East Dallas House in Snow

The delicate medium of pastel is suited to this hazy winter scene of what would have been a typical wood-frame house in Dallas in the early 20th century.

Born in rural Kentucky, John Breckinridge Martin apparently had not seen a town until he moved at age seventeen to Sherman, Texas, to become a cowboy. After subsequent stints in Fort Worth and Dallas in the 1880s, Martin began to teach himself how to draw and paint. Largely self-taught, he exhibited in Dallas throughout the early 20th century.