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Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite
Outsider is the life of a child, boy, adolescent, student and young man in London between the Great Depression of the 30s and the sudden prosperity and social changes of the 60s, affected by the moral attitudes of the day, by the Blitz, post-war austerity and the new freedoms of the later 50s that were resisted with such obstinacy by the old regime. It is about education in the almost forgotten sense of the pursuit of learning for its own sake. It is about the imposed experiences of school and National Service and the chosen experience of being a student at the Courtauld Institute under Johannes Wilde and Anthony Blunt. It is about sex, pre-pubertal, in adolescence and in early adulthood, and the price to be paid for it. It is about art and the art market in the turbulent years of its change from the pursuit of well-connected gentleman to the professional occupation of experts.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2011
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About the author
Brian Sewell
26 books11 followersBrian R Sewell (born 15 July 1931 in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire) was an English art critic and media personality. He wrote for the London Evening Standard and was noted for his acerbic view of conceptual art and the Turner Prize. He was been described as "Britain's most famous and controversial art critic".
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 8, 2016
In the first chapter of this memoir (2011) Brian Sewell reveals that, seeing Aladdin as a teenager gave him “an undying ambition, never fulfilled, to play the Widow Twanky." With his highly affected speech Brian’s Twanky would surely have sounded like Edith Evans’s Lady Bracknell. When you read Alan Bennett’s diaries it’s easy to hear his Yorkshire vowels in your head. Mr Sewell similarly writes as he speaks: a plummy, precious, over-elaborate prose. In the early chapters of his memoir he describes his early life – mother, father, stepfather, school-friends – with the same clinical brutality with which he will later appraise artists and their work.
One of his tutors as a student of art history at the Courtauld Institute was Anthony Blunt, the ‘Fourth Man’ in the Cambridge Spy Ring. You feel his passion, inspired by Blunt, for Poussin above all other painters. Paint, rather than blood, runs in Sewell’s veins: he recalls in vivid detail the paintings he saw on a Grand Tour of Italy with five fellow students in an old Vauxhall in the 1950s. The detail of his studies – in these long Victorian paragraphs – and his subsequent career as a cataloguer and appraiser with Christie’s becomes wearisome after a time.
Arguments over attribution are only a little bit exciting, although Alan Bennett gave them an extra ‘frisson’ in his play about Blunt, set mostly in the Queen’s art gallery. Outsider offers a few moments of high drama in the auction rooms. In the 50s and 60s many great paintings and drawings sold for a fraction of what they are worth today. His rarefied view of art – and of his own importance – seem designed to make the rest of us (‘outsiders’!) feel like philistines; I certainly did.
Having been both Catholic and Anglican, Sewell is content to call himself an ‘an agnostic Christian,’ a label I relished and am inclined to borrow. After years in the bosom of Christianity – he flirted with the attractions of the priesthood – Brian surrendered to the temptations of the flesh. A period of gay promiscuity and occasional love affairs ensued, but he describes his lovers with less intensity than he gives to a Burne-Jones painting needing emergency repairs before its sale at Christie’s. At the end he offers a bizarre apology for having used ‘bugger’ rather than the F-word throughout his book. I would have preferred an apology for his Dickensian syntax.
He is generous with praise for the people in the art world he liked and equally generous with disdain for those he didn’t: a lot of old scores are settled in this cavalcade of tantrums, which often reminded me of Kenneth Williams’s acid-queen diaries. This is a mean-spirited autobiography, only enlivened by the occasional titbit of gossip and revelation. When Anthony Blunt is unmasked as a spy, a traitor, Sewell refers to this in passing with no suggestion that he shared the Establishment’s sense of betrayal. Presumably he goes into the scandal in more detail in the second volume of his memoirs, which I will steel myself to read sometime in the not-too-near future.
One of his tutors as a student of art history at the Courtauld Institute was Anthony Blunt, the ‘Fourth Man’ in the Cambridge Spy Ring. You feel his passion, inspired by Blunt, for Poussin above all other painters. Paint, rather than blood, runs in Sewell’s veins: he recalls in vivid detail the paintings he saw on a Grand Tour of Italy with five fellow students in an old Vauxhall in the 1950s. The detail of his studies – in these long Victorian paragraphs – and his subsequent career as a cataloguer and appraiser with Christie’s becomes wearisome after a time.
Arguments over attribution are only a little bit exciting, although Alan Bennett gave them an extra ‘frisson’ in his play about Blunt, set mostly in the Queen’s art gallery. Outsider offers a few moments of high drama in the auction rooms. In the 50s and 60s many great paintings and drawings sold for a fraction of what they are worth today. His rarefied view of art – and of his own importance – seem designed to make the rest of us (‘outsiders’!) feel like philistines; I certainly did.
Having been both Catholic and Anglican, Sewell is content to call himself an ‘an agnostic Christian,’ a label I relished and am inclined to borrow. After years in the bosom of Christianity – he flirted with the attractions of the priesthood – Brian surrendered to the temptations of the flesh. A period of gay promiscuity and occasional love affairs ensued, but he describes his lovers with less intensity than he gives to a Burne-Jones painting needing emergency repairs before its sale at Christie’s. At the end he offers a bizarre apology for having used ‘bugger’ rather than the F-word throughout his book. I would have preferred an apology for his Dickensian syntax.
He is generous with praise for the people in the art world he liked and equally generous with disdain for those he didn’t: a lot of old scores are settled in this cavalcade of tantrums, which often reminded me of Kenneth Williams’s acid-queen diaries. This is a mean-spirited autobiography, only enlivened by the occasional titbit of gossip and revelation. When Anthony Blunt is unmasked as a spy, a traitor, Sewell refers to this in passing with no suggestion that he shared the Establishment’s sense of betrayal. Presumably he goes into the scandal in more detail in the second volume of his memoirs, which I will steel myself to read sometime in the not-too-near future.
September 11, 2013
Thoroughly enjoyed hearing Brian read to me in my head. First third bawdy and hilarious. 30 dry pages in the middle. Lots of revelations about the workings of Christie's and the art world in general. Very entertaining and little or no knowledge of art history is needed to enjoy to the full! You might find yourself Googling a few artists though ;)
Heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys Brian Sewell's urbane wit and sense of fun
Heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys Brian Sewell's urbane wit and sense of fun
January 27, 2025
Some entertaining moments, but overwhelmingly this book made me realise that I don’t want to be an art historian.
February 25, 2016
Brian Sewell's first part of his autobiography, 'Outsider' gives the reader a fascinating glance into his dysfunctional upbringing which no doubt were the keystones for his renowned hauteur and acerbic one-liners that characterised his later life. Sewell's Irish mother was part bohemian, part good-time girl who mixed with an eclectic group of painters, writers and the demimonde of the pre-war period. Born out of wedlock he never knew his natural father but had a lifetime of affection for his mother despite her unkindness to him when he came out as gay. His descriptions of working in the art world at Christie's is revealing to say the least and his 'kiss-and-tell' revelations of many of the good and great that he encountered are both vituperative and very funny.
Having now completed Sewell's Part 1 of his autobiography I remain enthusiastic. I am about to start Part 2 - 'Outsider 2'. The first book ends with his resignation towards the end of 1966 from Christie's the art auctioneers where he spent eight years in the picture department. Although well regarded in the Firm and with some remarkable art 'finds' to his credit, including correctly identifying an El Greco on his first morning that had wrongly been attributed to another lesser artist, his relationship with the senior partner, Patrick Lindsay, was at best stormy on Sewell's account and in turn a self-regarding jealousy from his protagonist. The final straw for Sewell was being refused a directorship (although promised by Christie's); Patrick Lindsay was reported as saying at the partners meeting to discuss Sewell's appointment, 'We've got one homosexual on the board...'
Sewell's obvious scholarship and love of his subject shines through along with his praise for those he rated in the profession and in equal measure cutting disregard for the poseurs, scoundrels and downright thieves who haunt the profession - whether they be dealers, museums, auction houses or forgers.
He is frank about his own life, his struggle with religion and his subsequent rejection of same; once conscience liberated he is candid about his enthusiastic embrace of the then illegal demimonde of homosexuality. Sewell has no qualms about naming names, dates and sometimes explicit details of his sexual exploits. Whether this is necessary to the narrative I am not sure, but it certainly throws an authentic light on the secret activities of the gay community of the time and the prejudices they faced.
I completed the second volume of 'Outsider' by Brian Sewell some months ago and enjoyed it as much as the first. His poignancy for times past and approaching old age are moving; his vituperative spirit remains in tact and the compendium makes an excellent commentary on this period of art history and the shenanigans of those players who deal in the sale and purchase of rare and sometimes knowingly forged canvases. Where large sums of money are involved it seems that no market, however rarefied, is without rogues and vagabonds in search of a quick buck.
Having now completed Sewell's Part 1 of his autobiography I remain enthusiastic. I am about to start Part 2 - 'Outsider 2'. The first book ends with his resignation towards the end of 1966 from Christie's the art auctioneers where he spent eight years in the picture department. Although well regarded in the Firm and with some remarkable art 'finds' to his credit, including correctly identifying an El Greco on his first morning that had wrongly been attributed to another lesser artist, his relationship with the senior partner, Patrick Lindsay, was at best stormy on Sewell's account and in turn a self-regarding jealousy from his protagonist. The final straw for Sewell was being refused a directorship (although promised by Christie's); Patrick Lindsay was reported as saying at the partners meeting to discuss Sewell's appointment, 'We've got one homosexual on the board...'
Sewell's obvious scholarship and love of his subject shines through along with his praise for those he rated in the profession and in equal measure cutting disregard for the poseurs, scoundrels and downright thieves who haunt the profession - whether they be dealers, museums, auction houses or forgers.
He is frank about his own life, his struggle with religion and his subsequent rejection of same; once conscience liberated he is candid about his enthusiastic embrace of the then illegal demimonde of homosexuality. Sewell has no qualms about naming names, dates and sometimes explicit details of his sexual exploits. Whether this is necessary to the narrative I am not sure, but it certainly throws an authentic light on the secret activities of the gay community of the time and the prejudices they faced.
I completed the second volume of 'Outsider' by Brian Sewell some months ago and enjoyed it as much as the first. His poignancy for times past and approaching old age are moving; his vituperative spirit remains in tact and the compendium makes an excellent commentary on this period of art history and the shenanigans of those players who deal in the sale and purchase of rare and sometimes knowingly forged canvases. Where large sums of money are involved it seems that no market, however rarefied, is without rogues and vagabonds in search of a quick buck.
February 21, 2012
Brian Sewell is perhaps best known as the outspoken art critic of the London Evening Standard. In that capacity, he is candid and is not afraid to ruffle feathers or to cause a stir. Those qualities are in evidence in "Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite", his first volume of autobiography. The book takes the reader from his early childhood in the 1930s through to the ending of his employment with the internationally renowned auction house and fine art dealer Christie's, in 1967.
Along the way, we learn much of Sewell's schooling at Haberdashers' Aske School in Hampstead, London; his National Service in the Royal Army Service Corps; his student days at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (where he was tutored by, amongst others, Anthony Blunt, the Director of the Institute, who was later unmasked as part of the Cambridge spy ring that included Burgess, Philby and MacLean); and the time he spent in the Art Department at Christie's. We are also given access to Sewell's innermost thoughts on his illegitimacy - his father, the classical music composer Peter Warlock (who is perhaps best known for his Capriol Suite), died seven months before Sewell was born. Sewell is also candid about his sexuality - he is gay - and there are numerous references throughout the book to his various liaisons and to the impact that they have had on his life.
Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite is a very entertaining and informative read. The latter half of the book - which describes the author's time at Christie's - is particularly fascinating, given its insight into the petty squabbling, the narcissism, the snobbery and the downright dishonesty and sharp practice that evidently comprise much of the activity in the world of fine art auctioneering. The book is well written and very readable. My one concern is an all too frequent one these days, I regret to say. The quality of the editing and of the sub-editing of the book is abysmal. This is presumably the fault of the publisher - Quartet Books - rather than the author. But there are many, many careless errors - some involving simply the use of the wrong word, such as "though" instead of "through" (page 167) or simply the superfluous repetition of words, such as "now scorched" (pages 160-161). There are times too when Sewell writes sentences that are far too long and which are likely to result in the reader's losing their thread. These editing weaknesses are unacceptable in this age of modern technology, and particularly in a book that costs £25! But none of these problems detracts too much from what is a thoroughly engaging and gossipy read. I hope that the author provides us soon with a second volume that details his life from the mid-1960s. 8/10.
Along the way, we learn much of Sewell's schooling at Haberdashers' Aske School in Hampstead, London; his National Service in the Royal Army Service Corps; his student days at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London (where he was tutored by, amongst others, Anthony Blunt, the Director of the Institute, who was later unmasked as part of the Cambridge spy ring that included Burgess, Philby and MacLean); and the time he spent in the Art Department at Christie's. We are also given access to Sewell's innermost thoughts on his illegitimacy - his father, the classical music composer Peter Warlock (who is perhaps best known for his Capriol Suite), died seven months before Sewell was born. Sewell is also candid about his sexuality - he is gay - and there are numerous references throughout the book to his various liaisons and to the impact that they have had on his life.
Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite is a very entertaining and informative read. The latter half of the book - which describes the author's time at Christie's - is particularly fascinating, given its insight into the petty squabbling, the narcissism, the snobbery and the downright dishonesty and sharp practice that evidently comprise much of the activity in the world of fine art auctioneering. The book is well written and very readable. My one concern is an all too frequent one these days, I regret to say. The quality of the editing and of the sub-editing of the book is abysmal. This is presumably the fault of the publisher - Quartet Books - rather than the author. But there are many, many careless errors - some involving simply the use of the wrong word, such as "though" instead of "through" (page 167) or simply the superfluous repetition of words, such as "now scorched" (pages 160-161). There are times too when Sewell writes sentences that are far too long and which are likely to result in the reader's losing their thread. These editing weaknesses are unacceptable in this age of modern technology, and particularly in a book that costs £25! But none of these problems detracts too much from what is a thoroughly engaging and gossipy read. I hope that the author provides us soon with a second volume that details his life from the mid-1960s. 8/10.
October 29, 2013
This first volume of Brian Sewell's memoirs takes him through school, National Service in the Army, his studies at the Courtauld Institute and his career at Christie's, concluding with his departure from that company in 1967. Startlingly and refreshingly frank, this is a beautifully-written evocation of London and the art trade in the 1950s and 1960s: a world that has now virtually disappeared. Sewell is brutally honest not only about his contemporaries but also about himself, discussing the impact of his illegitimacy and homosexuality and his efforts to find a place in the world where he belonged. He is at his absolute best when discussing art, and for me this was an exciting glimpse into a time when student art historians could rub shoulders with such characters as Anthony Blunt, A.E. Popham, Philip Pouncey and John Pope-Hennessey. Sewell is sometimes angry, sometimes shocking, sometimes romantically nostalgic, but never anything less than a thoroughly engaging storyteller. As someone who doesn't read memoirs very often, I was entirely won over and will be going eagerly in search of the recently-published second volume.
For a longer review and thoughts on other books, please visit my blog:
http://theidlewoman.blogspot.com/2013...
For a longer review and thoughts on other books, please visit my blog:
http://theidlewoman.blogspot.com/2013...
February 1, 2014
Having greatly enjoyed his book about the rescued dogs in his life that I reviewed here previously, I thought I'd try his two volume autobiography, Outsider and Outsider II. The first deals with his early years through to his employment at the auction house, Christie's. This is a great read. I like him very much as a writer; although, I'm not sure I would like him in person. A little goes a long way, perhaps. Anyway, this is a fascinating life to learn more about, particularly because he wasn't born the wealthy spoilt snob he can so easily appear to be. (And, I must say, a personality that I can quite enjoy.) Clearly, Sewell has strong ethics in his professional and personal lives. His commitment to telling the truth as he sees it is admirable. His account of his time at Christie's is fascinating not least because of the collision between his professionalism and the lack of it that he experienced. There was much here that I related to with respect to a chapter in my professional life albeit in entirely difference circumstances. Not being involved in the art world, there is, as you would imagine and expect, much about artists and the trade in their work. Some of this is beyond me but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. On with volume two!
September 25, 2012
I started this very enthusiastically and indeed the beginning covering his childhood and adolescence is fascinating, but after that I found it got too bogged down in the minutiae of working in the arts and auction houses etc and I found it all very repetitious. I wanted to know more about his inner life rather than the petty squabbles of art critics! The whole book needed a bit more ruthless editing, as far as I'm concerned, though no doubt those working in the arts perhaps might be more entertained.
July 17, 2013
For anyone who has come to this book because of some of the more salacious reviews of it in the press, you may be disappointed. But also v. amused to see a review bemoaning the amount of art in the book, not unusual considering his job. Very interesting for its inside view on how Christie's was run as an old boy's club, with name and station far more important than knowledge and skills. I only gave it three stars because on some level it failed to engage me. He seems like a passionate man, it just doesn't shine through in the writing.
February 24, 2013
I liked a lot and would've been horrified if Brian Sewell was not gay! Very interesting insights into the art world - a brutal and fascinating way to engage with pictures and art history!
Really pleased he could be so frank about his sexual exploits, but wished they were less separated out, especially from the Christies years!
Really pleased he could be so frank about his sexual exploits, but wished they were less separated out, especially from the Christies years!
August 13, 2014
A good book - I read more of it than which I was intending. Liked his memoirs of childhood and the army. I switched off a little during his account of the workings of Christies.
It shuts off earlier than I expected but I am thrilled to learn that the second part has already long been published - I'm hoping for juicier stories, encounters and opinions!
It shuts off earlier than I expected but I am thrilled to learn that the second part has already long been published - I'm hoping for juicier stories, encounters and opinions!
Want to read
November 14, 2011can't wait
February 10, 2013
Loved this book I learnt so much about the art work that I never know before. A great read
September 7, 2014
Frank and unflinching. Wonderfully well written. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but I admire Brian Sewell immensely.
August 20, 2015
Interesting and quirky. Am sure not for all, but his stark honesty and intelligent analysis impresses as always. Integrity of analysis and hence treats the reader with respect.
October 14, 2016
Really interesting insight into the inner workings of Christie's
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews