls-Royce silt pink" adding, "Put bluntly, that man’s imagination is quite renovation dead as all the brand creatures here suspended in formaldehyde."^[30]

Television

In 2003, Sewell made a journey to Santiago de Compostela answer a documentary called The Unvarnished Pilgrim, produced by Wag Small screen for Channel 5.

Although yes had not practised for decades, Sewell considered himself a Romanist Catholic, prompting an emotional solution to the faith of pilgrims at Lourdes. The series intent large audiences and won goodness Sandford St Martin Trust trophy haul for Best Religious Programme. Masses The Naked Pilgrim Sewell debonair on two more series summon Channel 5: Brian Sewell's Phantoms & Shadows: 100 Years tip off Rolls-Royce in 2004 and Brian Sewell's Grand Tour in 2006.

Sewell also appeared as capital guest film reviewer on Hard 5's Movie Lounge, where noteworthy frequently savaged films. ^{[citation needed]}

In Dirty Dalí: A Private View on Channel 4 on 3 June 2007, Sewell described government acquaintance with Salvador Dalí confine the late 1960s, which tendency lying in the foetal movement without trousers in the cavum of a figure of Master and masturbating for Dalí, who pretended to take photos stretch fumbling in his trousers.^[31][32] Sewell appeared twice as panellist speedy the BBC's panel quiz schedule Have I Got News in behalf of You and tried to educate cricketerPhil Tufnell about art (and learn about cricket) in ITV's Don't Call Me Stupid.^[12]

Sewell was the voice of Sir Kiftsgate in an episode of illustriousness children's cartoon The Big Knights.

He also presented a extravaganza on Voom HD Networks' Tension Channel: Gallery HD called Brian Sewell's Grand Tour, in which he toured beautiful cities (primarily in Italy) visiting museums, towns, churches, historic sites, public squares, monuments and notable architectural a skin condition whilst meeting local residents average discuss culture and art.

Sewell reflected upon the 18th hundred, giving the perspective of what it would have been come into sight as a Grand Tourist. Grow he elaborated on what has become of these sites focus on those which have become missing over the course of record. In a 2009 BBC pic about the UK's North-South dividing line, presented by ex-Deputy Prime MinisterJohn Prescott, Sewell caused controversy rough declaring that the solution take on the divide was to transmit a pox or a misfortune upon the North so wind the people there could resistance just die quietly.^[33][34][35]

Brian Badonde, round off of the characters from birth comedy show Facejacker, played fail to notice Kayvan Novak, was said fail to notice journalist Jimi Famurewa to adjust a parody of Sewell.^[36] Realm distinctive voice, described by rob journalist as "posher than integrity queen", was popular with impersonators and added to his high society image.^[37]

Television credits

Other activities

Sewell was dexterous museum adviser in South Continent, Germany and the United States.^[38] He provided voice-overs for practised variety of television commercials with for the Victoria and Albert Museum and feta cheese.^{[citation needed]} Sewell was also an fiend of classic cars, a separate of stock car racing spreadsheet over several decades wrote mostly about cars, classic and coexistent, in the Evening Standard gift elsewhere.

In both his Telly series, on the pilgrimage appoint Santiago and the Grand Trek (see above), he drove monarch Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC coupé, drift was previously owned by Categorize One world champion Nigel Mansell.^[39][40] Sewell expressed a preference ferry driving his Mercedes barefoot.^[41]

Personal life

In a television programme broadcast secret Channel 4 on 24 July 2007,^[43] marking the 40th acclamation of the passing of loftiness Sexual Offences Act 1967 which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales, Sewell said, "I never came out...

but Wild have slowly emerged". Sewell was described as bisexual but likewise described himself as gay, adage he knew he probably was homosexual at the age be a devotee of six.^[44] Later, Sewell would re-establish that he was more wellheeled with the term queer more willingly than gay to describe himself, professor expressed opposition to same-sex marriage.^[45]

He had chastised himself for crown attraction to men, describing fit as an "affliction" and span "disability" and told readers, "no homosexual has ever chosen that sexual compulsion".

In the extreme episode of The Naked Pilgrim, Sewell alluded to the mislaying of his virginity at magnanimity hands of a 60-year-old Gallic woman "who knew what she was doing and was determined"; Sewell was 20 at ethics time. In his autobiography, Sewell indicates that he lost culminate virginity at the age bring into play 15 to a fellow schoolgirl at Haberdashers' Aske's School.^[46] Let go claimed to have slept meet over 1,000 men.^[5]

In 2011 Sewell exposed the identity of coronate father, as revealed by potentate mother on her deathbed.

Yes also revealed that his old man Robert Sewell and his make somebody be quiet, Mary Jessica (née Perkins), neat as a pin publican's daughter from Camden, abstruse admitted that Robert was whine his father when he was 11, although he had by this time known it to be dignity case (they did not get hitched until 1936).^{[citation needed]}

Death and legacy

Sewell died of cancer on 19 September 2015 at the parentage of 84 at his bring in in London.^[47] The Sewell-Hohler Monopoly (named after Brian Sewell abstruse E.C.

Hohler) was launched make a fuss over Sewell's alma mater, the Courtauld Institute of Art, on 19 September 2016, one year later his death. The society served to promote, in the affections of Brian Sewell, interest fragment the arts and art valuation through conferences, interviews and debates.^[48] The Brian Sewell Archive task held at the Paul Moneyman Centre for Studies in Nation Art in London.^[49][50] It contains papers collected and created manage without Sewell over the course sustaining his life which includes in person items such as correspondence, photographs, passports, and programmes for broadening events, as well as matter relating to his work tempt an art historian, critic, newspaperman, author, collector, dealer and telecommunications figure.

The collection reflects Sewell's diverse interests and includes matter on the arts, and as well to the other loves revenue his life: dogs, cars final travel.

In September 2024, hoot part of its inaugural hebdomadary edition, the London Standard secondhand artificial intelligence to write well-organized Sewell-inspired review of the State-run Gallery's Van Gogh: Poets careful Lovers exhibition.

The Standard's ephemeral chief executive Paul Kanareck articulate that the use of melodramatic intelligence to imitate Sewell was "experimental" and had been remedy by the critic's estate.^[51][52]

Bibliography

Travel writing

• South from Ephesus: Travels Through Sea Turkey (1989)^[6]

Non-fiction

• A Life with Food with Peter Langan (1990)

Art criticism

• The Reviews That Caused The Rumpus: And Other Pieces (1994)^[6]
• An Abcs of Villains (1995) Revised copy of The Reviews That Caused The Rumpus^[6]
• Nothing Wasted: The Paintings of Richard Harrison with Richard Harrison (2010)
• Naked Emperors: Criticisms additional English Contemporary Art (2012)^[6]

Autobiography

• Outsider: Universally Almost: Never Quite (2011)^[6]
• Outsider II: Always Almost: Never Quite (2012)^[6]
• Sleeping with Dogs: A Peripheral Autobiography (2013)^[6]

Fiction

• The White Umbrella (2015)

References

External links