Brian Sewell's father, a composer, committed suicide before he was born. Sewell was born and raised in Kensington, London, attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School (to which he has referred as "bloody fucking Haberdashers'"), and then the Courtauld Institute of Art, where he was tutored by Anthony Blunt and became his friend as a result.
Sewell graduated in 1957, and worked at Christie's auction house, specialising in Old Master paintings and drawings. After leaving Christie's he became a successful 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, giving some insight as to what 1950's military was like.
In 1984 he became the art critic of the Evening Standard , in which post he has won many press awards. In April 2003 he was awarded "The George Orwell" prize for his political/current affairs column in the Evening Standard. It was not until the late 1990s that he became a household media figure through his appearances on television, though he had some exposure on BBC Radio 4 before this date.
In 2003, Brian Sewell made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, as a travelogue-cum-architectural criticism documentary called The Naked Pilgrim, produced by Wag TV for Channel 5. Although he has not practised the religion for several decades, Sewell still considers himself to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, prompting an emotional response to the faith of pilgrims in Lourdes.
In Dirty Dalí: A Private View broadcast on Channel 4 on 3 June 2007, Sewell described his acquaintance with Salvador Dalí in the late 1960s, which included lying down 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 also appeared twice as panellist on the BBC's satirical news quiz Have I Got News For You? and more recently he tried to teach cricketer Phil Tufnell about art in ITV's programme Don't Call Me Stupid.
Currently, on Voom HD Network's Art Channel: Gallery HD, Brian Sewell has a show called Brian Sewell's Grand Tour where he tours beautiful cities (primarily in Italy) visiting museums, towns, churches, historic sights, public squares, monuments, profound archetictural spots while occasionally meeting with a local to discuss and share intellect on culture and art.
Throughout the hour long show, Brian offers his expertise and intellectual insights with his sometimes bittersweet and facetious humor. During these narrative travels, Sewell historically reflects back to the 18th century giving viewers the perspective of what it would have been like as a 'Grand Tourist'. Then, inevitably, he unravels his insights back to real time elaborating on what has become of these sights, for better or for worse, what has been preserved and/or lost throughout history.
In a television programme broadcast on Channel 4 on 24 July 2007, marking the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, Brian Sewell said, "I never came out... but I have slowly emerged". He has described the homosexual condition as an "affliction" and a "disability" and told readers, "no homosexual has ever chosen this sexual compulsion".
Sewell is a museum adviser in South Africa, Germany and the United States. He is also patron of the British charity NORM-UK which raises awareness of circumcision and other forms of surgical alteration of the genitals. From August 2006, Sewell has provided the tongue-in-cheek voice-over for television advertisements for Apetina brand Feta cheese, the "conceit" being that the salads on which the cheese is used are works of art.
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 (supra), he drove his venerable Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC coupe.
