Many people in Florida know about Highwaymen paintings, due to massive localized media attention and published books and articles. But many people outside of the sunshine state have never heard of the group of African American artists, who in the 1950′s, captured on canvas the old Florida of the past–before industry took over and bulldozers plowed the land. These artists grew up in a time when Florida was ripe; the seas were less polluted and palm trees were everywhere, blowing in the balmy breeze off the east coast. The artists were from the Ft. Pierce area, and under direction from Alfred Hair and Harold Newton, two of the most famous Highwaymen artists, they learned the formula for painting landscapes, yet incorporated their own style of fast painting, in order to make money by selling as many works as they could within a day. These artists were racially discriminated against, and could not display their paintings in galleries, so they resourcefully sold their art from their cars. Their art has now become legendary, and the Highwaymen art collecting trend shows no signs of slowing down.
What makes Highwaymen Art popular is the look; many windswept stormy beaches, intense colors, the way the paint was applied to the canvas; which consisted of old masonite from nearby construction sites and shabby-chic type frames; often left unpainted.
Highwaymen Art is recognizable from its frames and old masonite, as well as stormy ocean waves with buoyant palm trees, old Florida swamp with lingering osprey, orange and blue backgrounds, red sunsets–some paintings even made to match the color schemes of the current era home decor. Many Highwaymen were real entrepreneurs, for since they weren’t able to sell art in the galleries, they would go door to door–like a salesman would hock his wares, they would sell their paintings. The art wasn’t only bought by the local businesses, friends or neighbors. Tourists traveling throughout the east coast of Florida often picked up a Florida painting. On a personal note, I remember staying at a motel in Florida as a child and seeing Highwaymen Art on the wall. If I only knew back then how important the works would become, I would have had my mother buy the painting and lug it back to New York on the plane!
The historic significance of Highwaymen Art must be acknowledged as well, for most of the old Florida scenery which inspired the artists is gone, Florida’s expansive land developments having taken their toll on the ecosystem. Now people hang Highwaymen Art on their wall and see Florida as it once was; a place of wild tropical beauty, forever captured by the artists who appreciated their culture and surroundings enough to put oil to “canvas” and let their immense talent flow and breathe life into their naturalistic works.
