Last updated: 28 October 2026
Matthew Clifton is the Camberwell-trained artist behind small, snapshot-like drawings and paintings of everyday streets, suburbs and landscapes. Here you will find our take on his work, where Matthew Clifton has shown, and how to bid on his two Blackpool paintings in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Matthew Clifton
Clifton draws and paints ordinary places: suburban streets, rough landscape studies and close-up details. He works small, and his pictures take their cue from quick phone photos. His statement for the sale describes them as “stills from a storyboard in progress”, painted “with the formality and accuracy of a distant memory” (War Child lot page).
His War Child pieces are a pair, both oil on plywood. Postcard from Blackpool I looks down on a curving road at night, where car lights have turned into long orange and yellow streaks. Red, glowing illuminations wriggle down the left side, and a boxy yellow vehicle sits at the bottom right. Postcard from Blackpool II is stranger. Two tilted pictures float on a white ground: above, a deep blue sky strung with yellow and red lights; below, a dark brick wall lit with orange reflections.
This is an early-career artist with no gallery yet, so there is little to compare. Still, the pair works well together, and the second panel looks like a photo dropped on a table, which fits the snapshot idea. Both lots stood at £100 when I checked on 28 October.
Matthew Clifton: the essentials
- Studied for a BA in Fine Art Drawing at Camberwell College of Arts, London, from 2012 to 2015, according to his statement for the War Child sale.
- Works in drawing and painting, mostly at small scale, often in oil on plywood or colour pencil on wood.
- Had a solo show, Terra Horse, at The Door in London in 2016.
- Showed a colour pencil drawing, Drawing of Elephant: Beacon, in the 2025 Art on a Postcard sale for the Hepatitis C Trust.
- Group shows include Tree and Leaf at Hannah Barry Gallery (2022) and All The Small Things at Soup Gallery (2023), both in London.
Where to see Matthew Clifton now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The pieces are Postcard from Blackpool I (2026), oil on plywood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page, and Postcard from Blackpool II (2026), oil on plywood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- As If To Whistle (group), The Old Waiting Room, London, 2026.
- Common Place (two-person show with Faith Hughes), Soup, London, 2026.
- Hum (two-person show with Emma Wilde), Shallow Gallery, Milton Keynes, 2026.
- Corner Of My Eye (group), Mezzanine, London, 2025.
How to buy a Matthew Clifton painting
Matthew Clifton has no prints or gallery listings at the moment. These two small paintings are the easiest way to buy his work:
Matthew Clifton FAQs
Who is Matthew Clifton?
An artist who studied Fine Art Drawing at Camberwell College of Arts and makes small drawings and paintings of everyday places.
What are Matthew Clifton’s War Child paintings of?
Blackpool at night. One shows light trails and illuminations along a curving road, and the other shows strings of lights against a deep blue sky.
How much is a Matthew Clifton painting?
His two War Child panels start at £100 each, with bidding open until 12 November 2026.
Where can I see Matthew Clifton’s work in London?
Both Blackpool paintings are on view at Iconic Images Gallery, 16 Waterloo Place, from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Art on a Postcard: the charity art sale where he showed a small drawing in 2025.
- British Art Fair review: more British painting to buy, at the Saatchi Gallery.
- Best affordable art in the UK: prints and originals under £500.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
Think we’re missing something, got something wrong, or want to be featured? Contact us.
Main image: Matthew Clifton, Postcard from Blackpool I, 2026. © Matthew Clifton, courtesy War Child. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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