Porfirio Salinas, Jr.

Born near Bastrop, Porfirio Salinas became an accomplished painter. He studied the work of Jose Arpa, director of the San Antonio Art School, and he apprenticed with Robert Wood, a prolific landscape painter. Salinas began work as a professional artist in 1930, and was first represented by the art dealer Dewey Bradford in 1939. His pieces have been shown in Laguna Gloria Art Museum, the Museum of Abilene, the Longview Museum and Arts Center, and the Art Center in Waco, and have been collected by political leaders, including Sam Rayburn and Lyndon B. Johnson. He was one of the earliest Mexican-American artists to receive wide attention in Texas. Many of his paintings depict the landscapes of central Texas, with attention to spring wildflowers.