Larry Zabel was born in Deer Creek, Minnesota and as a boy spent his time drawing and carving. For years, the well-known and well-respected artist, who passed away in 2012, lived and worked on his ranch in McAllister, Montana, just 70 miles from Yellowstone. Zabel started his career by earning a degree in art from Long Beach State, then spent a year studying art at Mexico City College. He then worked in commercial art and began documenting activities at the Naval Weapons Center in California.

  In 1988, Larry and his wife Sharon moved to Montana. “Montana has the things that I fantasize about… cowboys, Indians, and grizzly bears”, says Zabel. At first, Zabel focused on cowboys and Indians as his subject, but later painted a wide variety of wildlife found in Montana. Larry Zabel’s art, prints and posters earned him numerous awards including Best Painting at the Charlie Russel Auction Show and Artist of the Year at the Southern Maryland Wildlife Festival.

  He was chosen as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and has shown his art, prints and posters in such prestigious places as the Salmagundi Club, the Hollyhock House, the White House, the Smithsonian, the Pentagon, and the office of Senator Conrad Burns in Washington D.C.