Prominent Figures

Larry V. Zabel 01/19/1930 - 9/11/2012

A prolific artist renowned for painting the sceneries of Montana and the stylized as a “western ‘cowboy’ artist.” Larry’s first career was under the navy serving for three years before furthering his education at U.C. Santa Barbara, the University of the Americas in Mexico City, and finally graduating from Long Beach State. From there he returned to Navy service working in a Civil Service position at China Lake as Director of Technical Information while continuing to paint. He was even sent to Vietnam several times to “film the use of naval weapons and to gain refence material to produce a series of combat art painting for the Navy, which can be seen at the Naval Archives Center in Washington D.C.” After 20 years of remarkable service, he retired to Montana where he continued his impressive artistry painting the local Great Plains scenery. The museum hosts many original printings of Zabel’s as well as offering reproductions for purchase. Further information can be found in his Obituary below or the Department of Defense’s short film “A Point in Time (1968)” which recounts his Vietnam service.