L.B. Porter

Well-known Southwestern artist L.B. Porter died May 18, 2021. Born Lawrence Benjamin Porter on March 3, 1929 in Friona, Texas, L.B. moved as a child with his family to a farm between Fabens and Clint, Texas. During school terms, he, his siblings, and their mother lived in a town home in El Paso, Texas. L.B. attended the Texas College of Mines (now the University of Texas at El Paso) and earned Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts in Fine Arts degrees from New Mexico State University. He also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the London Institute of Applied Sciences in England.

L.B. began painting almost as soon as he could hold a brush, working in oil, watercolor, egg tempera, and acrylic. A self-proclaimed ultra realist, he eventually focused on painting the land and people of the Southwest in acrylic. A true pioneer in the Southwestern art scene, L.B. became renowned for introducing female nudes into traditional Southwestern landscapes. He won numerous honors and awards, including Best in Show in several exhibitions. He was accepted as a signature artist in Knickerbocker Artists of America, received national honors in the Campbell Soup Company competition, and was inducted into the El Paso International Museum of Art in 1997. His works are in museums and private collections across the United States and in countries including Canada, England, and Mexico.

L.B. was preceded in death by his parents, Carter Clayton Porter and Lilly Katherine Patching Porter of El Paso; older brother Alfred Ernest Porter, Sr. of Socorro, New Mexico; younger brother Jerry Porter of Albuquerque, New Mexico; uncle William Asa Porter of El Paso; cousins Winifred Porter Price Marshal of El Paso and William Carlisle “Wild Bill” Porter of Deming, New Mexico; and niece Denise Harriet Porter of Socorro. He is survived by his children - son Carter Burchell Porter and his wife, Christie Arndt Porter, of Farmersville, Texas, and daughter Katherine Unity Porter and her husband, James William Astholz, of Phoenix, Arizona - and their mother, Duffy Burchell Porter, formerly of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and now of Farmersville; sister-in-law Marianne Harriet Porter of Socorro; nephews William Howard Porter and his wife Marilyn Pack Porter of Granbury, Texas, James Henry Porter and his wife Tina Porter of Princeton, Indiana, Alfred Ernest Porter, Jr. and his wife Cherri Porter of Albuquerque, and Randel Carter Porter of Socorro.

L.B.’s ashes will be strewn by family members in a private celebration of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate to your local public school, college, or university fine arts program.