How Charles Bronson made thousands from behind bars… and what he spent all his cash on
NOTORIOUS Charles Bronson, one of Britain’s most violent prisoners, as made a tidy sum even while behind bars.
Armed robber Bronson has spent almost 50 years behind bars after repeatedly having his sentence increased for attacking prison staff and taking them hostage.
He has managed to rake in thousands of pounds from the sale of his artwork.
Most recently, he has reportedly been churning out dozens of paintings and drawings and selling them online for £24.95 each online.
Titles include Bronson’s Dead, No More, Keep On Dreaming and Please Don’t Leave Me Here.
In July 2022 he raised thousands of pounds for charity after dozens of pieces of his artwork went up for auction.
The artwork fetched £2,655 even though only half the 30 lots presented being snapped up.
A further two lots, including a Globa Louis XV Vintage watch and a black trilby hat, both worn by Bronson, fetched a further £680.
The sale was carried out by Surrey-based Ewbank’s Auctions and was in aid of mental health organisation Mind, as well as Hope House Hospice which supports seriously ill kids.
A painting showing Bronson on a beach, called Fantasy Impression, sold for £1,000 while another two, Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum and Self Portrait went for £950 each.
His painting, called Impression of Bedlam, fetched £680.
The artwork had gone under the hammer at an auction in Towcester, Northamptonshire, in 2014 so Bronson could pay for a holiday for his mum.
Bronson had asked for eight pieces to be sold after a reported attack on 12 guards at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, according to auctioneer Jonathan Humbert of JP Humbert Auctioneers.
Humbert said Bronson wanted to make it up to his mum having upset her by getting involved in the incident.
It’s claimed Bronson, a Tottenham Hotspur fan, had gone on the rampage while smeared in butter after arch North London rivals Arsenal lifted the FA Cup.
The paintings belonged to East End gangster Ronnie Kray, who died in 1995, and were among 150 lots from his estate which were being sold by his second wife Kate.
A spokesman for the auction house refused to say at the time who had bought the items but said it had been “a good night’s work” as only two items were left unsold.
Humbert said: “Charles Bronson recently had a rumble with 12 prison guards. In a letter to Kate Kray, he states remorse at upsetting his mother and, accordingly, asked if some of his artwork could be included in the sale so as to generate funds to send his mother on holiday.
“The intimate and personal nature of these never-before seen Kray items and Bronson paintings show a real human side to these larger-than-life personalities and, though they are bound to polarise opinions, the lots, much like the individuals, are far from dull.”
Bronson, was born Michael Gordon Peterson in 1952.
Bronson was first sentenced to seven years in jail over an armed robbery in 1974 – which was extended by nine months after he attacked a fellow prisoner with a glass jug.
He later attempted to strangle Gordon Robinson while at Broadmoor, before causing £250,000 worth of damage when he staged a three-day protest on a rooftop.
The serial criminal was eventually released in 1987, where he changed his name to Charles Bronson on the advice of his bare-knuckle boxing promoter.
But it was not long before he was back in jail, after robbing a jewellery shop in 1988 and sentenced to seven more years inside.
Bronson was released early from his sentence in 1992 – but was back behind bars 53 days later for intent to commit robbery.
After holding three men hostage in his cell, the Luton lad saw another seven years added to his sentence – although this was cut to five on appeal.
Following further incidents, he was finally given a life sentence after kidnapping a prison teacher in 1999, causing destruction to the prison.
The Kray Twins, along with their older brother Charlie, were infamous for running organised crime rackets in London’s East End in the 1950s and 60s.
They were both jailed for life in 1969 for the murders of fellow gangsters George Cornell and Jack “The Hat” McVitie.
