Lammert van der Tonge was a son of the Jewish diamond sharpener and started drawing at an early age, but, according to his father's wishes, he followed in his footsteps as a diamond cutter. But he preferred to become a painter.

He learned the painting trade from Eduard Frankfort. After the death of his father, he studied at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam where he was taught by August Allebé and Nicolaas van der Waay. Lammert van der Tonge lived and worked in Amsterdam until he traveled throughout the Netherlands to paint. His subjects were peasant interiors, landscapes and portraits. Later in his career he started painting flower still lifes. From around 1902 Van der Tonge settled in Laren, where his paintings were well marketed, and became a member of the Club De Tien. In 1913, together with Ferdinand Hart Nibbrig and Willy Sluiter, among others, he was one of the founders of the annual exhibitions at the hotel/art hall Hamdorff.

He was a member of the Artists' Association Sint Lucas and Arti et Amicitiae. From 1899 onwards he took part in exhibitions at home and abroad, including various exhibitions of Living Masters and Saint Luke and the 1913 World Exhibition in Ghent. He received an honorable mention in Santiago (1910) and a silver medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco (1915). In 1915 he had a solo exhibition in the Dordrechts Museum.