Indelible Artist

Lincoln Townley

Contemporary British painter Lincoln Townley builds psychologically charged portraits and urban works around ambition, celebrity, power and the darker pressures behind public success.

British, 1972Figurative paintingCelebrity & powerContemporary icons
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Lincoln Townley - Bacon In Soho

Biography

Artist background

Townley's paintings sit within contemporary figurative practice but resist the clean certainty of conventional portraiture. Faces, bodies and city subjects are pushed through energetic mark-making, layered surfaces and distortion, creating images that feel shaped by pressure as much as likeness.

Ambition, wealth, celebrity, nightlife and psychological intensity recur throughout the work. Familiar cultural figures become a way of examining what sits behind the public image, while his Soho works turn the city into a setting for appetite, excess, change and desire.

The resulting paintings and editions are deliberately immediate: recognisable enough to draw the viewer in, but unsettled enough to keep the image from becoming simple celebrity portraiture.

At a glance
Born1972, Britain
Known forExpressive figuration
ThemesFame, ambition, power & excess
SubjectsIcons & urban culture
WorksOriginals & limited editions

Available works

Current verified selection
Lincoln Townley - Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

£1,500 • was £4,000 • 2015 • Edition of 25 • 80 × 122.5 cm • Framed
Lincoln Townley - City Boy Soho

City Boy Soho

£1,500 • was £4,000 • Edition of 25 • 75 × 81 cm • Framed
Lincoln Townley - Bowie

Bowie

£1,500 • was £4,000 • 2015 • Edition of 25 • 80 × 80 cm • Signed • Framed
Lincoln Townley - Bacon In Soho

Bacon In Soho

£6,500 • was £7,000 • Original • Oil on canvas • 120 × 154 cm • Framed
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Highlights

Why collectors respond
  • Highly recognisable contemporary subjects filtered through an expressive, psychologically charged painting style.
  • Recurring themes of fame, ambition, nightlife and public identity give the work an immediate cultural reference point.
  • Limited editions provide an accessible route into the artist's work, alongside larger unique paintings.
  • The Soho works connect portraiture with the mythology, nightlife and changing identity of central London.
  • Strong scale and energetic surfaces give the works significant wall presence.

Press & Market

Interviews, editorial & auction context

Selected independent coverage and auction records offering further context around Townley’s practice, career and secondary-market presence.

Arts & CollectionsBehind the Mask: An Interview with Lincoln Townley — a substantial interview covering his painting, collectors, cryptocurrency and approach to the traditional art market. Tempus MagazineBAFTAs, Bitcoin and breaking tradition — Townley discusses his Hell and Icons collections, celebrity portraiture and the psychology behind the work. The ReviewBankers, blockchain and hacking the art market — a long-form interview focused on the 100 Bankers series, his working process and changing approaches to the art market. Sotheby’s — Bankers CodeModern & Contemporary Day Auction record for the 2021 oil on canvas, with an estimate of £35,000–£45,000. Sotheby’s — Banker No. 1Contemporary Discoveries auction record for the 2018 oil on canvas, estimated at £30,000–£50,000. Sotheby’s — Banker in SohoNew York Contemporary Art Online record, including provenance, exhibition literature and a $10,000–$15,000 estimate.

At Indelible

Current collection

Indelible's current Lincoln Townley selection brings together both sides of the artist's practice: limited-edition icon portraits and works focused on Soho's cultural mythology.

The verified selection includes Robert De Niro, City Boy Soho and Bowie at £1,500 each, alongside the large original oil painting Bacon In Soho at £6,500. The latter measures 120 × 154 cm and is presented framed.

Explore Lincoln Townley at Indelible or contact the gallery for condition, edition, framing, provenance and viewing information.

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