Cohen’s work—alongside that of other notable Buffalo-based artists—helped form and define the art community in Western New York during the second half of the 20th century.

Cohen exhibited widely, and received many awards and accolades during her artistic career. She has been honored twice with major exhibitions at the Burchfield Penney Art Center: first in 1981, and with a posthumous retrospective in 2007. In 2007, the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo published an illustrated biography,  Adele Cohen—A Life in Art.