In her 2001 book Feather and Brush, a historical survey of Australian bird painting, Penny Olsen says:
”Naturalist, artist and writer, Peter Slater could be said to be the most modern equivalent of Neville Cayley Jr. Both have published enormously successful field guides to Australian birds, reprinted many times, and both have written on and illustrated butterflies."[3]
"To knowledgeable critics, Slater is now a more accomplished artist than his predecessor. However, this was not yet evident in his early artwork, which includes the plates in Australian Flycatchers and their Allies, among the first of a new wave of bird identification books. More than any of his contemporaries, he has developed his art in the public eye, chronicled in the many publications containing his work. His rare but successful exhibitions serve to mark stages in his progress and delineate the beginning of new phases in his work. Since 1964, he has illustrated with photographs or paintings, an impressive 30 or more books on birds, and reckons to have painted every Australian bird no less than four times."[3]
Publications
Books authored or coauthored by Slater, or those featuring his illustrations, include:
1959 – Wildflowers of Western Australia. (With Eric Lindgren). West Australian Newspapers Ltd: Perth.
1964 – Western Australian Birds. BP Refinery: Kwinana.
1966 – Wildlife of Western Australia. (With Eric Lindgren). West Australian Newspapers Ltd: Perth. ISBN0-949864-01-3
1968 – Birds of Australia. (With Stanley Breeden). Angus & Robertson: Sydney.
1968 – The Hidden Face of Australia. (With Richard Woldendorp). Thomas Nelson: Melbourne.
1970 – An Eagle for Pidgin. (Author: Pat Slater). Jacaranda Press. ISBN0-7016-1684-9