(1940-2000)
Larry Bell studied art at the Albright Art School 1956-59 and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art education from Buffalo State College in 1964 and 1969 respectively. Bell was an art educator in Niagara Falls from 1964 to 1995, when he retired. He had taught at LaSalle Middle School, LaSalle High School (where he was chairman of the fine arts department), and the 79th Street School. Larry and his twin brother, Jerry, co-directed Gallery West, one of the first artist-run galleries in Buffalo. President of the Buffalo Society of Artists in 1977, 1983, and 1987, Bell exhibited frequently and won many awards. Outside of Western New York, his work was collected in Minneapolis, Washington, DC, and in Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany and Italy.