The Connor Brothers

The Connor Brothers are an artistic double-act who have garnered international acclaim and success in recent years with their enigmatic, retro-inspired artwork.

Depicting sleek and mysterious pin-up models alongside witty captions and colour blocked backdrops, their pieces encapsulate a film-poster like quality that has only continued to grow in popularity across the globe. Indeed, the backstory of this artistic duo is also steeped in mystique and could practically be the plot of a blockbuster film; comprising of a cult, a daring escape plan and two brothers’ re-emergence into the world, the (now revealed to be fictitious) beginnings of the Connor Brothers is certainly a tale not easily forgotten.

At age 16, twins Franklyn and Brendan Connor fled the only life they’d ever known, having been brought up in the new-age Californian cult ‘The Family’. With dreams of pursuing an independent life, they settled in Brooklyn, New York, and began the process of attempting to piece together all of the aspects of the modern world that they had missed out on. This adjustment involved collaborating on a sketchpad, in which the brothers would document their new-found discoveries, thus sparking the beginning of their shared artistic endeavour.

However, it turns out this remarkable story was just that- a fabricated tale conjured up by British artists and art dealers Mike Snelle and James Golding in order to initially conceal their true identities. After 18 months under the Franklyn and Brendan pseudonyms, Mike and James revealed the truth, by which point much intrigue had developed around their background and artwork, catapulting them into the limelight of the contemporary art world. An underlying intention of the British artists’ work is to challenge the viewer’s preconceptions through offering a playful twist on traditional pulp fiction cover art; they aim to explore the line between reality and fiction, something which, cleverly, they have encapsulated even with their personas alone. Accordingly, they believe it is the “paradox of art that artifice is often the best way to depict reality.”

The Connor Brothers’ recent collection of Limited Edition pieces are a celebration of a decade’s long partnership which has proven to be a roaring success. 10 years on from their impactful entrance into the contemporary art scene and their careers continue to flourish, with their artwork entrancing and humouring collectors around the world.

These new pieces are available to view on our website - click here - and at our gallery within Bell’s showroom Northampton.