Figurative artist Anthony Eyton, a Brixton resident for seven decades and an army veteran between 1942 and 1947, has added a new facet to his long career: at 103 years old, he regularly posts on Instagram with the help of his daughter Sarah. His passion for drawing was born at age six, when he sketched a duck and a worm in his schoolbook. Five of his paintings arrived in time to be framed and exhibited, something the Londoner himself describes as a miracle given his age.
From brushes to scroll: the digital logistics of a centenarian nonagenarian 🎨
Eyton's strategy does not rely on complex algorithms or marketing teams. His daughter Sarah manages the Instagram account, digitizing works and posting images of the creative process. The artist paints in his Brixton studio, and Sarah handles selection, tagging, and interaction with followers. The result is a constant flow of content that connects a global audience with the work of a painter who began his career before the internet existed. The recent exhibition, with five paintings sent and hung on time, functioned as a technical and logistical milestone for someone of his age.
The miracle of making it on time, or how to defy deadlines at 103 years old ⏳
Eyton insists it is a miracle that his five paintings arrived in time for the exhibition. Any other 103-year-old artist would likely have blamed the mail, the rain, or a lack of coffee. But he, who has already seen two world wars and the invention of the smartphone, simply solved it with family help. The moral: if a centenarian painter can meet deadlines, perhaps the rest of us mortals should stop complaining about delivery times. Or at least, ask our children for help.