FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Wind-bent palm trees, sand, surf, billowing clouds and vivid sunsets were the essentials of Florida landscape painting that emerged following World War II. Occasionally moss-draped cypress trees in the still water of a marsh presented a more contemplative view, while a royal poinciana in full, flaming red bloom or a storm-tossed shore provided dramatic relief.
From the late 1950's into the early 80's these colorful landscapes were ubiquitous decorations in Florida homes, offices, restaurants and motel rooms. They shaped the state's popular image as much as oranges and alligators.
Little known, however, is that such paintings were largely the creations of a loose-knit group of self-taught, African-American artists from what was called Blacktown in the little east coast city of Fort Pierce, about 55 miles north of Miami, said Gary Monroe, professor of visual arts at Daytona Beach Community College. (The writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston died in poverty in Fort Pierce in 1960.)
During those three decades, this group of friends, relatives and neighbors produced and sold an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 landscape paintings for $10 to $35 a piece, so the paintings were readily affordable to the average middle-class white worker. Mr. Monroe said that by the early 80's their work went out of fashion because of changes in the tourist industry and new trends in interior design, among other factors. Many of the artists continued to work, but few were able to make a living at it. Now, however, there is a revival of interest in them because of the current popularity of self-taught or outsider artists. The best of those paintings, especially works from the 50's and 60's, are collectibles whose prices now range from $1,000 to $10,000. Works by others among the artists fetch $500 to $1,000 apiece. Though several members of the group have died and others have drifted away from art, a few are trying to take advantage of this new interest.
Mr. Monroe discusses the history and artistic contributions of the painters in his new book, "The Highwaymen: Florida's African-American Landscape Painters," published last month by the University Press of Florida*. (Note: Since the time this article was written, several books have been written about the Highwaymen artists, as well as documetary films). He identifies 25 men and 1 woman as Highwaymen, explaining that the name was first applied to the Fort Pierce painters in 1994 by James Fitch, a collector of regional art and founder of the Florida Museum of Art and Culture at South Florida Community College in Avon Park. Mr. Fitch, who was buying regional art, came up with the name from the painters' practice of traveling up and down U.S. 1 and Highway A1A, selling their work mainly to white residents as well as tourists, hotels and restaurants. Despite some objections because of the name's outlaw connotations, the painters have largely embraced it as a valuable marketing tool.
The group owes its inspiration to Albert Ernest Backus of Fort Pierce, known as Bean, considered the dean of Florida landscape painting by the time of his death in 1990, Mr. Monroe said.
The story is that in 1954, Backus, who was white, persuaded a black 19- year-old, Harold Newton, to stop painting religious scenes and take up landscapes, which he quickly taught himself to do. Gallery representation was out of the question for black painters at that time in South Florida, and so Newton began selling his paintings directly out of his car, a practice all the painters would follow. For these young black painters it was basically a choice between work in the orange groves or another menial job, or if they had any talent at all, making art.
A year later Backus began giving lessons to 14-year-old Alfred Hair, the only one of the group to receive such formal training, although many of the others had received some art lessons in public school. Hair struck out on his own three years later, ready to be an artist, Mr. Monroe writes. This charismatic young dreamer planned to be a millionaire by the time he was 35.
Newton and Hair are generally considered the two best Highwaymen artists, with Newton the more formal and technical of the two and Hair the more lyrical and spontaneous. Newton inspired a number of artists, including Mary Ann Carroll, 60, the sole woman in the group. In a recent interview she recalled deciding to try landscapes after seeing a painting of a red poinciana under an oak tree in Newton's yard. But it was Hair who set the tone for the group through the 1960's. He would tack up 20 boards at a time outdoors, then quickly lay down the color without sketches, as fast as he could, going from board to board, painting parts of sky, a tree or some other element. The essence of his paintings was spontaneity, bold colors, palm trees, surf, sand and incredible skies.
"Painting fast was a prerequisite, not a deterrent to Hair's art," Mr. Monroe writes. "He simply `threw paint' on his boards to miraculously achieve images that are more about being alive than about the manipulation of plastic values."
Hair drew into his orbit a small circle of friends who were similarly young, energetic and ambitious for wealth. Largely ignorant of artistic tradition, they learned from one another and spurred one another to paint rapidly and abundantly, often producing scores of oil paintings at a stretch, usually on Upson board, a common roofing material.
"Alfred was a competitive guy and lived for competition," said James Gibson, 63, one of the few members of that circle to have made his living solely through art for more than 40 years. The landscapes they created in their backyards or utility rooms were illusions that bore only an imagined resemblance to what existed in nature. "We improvised from something in our mind," said Hezekiah Baker, 61, during an interview in his Fort Pierce home.
Weekly they loaded their paintings into their cars and peddled them from Miami to Daytona Beach and inland to Lake Okeechobee and Orlando. They sold whatever they produced without difficulty.
Then Hair was killed during an argument over a woman in a local juke joint on Aug. 9, 1970, and much of the creative energy that held the group together died with him, Mr. Monroe said.
The group continued to produce and sell paintings despite the recession in the mid-70's, but by the early 80's changing tastes and factors like the creation of Disney World and other corporate attractions helped reduce demand for the paintings. Mr. Gibson and Newton, who died in 1994, continued to paint and enhance their reputations throughout the period.
Of the 23 remaining Highwaymen some stopped painting to raise families or pursue other interests. A few became addicted to drugs and alcohol. There were also financial irregularities involving their top salesman, Al Black, who was also an artist. He was sentenced to prison for fraud for action unrelated to the Highwaymen, and remains there, still painting.* (Mr. Black was released from prison in December of 2006, and will be appearing at the April 29, 2007 Florida Show in St. Petersburg). Mr. Fitch said that when he began collecting Highwaymen paintings in the 1990's, he would find them in flea markets, garage sales and garbage cans for anywhere from $1 to $450. Now the price for an Alfred Hair landscape approaches $10,000, Mr. Monroe said. Because the earlier paintings from the 50's and 60's are the most sought after, art dealers are primarily the ones who profit from the increased prices. Nonetheless the artists who continue to paint are gaining higher prices for their new work. With the current revival a number of the Highwaymen are attempting to resurrect their artistic careers and deal with a celebrity they never expected.
"I never thought of myself as being famous," said Ms. Carroll, who raised seven children while supporting herself as a carpenter, house painter, church musician and landscape artist. "I just give God the praise for what I got in my life."
