Richard Cole was born in Wimbledon in 1942, the son of an ecclesiastical woodcarver. He studied painting at Wimbledon School of Art. After graduating, he taught for five years before his career took off as a caricaturist, political cartoonist and reportage artist.

He has produced profiles and political cartoons for The Times (1973-87) daily TV caricatures for The Daily Express (1978-80), caricatures and illustrations for the books pages of The Daily Telegraph (1988-91) and editorial and political cartoons for The Sunday Times (1973–95 ). Since 1995 he has also drawn for The Sunday Telegraph ( 1995-2001), The Guardian and The Independent.

Other work has included illustrations for BBC’s Tonight, Newsnight, Panorama and Channel 4 News. In addition he was the European contract artist for CBS News, covering debates in the House of Commons and high profile trials such as that of the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie in Lyon. In 2004 he was the sole artist chosen to cover the courts martial of the American soldiers prosecuted for torture at Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad, Iraq. He now divides his time between his studios in France and London, continues to illustrate village life and still finds time to pursue his love of jazz.

Biography courtesy of the artist’s website.