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Raised in Kentucky, Bela Martin found himself in North Carolina after an impulsive trip with his high school classmate. He ended up staying at Black Mountain College for five years, even though he had been offered football scholarships at other colleges. He took drawing and art classes with Josef Albers, who perhaps exerted the most influence on Martin’s painting style. He also took part in drama productions and contributed to the creative writing journal. Though Martin was a pilot during WWII and until his retirement in 1976, the letters he sent, now archived in BMC’s collection, speak to his attachment to the community he left in North Carolina.

Bela Martin’s artistic career seems to have been limited to his time as an attendee of Black Mountain College. Nonetheless, his life and work are representative of many of the students who flocked to the school for its alluring creative environment.