English Artist Sells Paintings for 490 Bitcoins

English artist Lincoln Townley has sold 19 of his paintings for 490 bitcoins, a value of almost $5 million; this According to a press release September 11, 2019.

Townley: The Warhol of Bitcoin

Popular English painter Lincoln Townley, who is recognized as one of the leading contemporary figurative artists, has allegedly sold 19 paintings to a Singaporean art enthusiast for 490 bitcoins. The art investor has purchased all the works of Lincoln’s Greed collection via an agent-based agreement that took place in the small town of Gstaad in Switzerland, right before the collections were put on display at Saatchi Gallery.

Mr. Townley, whose portraits of superstars such as Kate Moss, David Bowie Al Pacino, and Mohammad Ali are already a cult hit; notably Townley has a long track record in selling his works for bitcoins.

In 2017, he sold one of his most notable works, Homage to Francis Bacon, for around 40 bitcoins; around €550,000 at that time.

Townley’s works of art have always been pretty expensive both in bitcoin and in fiat currencies. Indeed, in 2017 he had sold a Princess Diana portrait, which also featured diamond details, for as much as 1 million British Pounds back in 2017.

His works have been displayed in international galleries such as London’s National Gallery, Venice La Biennale and Brisbane Powerhouse.

Bitcoin Art Affair

Bitcoin and art are becoming increasingly connected; interest in the tokenization of art goods is beginning to peak with multiple projects willing to take on the technology. Numerous artists are finding blending points between bitcoin and their artworks. It seems like the bitcoin revolution is actually inspiring many young artists who are increasingly incorporating crypto elements in their works.

Notable French artist Pascal Boyart had added hidden QR Codes containing some bitcoins in multiple pieces of work, gaining attention on the crypto community.

Another artist, known as “crypto graffiti” has sold the smallest and cheapest artwork in history via Bitcoin Lightning Network. The work was meant to raise awareness towards about micropayments, with the art piece sold for only one milli-satoshi.