Brian Sewell
Encyclopedia
Brian Sewell is an English art critic
and media personality. He writes for the London Evening Standard
and is noted for artistic conservatism and his acerbic view of the Turner Prize
and conceptual art
. Sewell has been described as "Britain's most famous and controversial art critic".
, who died seven months before he was born, Sewell was brought up in Kensington
, London, and was educated at the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
in Hampstead
, northwest London. Offered a place to read history at Oxford
, Sewell chose instead to enter the Courtauld Institute of Art
, where he was tutored by Anthony Blunt
and became his close friend. Sewell graduated in 1957 and worked at Christie's
auction house, specialising in Old Master paintings and drawings. After leaving Christie's he became an art dealer. He did his National Service
in the Royal Army Service Corps
, in which he was commissioned
. He has since been a regular commentator on the ITV
series Bad Lad's Army, offering insight into 1950s military life.
(replacing avant-garde critic Richard Cork
). He won press awards including Critic of the Year in 1988, Arts Journalist of the Year in 1994, the Hawthornden Prize for Art Criticism in 1995 and the Foreign Press Award (Arts) in 2000. In April 2003, he was awarded the George Orwell
Prize for his column in the Evening Standard
.
In criticisms of the Tate Gallery
's art, he coined the phrase, the "Serota Tendency", after its director Nicholas Serota
. It was not until the late 1990s that he became a household figure through television, though he was on BBC Radio 4
before then. He is known for formal, old-fashioned diction and anti-populist sentiments. He offended people in Gateshead
by claiming an exhibition was too important to be held only at the town's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
and should be shown to "more sophisticated" audiences in London; he has also disparaged Liverpool
as a cultural city.
In 1994, 35 art world signatories wrote a letter to the Evening Standard attacking Sewell for "homophobia
", "misogyny
", "demagogy
", "hypocrisy
", "artistic prejudice", "formulaic insults and predictable scurrility". Signatories included Karsten Schubert
, Maureen Paley
, Michael Craig-Martin
, Angela and Matthew Flowers, Professor Christopher Frayling
, Rene Gimpel, Susan Hiller, John Hoyland
, Sarah Kent
, Nicholas Logsdail, George Melly
, Sandy Nairne
, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
, Bridget Riley
, Michelle Roberts
, Richard Shone, Marina Warner, Natalie Wheen
, and Rachel Whiteread
.
He responded with comments on many of the signatories, saying that Paley was "the curatrix of innumerable silly little Arts Council exhibitions", and that Whiteread was "mortified by my dismissal of her work for the Turner Prize". A letter supporting Sewell from 20 other art world signatories accused the writers of attempted censorship to promote "a relentless programme of neo-conceptual art in all the main London venues".
Sewell's attitude to female artists has been controversial. In July 2008 he was quoted in The Independent
as saying:
Sewell does not hold his tongue regarding his opinions, and has frequently insulted the general public for their views on art. Consequently, he is more known for controversy than art criticism among many. He has issued quotes such as the following regarding public praise for the work of Banksy
in Bristol:
He went on to assert that Banksy himself "should have been put down at birth."
Clive Anderson has described him as "a man intent on keeping his Christmas card list nice and short."
Sewell is also known for his disdain for Damien Hirst
, describing him as "fucking dreadful".
, as a documentary called The Naked Pilgrim
, produced by Wag TV for Channel 5. Although he has not practised for decades, Sewell considers himself a Roman Catholic, prompting an emotional response to the faith of pilgrims at Lourdes
. The series attracted large audiences and won the Sandford St. Martin Trust
award for Best Religious Programme. Following The Naked Pilgrim
Sewell presented on two more series for Channel 5: Brian Sewell's Phantoms & Shadows: 100 Years of Rolls-Royce in 2004 and Brian Sewell's Grand Tour, 2006. Sewell also appeared as a guest film reviewer on Channel 5's Movie Lounge
, where he frequently savaged films.
In Dirty Dalí: A Private View
on Channel 4
on 3 June 2007, Sewell described his acquaintance with Salvador Dalí
in the late 1960s, which included lying in the foetal position without trousers in the armpit of a figure of Christ and masturbating for Dalí, who pretended to take photos while fumbling in his trousers. Sewell has appeared twice as panellist on the BBC's news quiz Have I Got News For You? and tried to teach cricketer Phil Tufnell
about art in ITV's Don't Call Me Stupid.
He acted as Big Brother during 2008's Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
.
Sewell was the voice of Sir Kiftsgate in an episode of the children's cartoon The Big Knights. He also has a programme on Voom HD Network's Art Channel: Gallery HD called Brian Sewell's Grand Tour, in which he tours beautiful cities (primarily in Italy
) visiting museums, towns, churches, historic sights, public squares, monuments, profound architectural spots and meeting a local to discuss culture and art. Sewell reflects the 18th century, giving the perspective of what it would have been like as a 'Grand Tourist'. Then he elaborates on what has become of these sights and lost throughout history.
In a 2009 BBC documentary about the so-called North-South Divide
, presented by ex-Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott
, Sewell caused controversy by declaring that the solution to the divide was to send a pox or a plague upon the North
so that the people there can all just die quietly.
which raises awareness of circumcision
and other forms of surgical alteration of the genitals. Sewell has also provided voice-overs for a variety of television commercials including the Victoria and Albert Museum
and feta
cheese.
Brian Sewell is also a noted aficionado of classic automobiles, a fan of stock car racing
and over several decades has written extensively about cars, classic and contemporary, in the Evening Standard
and elsewhere. In both his TV series, on the pilgrimage to Santiago
and the Grand Tour
(see above), he drove his venerable Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC
coupé.
on 24 July 2007, marking the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967
which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales
, Sewell said, "I never came out... but I have slowly emerged". Sewell has been described as bisexual but has also described himself as gay, saying he knew he was probably at the age of six. He has chastised himself for his attraction to men, describing it 'as an "affliction" and a "disability" and [told] readers, "no homosexual has ever chosen this sexual compulsion"'. In the first episode of The Naked Pilgrim Sewell alluded to the loss of his virginity at the hands of a 60-year-old French woman "who knew what she was doing and was determined"; Sewell was 20 at the time. In his autobiography, however, Sewell reveals that he in fact lost his virginity at the age of 15 to a fellow pupil at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, when Sewell visited Salvador Dali
at his house in Cadaques
, Dali convinced Sewell to strip and masturbate for him while he took (or pretended to take) photographs.
In an interview for That's Mad website, Sewell revealed that he suffers from depression, and as a cure usually just sleeps for a long time during the more severe phases.
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
and media personality. He writes for the London Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and is noted for artistic conservatism and his acerbic view of the Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
and conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
. Sewell has been described as "Britain's most famous and controversial art critic".
Early life
The illegitimate son of the composer Peter WarlockPeter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
, who died seven months before he was born, Sewell was brought up in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London, and was educated at the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, northwest London. Offered a place to read history at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Sewell chose instead to enter the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
, where he was tutored by Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
and became his close friend. Sewell graduated in 1957 and worked at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
auction house, specialising in Old Master paintings and drawings. After leaving Christie's he became an art dealer. He did his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, in which he was commissioned
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
. He has since been a regular commentator on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Bad Lad's Army, offering insight into 1950s military life.
Art criticism
In 1984, he became art critic of the Evening StandardEvening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
(replacing avant-garde critic Richard Cork
Richard Cork
Dr Richard Cork is a British art historian, editor, critic, broadcaster and exhibition curator. He has been an art critic for the Evening Standard, The Listener, The Times and the New Statesman. Cork was also editor for Studio International. He is a past Turner Prize judge.-Life and work:Richard...
). He won press awards including Critic of the Year in 1988, Arts Journalist of the Year in 1994, the Hawthornden Prize for Art Criticism in 1995 and the Foreign Press Award (Arts) in 2000. In April 2003, he was awarded the George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
Prize for his column in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
.
In criticisms of the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
's art, he coined the phrase, the "Serota Tendency", after its director Nicholas Serota
Nicholas Serota
Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota is a British art curator. Serota was director of the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, before becoming director of the Tate, the United Kingdom's national gallery of modern and British art in 1988. He was awarded a knighthood in 1999. He...
. It was not until the late 1990s that he became a household figure through television, though he was on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
before then. He is known for formal, old-fashioned diction and anti-populist sentiments. He offended people in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
by claiming an exhibition was too important to be held only at the town's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
and should be shown to "more sophisticated" audiences in London; he has also disparaged Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
as a cultural city.
In 1994, 35 art world signatories wrote a letter to the Evening Standard attacking Sewell for "homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
", "misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
", "demagogy
Demagogy
Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
", "hypocrisy
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
", "artistic prejudice", "formulaic insults and predictable scurrility". Signatories included Karsten Schubert
Karsten Schubert
Karsten Schubert is an artists' representative and gallery proprietor working in England.-Karsten Schubert Limited:Karsten Schubert ran Karsten Schubert Limited, initially in collaboration, and with the backing of, Richard Salmon, from 1986 to 1991...
, Maureen Paley
Maureen Paley
Maureen Paley is the American owner of a contemporary art gallery in Bethnal Green, London, where she lives. It was founded in 1984, called Interim Art during the 1990s, and renamed Maureen Paley in 2004. She exhibited Young British Artists at an early stage...
, Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin RA is a contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He is noted for his fostering of the Young British Artists, many of whom he taught, and for his conceptual artwork, An Oak Tree...
, Angela and Matthew Flowers, Professor Christopher Frayling
Christopher Frayling
Sir Christopher John Frayling is a British educationalist and writer, known for his study of popular culture.-Biography:Frayling read history at Churchill College, Cambridge and gained a PhD in the study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
, Rene Gimpel, Susan Hiller, John Hoyland
John Hoyland
John Hoyland RA was a London-based British artist. He was one of the country's leading abstract painters.-Life:...
, Sarah Kent
Sarah Kent
Sarah Kent is a British art critic, formerly the art editor of the weekly London 'what's on' guide Time Out. She was an early supporter of the Young British Artists in general, and Tracey Emin in particular, helping her to get early exposure. This has led to polarised reactions of praise and...
, Nicholas Logsdail, George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
, Sandy Nairne
Sandy Nairne
Alexander Robert "Sandy" Nairne CBE is a British museum director and writer. Since 2002, he has been the director of the National Portrait Gallery.-Life and career:...
, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi, KBE, RA , was a Scottish sculptor and artist. He was a major figure in the international art sphere, while, working on his own interpretation and vision of the world. Paolozzi investigated how we can fit into the modern world to resemble our fragmented civilization...
, Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley
Bridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
, Michelle Roberts
Michelle Roberts
Michelle Hopkins Roberts is an Australian politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party, she currently represents the Electoral district of Midland in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly....
, Richard Shone, Marina Warner, Natalie Wheen
Natalie Wheen
Natalie Wheen is a British classical music radio presenter, currently broadcasting on Classic FM.Wheen, who was born in Shanghai, was a presenter of BBC Radio 4's arts' programme Kaleidoscope and Radio 3's evening sequence Mainly for Pleasure...
, and Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, CBE is an English artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She won the annual Turner Prize in 1993—the first woman to win the prize....
.
He responded with comments on many of the signatories, saying that Paley was "the curatrix of innumerable silly little Arts Council exhibitions", and that Whiteread was "mortified by my dismissal of her work for the Turner Prize". A letter supporting Sewell from 20 other art world signatories accused the writers of attempted censorship to promote "a relentless programme of neo-conceptual art in all the main London venues".
Sewell's attitude to female artists has been controversial. In July 2008 he was quoted in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as saying:
"The art market is not sexist. The likes of Bridget RileyBridget RileyBridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
and Louise BourgeoisLouise BourgeoisLouise Joséphine Bourgeois , was a renowned French-American artist and sculptor, best known for her contributions to both modern and contemporary art, and for her spider structures, titled Maman, which resulted in her being nicknamed the Spiderwoman...
are of the second and third rank. There has never been a first-rank woman artist. Only men are capable of aesthetic greatness. Women make up 50 per cent or more of classes at art school. Yet they fade away in their late 20s or 30s. Maybe it's something to do with bearing children."
Sewell does not hold his tongue regarding his opinions, and has frequently insulted the general public for their views on art. Consequently, he is more known for controversy than art criticism among many. He has issued quotes such as the following regarding public praise for the work of Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
in Bristol:
"The public doesn't know good from bad. For this city to be guided by the opinion of people who don't know anything about art is lunacy. It doesn't matter if they [the public] like it."
He went on to assert that Banksy himself "should have been put down at birth."
Clive Anderson has described him as "a man intent on keeping his Christmas card list nice and short."
Sewell is also known for his disdain for Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
, describing him as "fucking dreadful".
Television
In 2003, Sewell made a pilgrimage to Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, as a documentary called The Naked Pilgrim
The Naked Pilgrim
The Naked Pilgrim is documentary series produced by British broadcaster Five and presented by art critic Brian Sewell. First broadcast in 2003, the series follows Sewell on the Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela....
, produced by Wag TV for Channel 5. Although he has not practised for decades, Sewell considers himself a Roman Catholic, prompting an emotional response to the faith of pilgrims at Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
. The series attracted large audiences and won the Sandford St. Martin Trust
Sandford St. Martin Trust
The Sandford St. Martin Trust is a United Kingdom-based religious charity established in 1978 that promotes excellence in religious broadcasting...
award for Best Religious Programme. Following The Naked Pilgrim
The Naked Pilgrim
The Naked Pilgrim is documentary series produced by British broadcaster Five and presented by art critic Brian Sewell. First broadcast in 2003, the series follows Sewell on the Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela....
Sewell presented on two more series for Channel 5: Brian Sewell's Phantoms & Shadows: 100 Years of Rolls-Royce in 2004 and Brian Sewell's Grand Tour, 2006. Sewell also appeared as a guest film reviewer on Channel 5's Movie Lounge
Movie Lounge
Movie Lounge was a movie and DVD review television show, presented by newspaper columnist and food critic Giles Coren. It was shown on the British terrestrial channel Five.-Celebrity guests:...
, where he frequently savaged films.
In Dirty Dalí: A Private View
Private view
A private view is a special viewing of an art exhibition by invitation only, normal at the start of a public exhibition. Typically wine and light refreshments are served on the form of a reception. If the artworks are by a living artist, it is normal for them to attend the private view.An opening...
on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on 3 June 2007, Sewell described his acquaintance with Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
in the late 1960s, which included lying in the foetal position without trousers in the armpit of a figure of Christ and masturbating for Dalí, who pretended to take photos while fumbling in his trousers. Sewell has appeared twice as panellist on the BBC's news quiz Have I Got News For You? and tried to teach cricketer Phil Tufnell
Phil Tufnell
Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, "Tuffers" as he was known played 42 Tests and 20 One Day International matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002...
about art in ITV's Don't Call Me Stupid.
He acted as Big Brother during 2008's Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was an E4 temporary replacement to Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off series of the British reality television programme Big Brother, airing on E4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on the same channel...
.
Sewell was the voice of Sir Kiftsgate in an episode of the children's cartoon The Big Knights. He also has a programme on Voom HD Network's Art Channel: Gallery HD called Brian Sewell's Grand Tour, in which he tours beautiful cities (primarily in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) visiting museums, towns, churches, historic sights, public squares, monuments, profound architectural spots and meeting a local to discuss culture and art. Sewell reflects the 18th century, giving the perspective of what it would have been like as a 'Grand Tourist'. Then he elaborates on what has become of these sights and lost throughout history.
In a 2009 BBC documentary about the so-called North-South Divide
North-South divide in the United Kingdom
In England, the term North–South divide refers to the economic and cultural differences between Southern England and Northern England...
, presented by ex-Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
, Sewell caused controversy by declaring that the solution to the divide was to send a pox or a plague upon the North
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
so that the people there can all just die quietly.
Television credits
| Year | Programme | Role | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dirty Dalì Salvador Dalí Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain.... : A Private View |
Art critic Art critic An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites... |
Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
| 2006 | Timeshift: The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to... : The Greatest Story Ever Sold |
Art critic Art critic An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites... |
BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... |
| 2006 | Movie Lounge Movie Lounge Movie Lounge was a movie and DVD review television show, presented by newspaper columnist and food critic Giles Coren. It was shown on the British terrestrial channel Five.-Celebrity guests:... |
Film critic | Channel 5 |
| 2006 | Brian Sewell's Grand Tour (10 episodes) | Presenter | Channel 5 |
| 2004 | Brian Sewell's Phantoms & Shadows: 100 Years of Rolls-Royce | Presenter | Channel 5 |
| 2003 | The Naked Pilgrim The Naked Pilgrim The Naked Pilgrim is documentary series produced by British broadcaster Five and presented by art critic Brian Sewell. First broadcast in 2003, the series follows Sewell on the Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.... (6 episodes) |
Presenter | Channel 5 |
| 1996 | The Works: Minette Walters Minette Walters Minette Walters is an English crime writer.- Life and work :After her birth in Bishop’s Stortford to a serving army officer, Capt Samuel Jebb and his wife Colleen, the first 10 years of Minette’s life were spent moving between army bases in the north and south of England... and the Missing Masterpiece |
Art historian | BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... |
Other activities
Sewell is a museum adviser in South Africa, Germany and the United States. He is also a patron of the British charity NORM-UKNORM-UK
NORM-UK is a British-based charity concerned with foreskin health and matters related to circumcision. It provides information about conservative treatments for foreskin problems including phimosis, non-surgical foreskin restoration, and hosts and participates in conferences about genital...
which raises awareness of circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
and other forms of surgical alteration of the genitals. Sewell has also provided voice-overs for a variety of television commercials including the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
and feta
Feta
Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...
cheese.
Brian Sewell is also a noted aficionado of classic automobiles, a fan of stock car racing
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
and over several decades has written extensively about cars, classic and contemporary, in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
and elsewhere. In both his TV series, on the pilgrimage to Santiago
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
and the Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
(see above), he drove his venerable Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC
Mercedes-Benz W126
The Mercedes-Benz W126 is a series of flagship vehicles manufactured by German automotive marque Mercedes-Benz. Premiering in September 1979 as the successor to the earlier W116 line, the W126 was the second generation of the Mercedes-Benz flagship to officially bear the S-Class name referring to...
coupé.
Personal life
In a television programme broadcast on Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on 24 July 2007, marking the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, Sewell said, "I never came out... but I have slowly emerged". Sewell has been described as bisexual but has also described himself as gay, saying he knew he was probably at the age of six. He has chastised himself for his attraction to men, describing it 'as an "affliction" and a "disability" and [told] readers, "no homosexual has ever chosen this sexual compulsion"'. In the first episode of The Naked Pilgrim Sewell alluded to the loss of his virginity at the hands of a 60-year-old French woman "who knew what she was doing and was determined"; Sewell was 20 at the time. In his autobiography, however, Sewell reveals that he in fact lost his virginity at the age of 15 to a fellow pupil at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, when Sewell visited Salvador Dali
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
at his house in Cadaques
Cadaqués
Cadaqués is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean...
, Dali convinced Sewell to strip and masturbate for him while he took (or pretended to take) photographs.
In an interview for That's Mad website, Sewell revealed that he suffers from depression, and as a cure usually just sleeps for a long time during the more severe phases.