Hundreds of treasures collected by the Evening Standard’s late art critic Brian Sewell are expected to fetch about £2 million at auction.
Sewell, who died last September aged 84, worked at the paper for more than 30 years. He studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art and had worked at Christie’s, where his collection will be sold.
Among the items being sold on behalf of his estate are Blowing Hot, Blowing Cold by Dutch old master Matthias Stomer, which is valued at £600,000, and a male nude by 18th-century Irish artist James Barry.
More modern works include a 1946 Portrait of Lucian Freud by John Craxton which is expected to fetch £80,000.
Noel Annesley, honorary chairman of Christie’s UK, said: “Brian was a young man of 27 when he joined Christie’s. As his assistant, I got to admire him and to like him enormously.
"He evolved from a rather shy, cerebral art historian turned auction house expert into one of the most famous and widely read British art critics of our time.
“Brian was a man whose opinions were sought not just on art but on a wide variety of topics, reflecting the exceptional range of his interests. He could be relied upon to provide witty and often devastating judgments. A wonderful instructor, serious but humorous too, he set a standard for us all.”
Sewell delighted generations of Standard readers with his no-holds-barred approach — describing Damien Hirst as “a manufacturer of extravagant goods desirable to footballers’ wives” — but was lavish in his praise of talent when he saw it.
Orlando Rock, Christie’s UK chairman, said: “Brian Sewell was undoubtedly one of Christie’s most colourful and learned former colleagues. What always motivated him was his love of great art and its power to move and inspire, combined with his characteristic and acerbic wit.”
About 200 lots, starting below £1,000, go under the hammer on September 27.
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