Sheldon Cotler was born in New York City. He received his Baccalaureate from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. There, he was greatly influenced by painters John Ferren, Robert Gwathmey, Morris Cantor, and Victor Kandel who encouraged him to pursue a life in painting. But after traveling in Europe and fearing that he would not be able to support himself or his family, he prudently decided to pursue a career in design and to continue painting as an avocation. His advancement in graphic design was quick. Only four years into his young career, he was appointed Promotional Art Director for Time magazine and several years after that he earned the highly regarded position as Design Director for Time-Life Books worldwide. He also served as editor on various books on photography and was privileged to work with great artists and photographers including Marcel Duchamp and, Jacques Henri Lartigue. Cotler has earned numerous awards for print and was widely credited with stimulating the re-birth and increased circulation of magazines he redesigned including Life, Fortune, Science Digest and Parents. His work has appeared in many international design books and magazines.
After his extensive career in design at Time-Life and as president of his own design firm, he decided to return to his original aspiration --- to paint. It wasn't until the past few years, painting full time, that he felt that he had become a painter again. He worked with other painters in workshops and studios to refresh his skills. During the past few years, he has participated in-group shows in The Atlantic Gallery in New York and in The Port of Call Gallery in Warwick, New York. His work is in several private collections.