The sad news that Evening Standard fine art critic Brian Sewell died on Saturday is not only a blow to the art world but to the those who champion dogs. Considered by some to be elitist and reactionary in his taste in art, he certainly could not be accused of either when it came to his approach to his beloved dogs.
He housed a variety of rescue dogs including a stressed Jack Russell rescued from euthanasia at the request of his vet after being inappropriately homed with a baby. When he moved house, his deceased dogs’ remains went with him and were re-buried. After a life devoted to writing and educating people about art, he published Sleeping with Dogs in 2013 where he revealed that he was an adherant to the philosophy that one should control the temperature of the bed by adding another dog.
Love him or loathe him, the world was a more vibrant place for his being and one can at kleast be assured that he will have left plenty of resources for the welfare of the dogs that survived him.