Florida Highwaymen: Local Art Makes Art History

Related Cities & Topics:

View Full Size

James Gibson (American, n.d.), Landscape, oil on Upson board, 24 x 48 in.

Photo Credit: Collection of Gary and Teresa Monroe

View Full Size

Mary Ann Carroll (American, n.d.), Landscape, oil on Upson board, 24 x 48 in.

Photo Credit: Collection of Gary and Teresa Monroe

View Full Size

Alfred Hair (American, n.d.), Landscape, oil on Upson board, 24 x 48 in.

Photo Credit: Collection of Gary and Teresa Monroe

View Full Size

Photo Credit:

View Full Size

Florida Highwaymen (left to right): Willie Daniels, James Gibson, Mary Ann Carroll, Hezekiah Baker, Roy McLendon.

Photo Credit: Contributed Photo

View Full Size

Royal Poinciana, painted by James Gibson, has become the trademark for the Florida Highwaymen.

Photo Credit: Contributed Photo

Some of Florida's most famous artists were denied from showing their work in public galleries and museums. Now, their art is revered as quintessentially Florida.

Fiery Poinciana trees, breathtaking sunsets and towering palm trees exemplify the wild beauty of Florida.

Portraying images of the state’s natural splendor with a particular focus on the Indian River Region of Fort Pierce, The Florida Highwaymen were a group of undeniably talented, self-taught artists. During the era of segregation of the 1950s and 1960s, this group of African American artisans found an innovative solution to combat exclusion from local art galleries and museums.

They took to the roads and earned their name from successful entrepreneurial efforts to sell more than 200,000 paintings from the trunks of their cars along the state’s highways.

History

Famed landscape artist A.E. “Bean” Backus mentored one of the original group of 26 artists, inviting them to use his studio as a meeting and working space. The prominent artist nurtured Alfred Hair, who then passed on what he had learned to the Highwaymen, prompting their enterprise.

During the mid 1900s, the group was a nameless crew. Their nickname was given to them much later in 1994, after their works resurfaced in numerous garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets throughout Florida.

Mary Ann Carroll, one of the original Highwaymen, reflected back on the period with a great deal of fondness:  “I didn’t stop to think that what we were doing would have such an impact,” the Georgia native revealed. “We all had the same common interest and same common goal of painting and making money.”

For Carroll, painting as a profession was the realization of a childhood dream.

 “I never felt there was anything that someone else could do that I couldn’t do,” she said. “It’s just the way I have always looked at life.”

Gary Monroe, acclaimed author, has featured the work of the Highwaymen in three books and has served as an advocate for this tremendous group of artists, prompting a resurgence of interest in their works during the last decade.

His initial research was prompted by a determination to understand, establish and celebrate their accomplishments.

“I was planning a book about Florida’s self-taught artists and quickly learned of the Highwaymen,” Monroe said. “This was about 12 years ago, and I sought them out, heard their story and decided to sort out the facts – without realizing how difficult this would be – and wrote the first and still defining book about them."

Perceptions

Seen as a novelty at the outset, the Florida Highwaymen have garnered high recognition decades later. During the mid 1900s the group was a nameless crew. Their nickname was given to them much later in 1994, after their works resurfaced in numerous garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets throughout Florida. In 2001, Monroe’s monumental book sparked a statewide interest in their works, creating celebrities out of each and setting the record straight about their history. 

Their achievements have been honored in various ways throughout the state, including the dedication of a 20-foot-tall obelisk and heritage trail in Fort Pierce, the annual Highwaymen Art Festival in Mount Dora and exhibitions at  history centers and art museums across the state. In 2004, the Highwaymen were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in a ceremonial display of the significance of the Floridian cultural experience.

“The group of African-American painters ... created a unique contribution of a distinct genre that has captured the imagination of Florida art collectors,” said Bruce Graetz, senior curator at the Museum of Florida History. 

“The Hall of Fame has provided public support for the continuation of the Highwaymen’s artistic tradition,” Graetz added. “A number of the original Highwaymen artists still paint today, and in a several cases they are passing the tradition along to a new generation of African American artists.” Their works retail at upwards of $1,000 and can be found through private collectors and Florida galleries.

In a strong display of local affection for the work of these artists, many organizations have made stong commitments to preserving their art. The Museum of Florida History Foundation, a nonprofit citizens’ group, has rallied to acquire Highwaymen paintings in their commitment to this preservation effort, which has resulted in the acquisition and donation of paintings by 23 artists (at publication time) to the Museum of Florida History.

Media

Several books have been written about these Floridian artists including, Gary Monroe’s “The Highwaymen: Florida’s African-American Landscape Painters”; Harold Newton’s “The Original Highwayman”; and the final book in the trilogy, “The Highwaymen Murals: Al Black’s Concrete Dreams.”

"I think the paintings need to be considered as a vital part of our art history; how they emerged as well as function and fit into the broader picture of landscape painting,” Monroe says. “But perhaps it’s the egalitarian nature of these paintings that constitute their greatest worth, how they welcomed people to Florida and fostered the notion of our state as paradise. I hope that my books lay that foundation and that future generations remain aware and find the same promise in the art."

An hour-long documentary film called “The Highwaymen: Florida’s Outsider Artist” written and produced by Jack and John Hambrick of Everglades Productions includes interviews with a portion of the artists and more than 100 original Highwaymen paintings.

The success of the revered artists doesn’t come without controversy.

"There are naysayers, of course,” continues Monroe. “I’ve come to realize that most of these people never witnessed a Florida sunset.”

Exhibitions at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and the Cummer Museum of Art in Jacksonville prove these paintings are world class. Borne out of necessity, the inspiring works of the 26 Florida Highwaymen will forever remain a testament to the willpower of artists in the state.