PORFIRIO SALINAS (MEXICAN-AMERICAN, 1910-1973) TEXAS LANDSCAPE PAINTING, oil on artist's board, a fine and luminous vernal scene anchored by a lush field erupting in blooms of Bluebonnets. Signed lower left. Housed in an old frame with old San Antonio gallery label verso. Circa 1940-1960. 8 1/2" x 11 1/2" sight, 11 1/2" x 14 1/2" OA.

Provenance: Property of Maurice Derby Leach, Jr., and Virginia Baskett Leach, Lexington, VA.

Catalogue Note: Porfirio Salinas (Mexican-American, 1910-1973) was an important 20th century Texas Impressionist who lived and worked around San Antonio for most of his life. Salinas grew up in a family of poor tenant farmers and received little formal education or formal art training while a young boy; nonetheless, his natural talents, his ability to associate himself with other influential artists, and his ambition to succeed ultimately propelled him to the upper levels of American art within his lifetime. As a teenager working in an art supply store, Salinas met one of those influential figures, the British artist Robert William Wood (1889-1979), and the two soon developed close ties. In 1925 the young Salinas began a period of apprenticeship under the elder Wood, helping to prepare paints and canvases. Wood mentored Salinas in the many aspects of a professional painter’s career, and the two, along with Spanish-born artist, Jose Arpa (1858-1952), often went on sketching excursions in the Hill Country surrounding San Antonio to study and paint the landscape, particularly those scenes which included the stunning wildflower blooms in spring.
Salinas began his professional painting career in 1930, and he eventually developed a reputation as an accomplished landscape painter of the Texas Hill Country. His work was initially collected by individuals associated with San Antonio and Austin. Two of those individuals, Lyndon B. and “Lady Bird” Johnson, purchased a number of works by Salinas over the years, and the couple took many examples of the artist’s work to the White House during Johnson’s tenure as Vice President and as President. In fact, it was in large part President Johnson’s glowing comments to the press in the early 1960’s regarding his collection of Salinas paintings that helped to elevate the artist’s fame to a level not seen before for a Mexican-American painter.
Salinas is held in high regard today for his evocative landscapes, often featuring spring fields covered in dense patches of Texas Bluebonnets. The present work, fresh from a Lexington, Virginia estate is a fine example of the artist’s creative production. In this instance, Salinas’s impressionist style imbues the atmosphere with a luminous quality while the areas of impasto brushwork saturate the countryside with the pastel hues of spring. A gem of a painting by a pioneering Mexican-American figure, the present lot represents a rare opportunity to acquire an exemplary work by an important artist.

Excellent condition. No apparent damage or restoration.