Arushi Bhatnagar of India holds the record for the world’s youngest artist, having had her first exhibition at 11 months old and selling her first painting for $60 in 2003.
Ace-Liam Ankrah, a toddler from Ghana, has recently set the Guinness World Record for the youngest male artist. To achieve this, Ace-Liam exhibited and sold paintings. His mother, Chantelle Kukua Eghan, an artist and founder of Arts and Cocktails Studio in Accra, Ghana, mentioned that while becoming a world record holder has been a significant achievement, it hasn’t changed their lives dramatically. She hopes it will inspire other parents to explore and develop their children’s creative talents.
Eghan recounted that the journey began when her son, then just 6 months old, accidentally discovered her acrylic paints. To keep him occupied while she worked on her own art, Eghan spread a canvas on the floor and added some paint. As Ace-Liam crawled across it, he unintentionally created his first piece, titled “The Crawl.”
Since then, with encouragement from his mother, Ace-Liam has continued to paint.
Eghan applied for the Guinness World Record in June last year. By November, she was informed that to break the record, her son would need to exhibit and sell paintings.
She organized Ace-Liam’s first exhibition at the Museum of Science and Technology in Accra in January. Nine out of ten of his paintings were sold, though Eghan did not disclose the sale prices.
Guinness World Records later confirmed the achievement, announcing that at “1 year and 152 days old, Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah from Ghana is the world’s youngest male artist.”
The organization did not immediately respond to an Associated Press inquiry about the previous record holder.
The record for the youngest artist overall is held by Arushi Bhatnagar from India, who had her first exhibition at 11 months old and sold her first painting for $60 in 2003.
Now nearly 2 years old, Ace-Liam continues to enjoy painting. He often joins his mother at her studio, where a special corner has been set up for him. He sometimes works on a canvas for just five minutes at a time, revisiting it over days or weeks. Recently, he spent almost an hour focused on his painting, using green, yellow, and blue oil colors and blending them with his fingers.
Eghan mentioned that becoming a world record holder has not significantly changed their lives. She plans to keep “The Crawl” as a family memento rather than selling it. Eghan hopes that the attention surrounding her son’s achievement will inspire other parents to discover and support their children’s talents.
“He is painting, growing, and playing throughout the process,” Eghan said.
