The Reviews That Caused the Rumpus: And Other Pieces

To many people, the "Evening Standard" art critic, Brian Sewell, is the most well-informed, articulate and consistently direct of contemporary art critics, a man who gives praise when he thinks it is due but who does not equivocate in his condemnation of the second-rate. Such people enjoy his prose and revere him as a lone voice in an otherwise crazy world. For others, principally members of the contemporary art establishment, Sewell's reviews frequently deride their art and the exhibitions they put on. On 5th January 1994 the "Evening Standard" published a letter from members of this group demanding that Sewell be sacked on grounds of philistinism and "social and sexual hypocrisy". Thus began a furore which still continues - Sewell and his opponents traded insults on television in the course of which Sewell was described as vicious, ill-informed, misogynist and homophobic. The editor of the "Evening Standard" and hundreds of readers, came out in support of Sewell. Two months later Sewell was voted Art Critic of the Year for the second year running by his fellow journalists. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…