William A. Slaughter (Texas, 1923-2003), landscape with bluebonnets and live oak, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left, 1977; with brass plaque reading "To Tom and Lilliebelle Baker NSDA 1977 / From your friends at Dr Pepper Company"

sight: 18 x 24 in., frame: 25 x 31 in.

Provenance: Gift from the Dr. Pepper Company to Tom Baker upon his retirement as Executive Vice President of the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) in 1977; this work hung at the Bakers' summer home at Palmetto Dunes (Hilton Head, South Carolina) until it was passed by family inheritance to the present owner in Abingdon, Virginia

William A. Slaughter was born in San Antonio. His first call was to the ministry and after serving in the Air Force during World War II, he was ordained as a Lutheran pastor. It was during this ministry in Mexico that Slaughter began painting, and then exhibiting at local art and craft shows when he moved to Dallas. Slaughter joined and exhibited with the Artists and Craftsmen's Association of Dallas, and in 1968, he was awarded First Place in landscape painting. In 1973, he was awarded First Place in still life painting. He was mostly self-taught and combined innate ability and persistence to paint his Texas landscapes, which are his enduring legacy today.