William A. Slaughter 1923-2003 You might have have seen the work of Porfirio Salinas and Robert William Wood, landscape artists whose paintings are known for their Texas Blue Bonnets, but have you seen the work of William A. Slaughter? These artists are the best of the West when it comes to Blue Bonnet Paintings, the state flower of Texas. I believe Slaughter's work is undervalued, and once discovered, watch out!
Porfirio Salinas was born in Texas in 1910 and died in San Antonio Texas in 1973. He is best know for his Texas landscapes. He became friends with the next artist we will discuss Robert William Wood, and as the story goes, Wood would pay Salinas five dollars a painting to paint the blue bonnets on his canvases because he hated to paint them so much. The top auction record to date for a Salinas painting sold for $74,750 in October, 2007 at David Dike Auction. If you want to look it up for yourself, it was Lot 152. I would think that in today's market you might expect one of his better paintings to sell for twice that.
I haven't personally seen prints of Salinas paintings, but our next artist, Robert W. Wood, 1889-1979 may be better known for prints of his paintings than his actual paintings. I've seen prints of his work on calendars, place mats, wall hangings and even advertisements. Wood is known to be both a California and Texas artist. I once bought, if my memory serves me well, seven of his original paintings for $7,500 and sold the largest of them for $6,250 at Treadway Auction in September of 2002. This was a large painting, and I wish I still had it today. The total of five paintings that I sold brought in over $15,000, doubling my money, and the other two remain on my wall and are listed for in our gallery. The top price for one of Wood's paintings, according to auction records, was $45,410 through Heritage Auction Galleries in January of 2006. But don't expect to buy his better works for that price today.
Now for the youngster of the group, William A. Slaughter, born in San Antonio in 1923-2003. I'm sure he made the acquaintance of both Salinas and Wood . I believe, as time passes, Slaughter's work may become more valuable than the other two. I was fortunate to acquire one of his large paintings and have enjoyed it for many years. While my wife says she hopes it never sells, I have currently listed it in our 31 Gallery. I am continually looking to upgrade my personal collection, and the Slaughter painting is part of my personal collection. I can't upgrade my collection if I keep everything I buy. Click here to see this painting in more detail.
The great thing about being in this business is that you get to own and enjoy works produced by some of the greatest artists ever to inhabit this earth - possessed with talent that could only have come from God. I enjoy them while they are in my possession, and then I pass them on to others to enjoy. After all, we take nothing with us when we depart this earth.
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Mr. Lambert, do you know if there is anyway to tell if a painting is authentic? A friend has one signed by Robt. Wood and was curious if it was an original. Thank you.
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