Highly regarded in the artistic community, his art was exhibited in one-man showings at the Salon de Jean Cocteau, Paris, Jacques Seligmann & Company, New York, and the Landau Galleries, Los Angeles.

In 1956 Kraft illustrated his longtime friend Lon Amick's widely acclaimed book The Divine Journey: A Guide to Spiritual Understanding.

The sculpture portrays three golden, stylized penguins with their flippers spread standing around a silver ball, facing inwards.

Later that year, he released a limited-edition book titled "The Sounds of Fury," which included color reproductions, black-and-white sketches and stories about some of the patients.

Kraft spent most of his life in Kansas City and continued to make art, even during his long bout with cancer.

Since his death Kraft's legacy has continued to play a large role in the life of artists, especially those in Kansas City.

In 2007 Betty Brand established the "Arthur Kraft Memorial Scholarship for the Visual Arts" with the Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City).