Brian Sewell

Since 1984 Brian has been the art critic of the London Evening Standard, one of its political columnists and a writer on historic and collectors' motor cars, winning national and international press awards in all three spheres.

In April 2003 he was awarded "The George Orwell" prize for his political/current affairs column on the Evening Standard. In February 2004 he received the "Art Critic of the Year Award" for his weekly column on Visual Arts.

He has written exhibition catalogues for the Royal Academy, the British Council and the Council of Europe, contributed to the catalogues of the Royal Collection, worked for a decade at Christie's, the international art auctioneers, as an expert on old masters, and is a consultant to museums and galleries in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa.

He is a prolific broadcaster across news, arts and documentary programming on both radio and television. Amongst his credits, he has written and presented a documentary on the life of Graham Sutherland for BBC television and wrote & presented the acclaimed series 'The Naked Pilgrim", The Road to Santiago" and "The Grand Tour" for Five television. He has just completed presenting "Divine Art", a five part series for Radio 4 looking at works of art in churches and cathedrals and is currently working on a Salvador Dali documentary.

His private interests are music and animal welfare. He writes often on opera, on the plight of endangered bears, tigers and apes, and on the exploitation of farm animals. He raises funds for the rescue and re-homing of abandoned and ill-treated domestic pets in one of the most deprived areas of London. His London garden, densely overcrowded with trees and shrubs, has been deliberately developed as a haven for wildlife.