LINCOLN TOWNLEY

Overview

Lincoln Townley (b. 1972, London) is a self-taught British painter known for intense, psychologically charged portraits and figurative works. Before becoming a full-time artist in his forties, he worked in PR and the nightclub world, experiences that later fed into his fascination with addiction, ambition and the performance of success.

His paintings often feature distorted faces, torsos and crowds pushed almost to the edge of abstraction, built up in layered brushstrokes and dense colour. The images sit somewhere between portrait, memory and hallucination, deliberately blurring the line between the public image and the private self.

Practice & Themes

• Fame & celebrity – portraits of actors, musicians and cultural figures used to explore the pressures, isolation and mythology that come with visibility.
• Addiction & excess – works informed by his own history with alcohol and nightlife, often reading like scenes from the edge of a binge rather than conventional portraiture.
• Power & money – series focusing on bankers and financial elites, treating them as anonymous symbols of a wider system rather than individual likenesses.

Commissions & projects

Townley has produced commissions for major entertainment and corporate clients, including portraits created in connection with film and music awards ceremonies and projects for international brands. His paintings have been shown in London and overseas, ranging from institutional displays to commercial gallery exhibitions.

Alongside private commissions, his work has appeared in curated projects focused on the culture of finance and the banking sector, expanding his ongoing interest in risk, greed and the performance of confidence.

Collectors & market

Townley's paintings have entered a range of private collections, including high-profile figures from film and entertainment. His work has also appeared at auction internationally, with individual pieces achieving six-figure results.

This summary is based on publicly available information and media coverage and is intended as an independent overview rather than an official biography.

Selected series

• Bankers / Financial portraits – heads and figures associated with the global financial system, rendered as almost monstrous presences standing in for institutions rather than individuals.
• Icons & celebrity portraits – works based on cultural “icons”, pushed beyond simple likeness into something closer to psychological study.