[1][2] He was brought up in Northumberland, and educated at Ampleforth College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
[3][2] He was commissioned into The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), part of The Royal Green Jackets from 1966, in 1961 where he served until 1969.
[citation needed] Festing worked at Sotheby's in 1969 and was head of the British Pictures Department from 1977–1981,[2] where he became Sotheby’s chief expert for British Pictures, with specialist knowledge of portrait painting over the last 400 years.
[2] Festing became a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) in 1989,[4] and was President (PRP) from 2002–2008.
[citation needed] His portraits can be found in the Royal Collections, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland, The Palace of Westminster and many of the major private and public collections in Britain.