Oldest painter

Alphaeus Philemon Cole (USA, 1876–1988), whose work is in the permanent collections the National Portrait Gallery (UK) and the Brooklyn Museum (USA), actively painted and exhibited his work up to the age of 103. A portraitist, Cole began his studies in the 1890s, with the likes of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac as contemporaries. Cole studied in Paris at the Academie Julian under Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant, and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He was a member of the Salmagundi Art Club, the USA's oldest professional art club. His death was announced in the New York Times – a testament to his influential career.