Cole, Alphaeus Philemon, 1876-1988

Painter, portrait painter; New York, N.Y.

Born in New Jersey, Cole was the son of wood engraver Timothy Cole. After studying under Isaac Craig in Italy, he began studies at the Academie Julian in 1892, under Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. His painting of Dante was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1900. He moved to England and married sculptress Margaret Ward Walmsley in 1903. They moved to the United States in 1911, where Cole joined the Salmagundi Club, 1918, and served as president of the New York Water Color Club from 1931 to 1941. He taught at Cooper Union, 1924-1931, and was elected a National Academician in 1941. A widower in 1962, Cole married Anita Rio, the widow of painter Eugene Higgins.