The Highwaymen (artists)
Encyclopedia
The Highwaymen, also referred to as the Florida Highwaymen, are a group of 26 named and listed landscape artists who have been called "The Last Great American Art Movement of the 20TH century". This group of self taught and self mentoring African American artists, were able to define themselves against the many odds, racial and cultural barriers of the time in which they painted, and created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings. For over 50 years, The Highwaymen, a loose association of twenty-six African American
artists from Fort Pierce, Florida
, USA, who began painting in the early 1950s and into 1960s, created large numbers of relatively inexpensive landscape paiintings, which were created using construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. As no galleries would accept their works, they sold them in towns and cities and along roadsides throughout Florida often still wet, out of the trunks of their cars. Their success and longevity is remarkable considering they began their career in the racially unsettled and violent racial times of the 50s in Florida, and the social conditions of the Jim Crow South, the stirrings of civil rights movement in Florida was only just beginning.
In 1970 one of the original members of the group, Alred Hair, who was also considered to be the main catalyst and soul of the group was killed. Subsequently some of the group's creative energy and direction was lost, the remaining members created fewer paintings and productivity waned. However they were re-discovered in the mid-1990s by Jim Fitch, a Florida Art Historian, and Jeff Klinkenberg of the St. Petersburg Times wrote the several newspaper articles about the Florida Highwaymen in August 1995.
Since then they have become celebrated for their idyllic landscapes of natural settings of the Floridian landscape. The 26 Florida Highwaymen were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004. Their renown has grown internationally during the 2000s and they have become part of Florida culture and history. The remaining artists in the original group (8 deceased) continue to paint to this day, more than 50 years since they first started to paint, even though most artists are now in their 70s and some nearing their 80s. Over time their style has evolved into more carefully created works and away from the original "fast painting" techniques that enabled them to produce large quanties of paintings in their early years.
Analogies compare the Hudson River School
of the mid 19th Century and Group of Seven (artists)
from Canada in the early 20th century to The Florida Highwaymen Artists. In their respective time these groups, mentored and created works collaboratively. Painting en plein air
style, these groups of artists created expansive landscapes, of untouched and pristine lands, creating scenes of timelessness and raw natural beauty. In many ways the Florida Highwaymen's story is even more compelling and romantic than the other groups, as The Highwaymen had no backing or support and were much more resourceful and creative in both production and sales of their works.
The Florida Highwaymen were influenced by renowned Florida
landscape artist A.E. Backus during the 1950s-80s (although only Alfred Hair was a formal student of Backus). His influence extended through Hair and Harold Newton to the other twenty-four artists in the group. Some in the formal art world have given this group and its followers the name "Indian River School," but they are most well known as The Highwaymen. Not known as "highwaymen" in their heyday, the name was bestowed by Florida art collector and museum curator
, Jim Fitch, in a 1995 article in Antiques and Art Around Florida.
Paintings by the Florida Highwaymen are prized by collectors today, but their story is about much more than art. The name refers to African American artists, mostly from the Fort Pierce area, who painted landscapes and made a living selling them, door to door, to businesses and individuals throughout the state from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. They also were peddled from the trunks of their cars along the eastern coastal roads (A1A
and US 1). Today their 200,000 plus paintings have gathered significant interest and have become quite collectible. At auction
s some of these particular painters' works have been recognized with high prices, notably important older works by the "original" members of the group are considered the most valuable.
s through their sheer determination to succeed as painter
s and not as laborers in citrus groves, their expected social role. The works are also classified as "Outsider Art
", or "Folk Art". They honed techniques to rapidly produce their paintings and developed strategies to sell and market their artwork outside of the formal world of art galleries and exhibitions
. Their story is one of African Americans who carved out unique economic opportunities despite the social conditions of the Jim Crow
South.
In 2000, twenty-six artists were identified as Highwaymen. These artists were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004 as the Highwaymen and include: Curtis Arnett, Hezekiah Baker, Al “Blood” Black, brothers Ellis and George Buckner, Robert Butler, Mary Ann Carroll (the only woman in the group), brothers Johnny and Willie Daniels, Rodney Demps, James Gibson, Alfred Hair, Isaac Knight, Robert Lewis, John Maynor, Roy McLendon, Alfonso “Pancho” Moran, brothers Sam, Lemuel and Harold Newton
, Willie Reagan, Livingston “Castro” Roberts, Cornell “Pete” Smith, Charles Walker, Sylvester Wells, and Charles “Chico” Wheeler.
Of these twenty six, nine are considered "original" (or the earliest) Highwaymen: Harold Newton
, Alfred Hair, Roy McLendon, James Gibson, Livingston Roberts, Mary Ann Carroll, Sam Newton, Willie Daniels, and Al Black.
In 2008, an hour-long PBS-TV
documentary film called “The Highwaymen: Florida’s Outsider Artist” produced by Geoff Cook and written by father and son team Jack and John Hambrick
(both veteran TV news journalists) of Everglades Productions included interviews with a portion of the artists and more than 100 original Highwaymen paintings.
As of May 25, 2009, eight are deceased, both Buckners, Hair, Harold Newton, A.Moran, L.Roberts, H. Baker and most recently, Johnnie Daniels. Most of the living artists are active and aggressively marketing their newer works.
Most of the paintings are signed, but there are a number of paintings that weren't, there are a number of paintings that are sold as "Highwaymen Style" that emulate the iconic landscapes of the Highwaymen artists, but are indeed just mere reproductions with little real value. Older paintings from the 1950s and early 60s era are more sought after by collectors.
Florida House, #1 Second St. N.E. Washington D.C. 20002. Florida House serves as the goodwill embassy for Floridians in our Nation's Capital, on Capitol Hill in a historic 1891 restored house. Mondays through Fridays 9 am to 4 pm. No Admission charge. Paintings from the Tony Hayton Florida Highwaymen collection.
Tampa, Florida at the Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida, on the second level of the main atrium and entrance. The paintings are vintage works by Alfred Hair, Sam Newton, James Gibson and Harold Newton. Emphasizing the "timeless" nature of the Florida Highwaymen works and the environmental and wetlands conservation message they also represent. Paintings from the private collection of Tony Hayton, Ottawa.
In Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Regional History Centre, 65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida Through January 2, 2011 "Against All Odds: The Art of the Highwaymen" paintings by all 26 artists together in one exhibit for the first time. Paintings from the private collection of Geoff and Patti Cook Orlando, Florida
Florida's capital, Tallahassee, houses over twenty original Highwaymen paintings on view to the public. Located at the Museum of Florida History these paintings are part of their permanent collection and most are donated by the museum's endowment fund, Museums of Florida History Foundation. The Museum of Florida History currently has paintings by twenty-three of the original twenty-six artists. They hope to complete the collection with artworks by the three remaining original artists.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
artists from Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
, USA, who began painting in the early 1950s and into 1960s, created large numbers of relatively inexpensive landscape paiintings, which were created using construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. As no galleries would accept their works, they sold them in towns and cities and along roadsides throughout Florida often still wet, out of the trunks of their cars. Their success and longevity is remarkable considering they began their career in the racially unsettled and violent racial times of the 50s in Florida, and the social conditions of the Jim Crow South, the stirrings of civil rights movement in Florida was only just beginning.
In 1970 one of the original members of the group, Alred Hair, who was also considered to be the main catalyst and soul of the group was killed. Subsequently some of the group's creative energy and direction was lost, the remaining members created fewer paintings and productivity waned. However they were re-discovered in the mid-1990s by Jim Fitch, a Florida Art Historian, and Jeff Klinkenberg of the St. Petersburg Times wrote the several newspaper articles about the Florida Highwaymen in August 1995.
Since then they have become celebrated for their idyllic landscapes of natural settings of the Floridian landscape. The 26 Florida Highwaymen were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004. Their renown has grown internationally during the 2000s and they have become part of Florida culture and history. The remaining artists in the original group (8 deceased) continue to paint to this day, more than 50 years since they first started to paint, even though most artists are now in their 70s and some nearing their 80s. Over time their style has evolved into more carefully created works and away from the original "fast painting" techniques that enabled them to produce large quanties of paintings in their early years.
Analogies compare the Hudson River School
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
of the mid 19th Century and Group of Seven (artists)
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
from Canada in the early 20th century to The Florida Highwaymen Artists. In their respective time these groups, mentored and created works collaboratively. Painting en plein air
En plein air
En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
style, these groups of artists created expansive landscapes, of untouched and pristine lands, creating scenes of timelessness and raw natural beauty. In many ways the Florida Highwaymen's story is even more compelling and romantic than the other groups, as The Highwaymen had no backing or support and were much more resourceful and creative in both production and sales of their works.
History
In the 50s and 60s, it was impossible to find galleries interested in selling artworks by a group of unknown, self-taught African Americans. Instead they sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s by Jim Fitch, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history.The Florida Highwaymen were influenced by renowned Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
landscape artist A.E. Backus during the 1950s-80s (although only Alfred Hair was a formal student of Backus). His influence extended through Hair and Harold Newton to the other twenty-four artists in the group. Some in the formal art world have given this group and its followers the name "Indian River School," but they are most well known as The Highwaymen. Not known as "highwaymen" in their heyday, the name was bestowed by Florida art collector and museum curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
, Jim Fitch, in a 1995 article in Antiques and Art Around Florida.
Style
The Highwaymen were mostly self-taught painters, who mentored each other. Excluded from the traditional world of art shows and galleries, the Highwaymen painted on inexpensive Upson board or masonite and framed their paintings with crown molding (brushed with gold or silver paint to "antique" them). They packed these paintings into the trunks of their cars and sold them door-to-door throughout the south-eastern coast of Florida. Sometimes the paintings were stacked before the oil paint was dry. One can make out the imprint of the base of the next frame on a few of the paintings.Paintings by the Florida Highwaymen are prized by collectors today, but their story is about much more than art. The name refers to African American artists, mostly from the Fort Pierce area, who painted landscapes and made a living selling them, door to door, to businesses and individuals throughout the state from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. They also were peddled from the trunks of their cars along the eastern coastal roads (A1A
Florida State Road A1A
State Road A1A is a Florida State Road that runs mostly along the Atlantic Ocean, with sections from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Callahan, just south of Georgia. It is the main road through most oceanfront towns. SR A1A is designated the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Highway, a...
and US 1). Today their 200,000 plus paintings have gathered significant interest and have become quite collectible. At auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
s some of these particular painters' works have been recognized with high prices, notably important older works by the "original" members of the group are considered the most valuable.
Membership
It was not a formal movement and represented no “official” group, yet The Highwaymen thrived as artists and entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s through their sheer determination to succeed as painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s and not as laborers in citrus groves, their expected social role. The works are also classified as "Outsider Art
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
", or "Folk Art". They honed techniques to rapidly produce their paintings and developed strategies to sell and market their artwork outside of the formal world of art galleries and exhibitions
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
. Their story is one of African Americans who carved out unique economic opportunities despite the social conditions of the Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
South.
In 2000, twenty-six artists were identified as Highwaymen. These artists were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004 as the Highwaymen and include: Curtis Arnett, Hezekiah Baker, Al “Blood” Black, brothers Ellis and George Buckner, Robert Butler, Mary Ann Carroll (the only woman in the group), brothers Johnny and Willie Daniels, Rodney Demps, James Gibson, Alfred Hair, Isaac Knight, Robert Lewis, John Maynor, Roy McLendon, Alfonso “Pancho” Moran, brothers Sam, Lemuel and Harold Newton
Harold Newton
Harold Newton was a central and founding member of the loose-knit group of African American artists known as the Florida Highwaymen. Although Newton and the other Highwaymen were not part of an organized school, all were influenced by the work of Florida landscape artist A.E. Backus and shared a...
, Willie Reagan, Livingston “Castro” Roberts, Cornell “Pete” Smith, Charles Walker, Sylvester Wells, and Charles “Chico” Wheeler.
Of these twenty six, nine are considered "original" (or the earliest) Highwaymen: Harold Newton
Harold Newton
Harold Newton was a central and founding member of the loose-knit group of African American artists known as the Florida Highwaymen. Although Newton and the other Highwaymen were not part of an organized school, all were influenced by the work of Florida landscape artist A.E. Backus and shared a...
, Alfred Hair, Roy McLendon, James Gibson, Livingston Roberts, Mary Ann Carroll, Sam Newton, Willie Daniels, and Al Black.
In 2008, an hour-long PBS-TV
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary film called “The Highwaymen: Florida’s Outsider Artist” produced by Geoff Cook and written by father and son team Jack and John Hambrick
John Hambrick
John Hambrick is an American broadcast journalist, reporter, actor, and voice over announcer.-Broadcast journalist:Hambrick began his television career in 1963, at a station in Abilene, Texas. By 1967 he was working at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati when he was recruited by its sister station in...
(both veteran TV news journalists) of Everglades Productions included interviews with a portion of the artists and more than 100 original Highwaymen paintings.
As of May 25, 2009, eight are deceased, both Buckners, Hair, Harold Newton, A.Moran, L.Roberts, H. Baker and most recently, Johnnie Daniels. Most of the living artists are active and aggressively marketing their newer works.
Most of the paintings are signed, but there are a number of paintings that weren't, there are a number of paintings that are sold as "Highwaymen Style" that emulate the iconic landscapes of the Highwaymen artists, but are indeed just mere reproductions with little real value. Older paintings from the 1950s and early 60s era are more sought after by collectors.
Highwaymen Exhibits
Washington, D.C. An ongoing exhibit of vintage paintings by the core artists of the group. Included in the exhibit are paintings by Alfred Hair, Harold Newton, Roy McLendon Sr., Mary Ann Carroll, James Gibson, Livingston Roberts, Willie Daniels, Ellis Buckner, George Buckner, Sam Newton and Al Black. Entitled " The Florida Highwaymen: A Disappearing Landscape ". The exhibit highlights not only the works and the unique historical and cultural significance of the Florida Highwaymen, but also their important depiction of the natural beauty of the endangered wetlands environment.Florida House, #1 Second St. N.E. Washington D.C. 20002. Florida House serves as the goodwill embassy for Floridians in our Nation's Capital, on Capitol Hill in a historic 1891 restored house. Mondays through Fridays 9 am to 4 pm. No Admission charge. Paintings from the Tony Hayton Florida Highwaymen collection.
Tampa, Florida at the Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida, on the second level of the main atrium and entrance. The paintings are vintage works by Alfred Hair, Sam Newton, James Gibson and Harold Newton. Emphasizing the "timeless" nature of the Florida Highwaymen works and the environmental and wetlands conservation message they also represent. Paintings from the private collection of Tony Hayton, Ottawa.
In Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Regional History Centre, 65 East Central Boulevard, Orlando, Florida Through January 2, 2011 "Against All Odds: The Art of the Highwaymen" paintings by all 26 artists together in one exhibit for the first time. Paintings from the private collection of Geoff and Patti Cook Orlando, Florida
Florida's capital, Tallahassee, houses over twenty original Highwaymen paintings on view to the public. Located at the Museum of Florida History these paintings are part of their permanent collection and most are donated by the museum's endowment fund, Museums of Florida History Foundation. The Museum of Florida History currently has paintings by twenty-three of the original twenty-six artists. They hope to complete the collection with artworks by the three remaining original artists.
See also
- African American artAfrican American artAfrican American art is a broad term describing the visual arts of the American black community . Influenced by various cultural traditions, including those of Africa, Europe and the Americas, traditional African American art forms include the range of plastic arts, from basket weaving, pottery,...
- A. E. BackusA. E. BackusAlbert Ernest "Bean" Backus was an American artist famous for his vivid Florida landscapes.-Early influences:...
- Robert Butler (Florida Highwaymen Artist)
External links
- FloridaHighwaymen.com History of the Highwaymen, exhibits, latest news
- St.Petersburg Times article by Jeff Klinkenberg Original Highwaymen Article by Jeff Klinkenberg St.Petersburg Times
- Florida House Washington D.C. Highwaymen Exhibit Highwaymen Exhibit in Washington D.C.
- Highwaymen Artsit LLC
- HighwaymenLLC@twitter Follow Highwaymen LLC on twitter.com
- Research Robert Butler, AskArt.Com-The Artists Bluebook-Worldwide Edition!
- Elissa Rudolph, thesis about the history of the Highwaymen including interviews with their children.
- The Highwaymen, Legends of the Road, 2008 PBS documentary
- Highwaymen induction into Florida Artists Hall of Fame (2004)
- Highwaymen-Buy-Sell-Trade
- the Highwaymen on "The Arts Connection" by WMFE-TV
- Traveling exhibition at The Orange County History Center, Florida
- Florida Highwaymen Art and Paintings Resource