He was born in Kosyno (now Berehovo district, Transcarpathian region). Béla Horthy is a lawyer by education, but he was extremely fond of art. He studied drawing and painting in Munich and Nagybánya. After Munich, Béla Horthy went to Paris, where he studied at the Julian Academy. Later he returned and actively worked with his colleagues in Nagybánya. There he worked within 1897-1898, and in 1901. He was engaged in politics – he was a member of the Hungarian Parliament (1905 - 1910), represented the Independence Party. At the same time, he never ceased painting, remained faithful to Simon Hollósy to the end, even despite his work associated with social and political activities.
In 1892, the artist exhibited his own works in the Glaspalas. In 1891, the artist’s exhibition was held in Budapest, then in Nagybánya. Béla Horthy participated in collective exhibitions at the National Salon of Budapest (1916) and at the Ernst Museum (1921). In 1924, the collective exhibition of representatives of the art colony of Nagybánya presented several works by Béla Horthy.
In painting, the artist used a realistic manner. His works are mainly genre compositions, the artist depicts the surrounding life of people, nobles, and the military. The author prefers pastel colours. In individual works, he successfully depicts the atmosphere of the image by the game of light and shadow. It is known that, in addition to painting, he was engaged in sculpture.
The artist's paintings are in museums and private collections.
Béla Horthy died in Budapest on 10 February 1943 at the age of 74.