Robert Lenkiewicz was born in 1941 of Jewish parents who were refugees settled in England. His formative years were spent in a small hotel in Kilburn, London where his parents supervised the care of a rather unusual clientele of elderly and frequently disturbed patrons. He attributes his precocious interest in both art and philosophy to his experiences in this bizarre but rich environment, where he was "iniated into the business of living and an early awareness of death". His obsession with painting was evident at the age of 9 years when he produced pictures using brushes made from his own hair.

Robert Lenkiewicz went on to study at Saint Martin's School of Art and subsequently at the Royal Academy Schools. Then following a period of teaching in London he moved to the south west of England eventually settling into his present spacious studio on Plymouth's Barbican.

He is a painter who works essentially in an academic fashion, while at the same time extending visual image, linking it closely with sociological, philosophical and aesthetic issues.

His primary interest is one of attempting to define the nature of obsessive and fanatical behaviour. his ultimate aim is the provocation of thought.