"A life time of hunting, fishing, conservation work and nature study has provided me with a wealth of outdoor experiences and images. My intent as an artist is to share these with others."
Larry then served as a combat infantryman in South Vietnam where, among other honors, he earned the Bronze Star of Valor. Even when in Southeast Asia, he never lost his fascination with the natural world. While acting as squad point man he collected tropical butterflies with a devise fashioned from a military-issue mosquito head net and stiff jungle vines. Each new species was carefully folded in toilet paper, stored in a discarded grenade canister, and shipped back to Iowa. The collection, along with other Vietnam mementos, remains on display at his parent’s home.
Upon returning from Vietnam, Larry studied science education and museum techniques, earning a masters degree at the University of Iowa in 1972. For the next 18 years, he taught science at the junior and senior high levels in Ankeny, Iowa. Spreading his love of nature to teen-age students was a major goal during his teaching career. Larry was project oriented and believed in hands-on teaching methods in his classroom, which was full of plant and animal specimens. From establishing a school prairie to teaching students the art of taxidermy, his goal was to encourage respect for nature and love of the outdoors. His dedication to teaching is evident by his being nominated twice for Teacher of the Year.
The beginning of Larry Zach’s career as a professional wildlife artist can be traced to 1983 when his painting of a wood duck pair was selected as winner of the Iowa Duck Stamp contest. In 1987, he captured the ‘grand slam’ of the Iowa art world by being simultaneously selected as Artist of the Year by Iowa Ducks Unlimited, Iowa Pheasants Forever, and the Iowa Wild Turkey Federation. You can view a complete list of Awards and Honors.
Larry’s prints are extremely collectible. November Frost, a whitetail painting, was released in 1989 at a price of $80 each. Today, the same print sells for $1800 to $2500. By 1992, Larry was selected as one
of the ‘Top 20 Most Popular Artists’ in the nation and Broken Solitude-Whitetail was picked as one of the ‘Top Most Popular Prints’ by U.S. Art magazine. Then, in 1995, Larry was once again selected as one of the ‘Top 10 Hottest New Artists’ in the nation by Informart magazine. The National Wildlife Turkey Federation chose Larry as ‘Artist of the Year’ in 1997, for which he designed the 1997 National Turkey Stamp and Print. The state of Iowa selected Larry to design a series of three Habitat Stamp prints for 1997,1998,and 1999. During those same three years Larry released an extremely popular series of prints, called the Old Rivals series. Old Rivals I, Old Rivals II, and Old Rivals III, which depict old farm scenes, are full of nostalgia and rivalries the mesmerize collectors. Each one includes a pair of big whitetail bucks that actually existed and lived in close range to each other. The three Old Rivals prints were all immediate sell-outs.
Larry Zach’s attention to detail, anatomical accuracy, and the collect-ability of his prints has resulted in his ever-growing popularity among art collectors across the nation.
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Foggy Morning Series
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Rivals' Series |
'Big Buck' Series
| Game Bird Prints
| Conservation Stamp Series
Proud to Be an American
| Songbird Prints
| Africa Collection
| Big Game Prints
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