Last updated: 28 October 2026
Tahnee Lonsdale is the British-born, Los Angeles-based artist who paints glowing, ghostly feminine figures in slow layers of oil. Here you will find our take on her work, where Tahnee Lonsdale has shown recently, how to buy her paintings, and her small oil in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Tahnee Lonsdale
Lonsdale paints tall, soft-edged beings that seem half spirit and half body. She does not plan them. Instead, she lets them emerge from the paint. “I start with a color field, and then I build the figures from the inside out rather than the outside,” she told the Observer in 2024. Her recent figures are becoming fainter still. “These beings are becoming less being. They are dissolving,” she said of her 2026 New York show, quoted by Artdaily.
Her War Child piece, Guardians, is oil on board. Three ultramarine figures in long, cone-shaped robes stand in a row on a pink ground. The outer two stretch their arms wide and hold leafy branches up over their heads like wreaths. The middle figure is taller, with a dark round head and small blue eyes. Finally, a painted border of orange and yellow runs round the edge, like a frame inside the frame.
That painted border is a trademark of her recent work, which Artdaily likens to the edges of scrolls. Her paintings are in the Brooklyn Museum and the X Museum in Beijing, and her large canvases sell through galleries on request. So this small board is a rare chance for a UK buyer to own a finished piece by her at auction from £100.
Tahnee Lonsdale: the essentials
- Born in Reading in 1982 and raised in Sussex, according to Night Gallery and her own site.
- BA in Fine Art from the Byam Shaw School of Art, University of the Arts London (2003 to 2007).
- Moved to Los Angeles in 2015, where she still lives and works; her practice now includes large paintings, soft sculpture, works on paper and ceramics.
- Shortlisted for Thames & Hudson’s 100 Painters of Tomorrow in 2014 and a Hopper Prize finalist in 2019.
- Work in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art collection at the Brooklyn Museum, the X Museum in Beijing and the Nassima Landau Art Foundation in Tel Aviv.
- Solo shows with Night Gallery, Los Angeles; Alexander Berggruen, New York; MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris; Galerie Fabian Lang, Zurich; and Cob Gallery, London.
Where to see Tahnee Lonsdale 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 piece is Guardians (2026), oil on board, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Walk With Us Into The Forest (solo), Alexander Berggruen, New York, 8 April to 13 May 2026 (Artdaily).
- A billion tiny moons (solo), Night Gallery, Los Angeles, 14 September to 19 October 2024.
- Not Ghosts, But Just As Loud (solo), MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris, 5 to 16 March 2024.
- True Romance (solo), Night Gallery, Los Angeles, 14 May to 18 June 2022.
How to buy a Tahnee Lonsdale painting
There are no Tahnee Lonsdale prints, editions or monographs on sale. Her paintings sell through her galleries:
- Paintings: through Night Gallery, Los Angeles, price on request.
- Guardians, 2026: a small oil on board in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
Tahnee Lonsdale FAQs
Is Tahnee Lonsdale British?
Yes. She was born in Reading in 1982, grew up in Sussex and studied in London, then moved to Los Angeles in 2015.
Which gallery represents Tahnee Lonsdale?
Night Gallery in Los Angeles has given her two solo shows, and Alexander Berggruen in New York showed her in 2026.
Can I buy a Tahnee Lonsdale print?
Not at the moment. There are no prints or editions; her paintings sell through her galleries on request.
Where can I see her work in London?
Her War Child piece, Guardians, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Great Women Artists: a big, useful survey of women artists.
- Frieze London guide: what to see at London’s biggest contemporary art fair.
- Art on a Postcard: another charity art sale where small works by big names go for less.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
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Main image: Tahnee Lonsdale in her studio. Photo: Katrina Dickson, courtesy the artist. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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