A graduate of Kenyon College and former Air Force jet pilot, Stephen Shoel Wachtel earned a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania for his studies in genetics and immunology. An international-award-winning photographer, Wachtel turned to professional painting in 1989. His work is characterized by mature composition and by the use of vivid color and dynamic brush- and knife-work. Although he is a neo-cubist, he is equally comfortable with conventional portraits and landscapes. His landscapes, portraits and cubist works have been exhibited in one-man shows in and around Memphis and Philadelphia, and many hang in significant private collections, including the Belz and Cooper Collections in Memphis and the Guardsmark Collection in New York. In Memphis, his canvases can be seen at the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, and in several commercial establishments around town. Wachtel retired from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in 2006 and now devotes his time to painting and playing jazz and blues on his saxophone.