Alphonse Leon Noel was born in Paris on February 7, 1807. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts as well as with with artists Antoine-Jean Gros and Louis Hersent.

In 1827 Noel’s first lithograph was published and he quit painting to work as a lithographer, creating over 600 portraits in a print oeuvre of over 1000 images between 1827 and 1866. His early work was loose and painterly but by 1839 it had become more meticulous and traditional. His portraits documented the royalty and personalities of the time. Noel was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1855.

Alphonse Leon Noel died in Paris on January 6, 1884.