Fun Facts You Need To Know About The Connor Brothers

The Connor Brothers have now been a fixture in the contemporary art world for over a decade with their thought-provoking works and contemporary satire. They have gained recognition around the world for their exploration of themes such as truth, fiction, and the nature of art itself with their works often incorporating vintage book covers and collages. Their witty and poignant works that have consistently captivated audiences for their combination of humour, nostalgia, and social commentary. Find out more about them here:

1.

The Connor Brothers, aren’t actually brothers?

Image Credit: The Big Issue

To avid Connor Brother fans, this one might not come as a shock, but the story of how they came to become known as brothers is worth highlighting.

In 2012, The Connor Brothers first erupted into the art world limelight under the names Franklyn and Brendan Connor. The pair created a fictitious ‘Hollywood style’ backstory, claiming they grew up in a cult in America where they escaped at the age of 16, allegedly fleeing to Brooklyn to learn about the world they had been sheltered from. The reason for this was to avoid the prying eyes of the public, wanting a scoop on their private lives.

2.

How the truth came to light

In 2014, however, the truth was revealed in an interview with the Guardian, where the pair uncloaked themselves as Mike Snelle and James Golding, former art dealers from East London.

The pair had initially protected themselves as they didn’t feel comfortable exposed so rawly to the public, with Golding saying, “The world was very different back then." “Today we’re talking quite openly about mental health, whereas ten years ago it wasn’t like that”.

The pair chose to 'come clean’ after their 'A Contemporary Edge' sale at Bonham’s Auction House, as it was becoming apparent that their story and absence of a physical presence was creating more difficulties than fun. 

3.

They spent time working in ‘The Jungle’ in Calais

In 2015, work started on a project that would secure the pair’s reputation as societal disruptors. The duo spent several years in the notorious French refugee camp in Calais known as The Jungle, voluntarily building shelters and learning the stories of the refugees who had recently fled their homes.

4.

They have collaborated with some of contemporary art’s biggest names

Image Credit: Vice

Inspired by their time in French refugee camps, The Connor Brothers collaborated with tongue-in-cheek artist Banksy to curate and produce a refugee-themed act within his Dismaland theme park, performed by Russian feminist protest group Pussy Riot. The performance called to the visitor’s attention public socio-political issues like immigration and the rise of fake news.

5.

Record-breaking auction results

After the success of their Bastardised Oils series, the pair created the oil painting ‘The Bestest and Most Expensivist Painting in the History of Art’, a reimagining of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. The original Da Vinci work broke news when it hammered for $450 million at Christie’s auction house in 2017, becoming the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction.

During a sale at Sotheby’s Auction House in May 2021, The Connor Brothers ‘The Bestest and Most Expensivist Painting in the History of Art’ hammered for more than $44,000, smashing its pre-estimate of $10,000–$15,000. This piece holds the record for the highest amount paid for a work by The Connor Brothers at auction.

6.

They recreated iconic magazine covers to highlight world issues

In 2017, the pair launched their ‘Refuchic’ billboard campaign, which forced viewers to examine their attitude towards poverty and displacement. The series saw glossy magazine covers adapted to highlight the inequality the artists learn about when meeting refugees entering the UK. The series was created to ridicule celebrity culture and highlight a lack of humanity. With the pair saying, “Our artworks are not really about giving an answer or asking a question; they're more about asking the people seeing the art to question themselves”.

7.

Another alias?

As well as ‘Brendan Connor’, one half of The Connor Brothers, Mike Snelle, also goes by the identity of Dr Viktor Schroeder, a German doctor who has assembled a remarkable collection of memento mori, vanitas paintings and historical reliquaries.

Snelle wanted to create this alter ego as a means of investigating the human reaction of mortality. As a collector of weird and wonderful artefacts, he used this to create his iconic memento mori cabinets, often containing skulls, needles, dead creatures and medical paraphernalia.

8.

They are well-known philanthropists

Since their start in 2012, they have continually focused on giving back to the community by raising millions of pounds for charities such as The Big Issue, CALM, and Choose Love, as well as continually supporting Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity they became ambassadors for in 2022.

In June 2024, the artists teamed up with Bonham’s Auction House to present ‘Anything But Ordinary’, an auction celebrating all things extraordinary, regardless of genre. The Connor Brothers arranged for artists from around the world to donate works, with all proceeds going to support Teenage Cancer Trust. At the launch party, a large painting from the duo’s Regression series was auctioned live with the work hammering for £14,000 and all proceeds being forwarded to the charity.

View available works by The Connor Brothers by clicking below, and please get in touch with any inquiries or questions.

Cover Image Credit: Living Etc