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Britain’s most famous art critic, Brian Sewell follows up the runaway success of the first instalment of his autobiography with Outsider II. Sewell, often divisive and always controversial, takes the story on from early adulthood in the late sixties to him becoming what the Spectator said was ‘the funniest art critic of our time’. Outsider I told the story of Sewell’s childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. It was a Sunday Times book of the year in 2011. In Outsider II, he takes many of his contemporaries to task in his own inimitable style and chronicles the downfall of his teacher Anthony Blunt.

Sewell has been art critic of the London Evening Standard since 1984. He has become widely known for his outspoken views on conceptual art and the Turner Prize. He studied history of art at the Courtauld Institute under the tutelage of Anthony Blunt, worked at Christie’s as an expert in Old Masters, and has been a consultant to museums and galleries. His television work includes The Naked Pilgrim on a pilgrimage to Santiago, and Dirty Dali: A Private View. Sewell has also recently published a collection of his criticisms of English contemporary art, Naked Emperors. He will be discussing his views on contemporary art in a separate event at this year’s festival on Sunday, March 24, at 2pm.