Emerson Bell

Emerson Bell was a self-taught / informally trained African-American sculptor, painter, and jazz musician from South Baton Rouge. He studied with sculptors including Frank Hayden (who had trained under Ivan Meštrović) and John Payne. He was the first National Endowment for the Arts artist-in-residence in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system and created the large public outdoor work Unity and Destiny of Children (1977) in BREC Expressway Park under the I-10/I-110 interchange. His work is held in collections including the LSU Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.