🔥 Important Vintage Florida Highwaymen Landscape Oil Painting, 1950s

Description: This is an impressive and historically Important Vintage Florida Highwaymen Landscape Oil Painting on Upson Board, by a painter involved in the Florida Highwaymen art movement, named Harry "Harold" High of Brooksville, Florida. I have found information on a Harold H High (b. 1936,) who once resided in Lithia, Florida, about an hour and a half drive from Brooksville. I believe this is likely the artist of this painting. Unfortunately, there is no other information on this talented artist. Perhaps you know more about him or his work? This artwork depicts a lovely Florida landscape scene at sunset, with tall palm trees, delicately painted foliage, and a pinkish rose hued sky above. This majestic painting is a very impressive size, at approximately 36 x 60 inches (including frame.) The artistic style, color palette, and materials used in this piece have striking similarities with Sam Newton, Harold Newton, and Lem Newton, who may have worked closely with the artist of this piece. Signed on the verso: "From: Harry High, Brooksville, FLA...To: Anna High, Des Moines, Iowa." Harry High is the likely artist of this piece, but it may be an unsigned Newton artwork that was acquired by High and gifted to a family member in Iowa. Further research may be necessary. Additionally, this artwork appears to have been painted over an old beer sign. In the lower right corner, you can make out the word: "BEER" and a partial logo for a beer company. The materials used, self-taught style, and age all suggest that this artist was actively involved in the Highwaymen art movement. This piece likely dates to the 1950's - 1960's. Good condition for age, with mild scuffing and edge wear to the frame, and one small tear to the Upson board in the lower right corner, which is virtually unnoticeable (please see photos.) Due to the large size of this piece, S&H costs will be unavoidably high. However, Free Local Pickup is also an option. Acquired in Los Angeles County, California. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer. Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks! About the Highwaymen Art Movement: About the HighwaymenIn the early 1950’s through the 1980’s a group of twenty-six African American artists known as the “Florida Highwaymen” used vivid and bright colors to display the beautiful untouched Florida landscape. The Florida Highwaymen painted wind-bent palm trees, serene sunsets, churning oceans and bright red Poinciana trees. They painted from their garages and back yards on inexpensive Upson board and then on the weekends they would travel and sell their Highwaymen paintings to hotels, offices, businesses and individuals who appreciated the artwork for around $25 a piece.Highwaymen Paintings for SaleCollecting Florida Highwaymen Art has become an exciting, but often expensive, hobby. The market for an original work of art by a Florida Highwayman artist can easily bring $5,000 to $10,000 or more. Some of the Highwaymen who are still living have resumed painting to meet the continuing demand for their work. Arts Advocates Receives Gift of Florida Highwaymen Paintings Arts Advocates announces the receipt of a gift of five Florida Highwaymen paintings, generously donated by members Cecilia and Richard Conder. These pieces are now on exhibit in the Arts Advocates Gallery, located in the Crossings at Siesta Mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. The Highwaymen were a group of 26 African American landscape artists, mostly self-taught from the Fort Pierce, Florida area, active from the mid-1950s into the 1980s. They painted on inexpensive Upson board or Masonite and made frames from crown molding. Because no galleries would accept their work, they sold their art door-to-door or from the trunks of their cars, often still wet, along Florida’s eastern coastal roads. Their renown grew internationally during the early 2000s, and the members have been recognized for their contributions to mid-twentieth century Florida culture and history. Their success and longevity are remarkable considering they began their careers in racially unsettled times, in a place where the civil rights movement was in its infancy. Blazing the Trail:The Story of the Florida Highwaymen In 1958, a young high school student named Alfred Hair from the racially segregated Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, Florida met local artist A.E. Backus, and soon an idea was kindled: creating an artistic path beyond the prevailing racial barriers of the times and toward a brighter, self-made future. The experienced artist recognized the emerging talent in Hair, and remembering the spirit of altruism that helped him start his own career, he became a mentor. With training in art, audience, and business, Hair launched a movement. He invented a new business plan for himself and a group of friends, whom he taught to paint and to sell paintings up and down the Atlantic coast of Florida, and beyond … from the trunks of their cars.Meanwhile, Harold Newton was trying to make his way as an artist. He had heard of the white painter who lived at the end of Avenue C, that he was welcoming to all, and in 1955 he thought it might be worth a visit. What he learned from Backus transformed him — mastering scenes of the Florida landscape, watching the older artist work especially with a palette knife, being encouraged to bring his paintings for helpful critiques — it all inspired Newton to paint like never before. The roadblocks faced during the years of racial segregation in the 1950s and 60s were significant, but these enterprising artists were creative and persevered. With success, their number grew to more than two dozen, painting tens of thousands of works to meet the demand. They later became known as the Florida Highwaymen.The original Highwaymen blazed their own trail by way of the arts. In 2004, they were recognized in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, and in 2016, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opened with 18 Highwaymen paintings in its collection, a testament to the inspiring story that began here. Florida Highwaymen Painters, Celebrating Black History Celebrating Black HistoryThe Florida Highwaymen Artists began to paint in Fort Pierce, Florida, during the 1950s.The Highwaymen group of 26, all men and one woman, has come a long way, but only because they are now aged and gray. Over decades the group has accomplished a list of accolades in their journey. From the 1950s, times of turmoil, until 2004, it has taken twenty-six African-Americans to receive recognition. The Museum of Florida History induced twenty-six members to the Artists Hall of Fame in Tallahassee, Florida. The Highwaymen's most recent accolade is in Washington, D. C., The Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) acquired a collection of 18 Highwaymen paintings in 2014 before opening to the public in 2016!" From the side of the road to legends of the road, the history makers have earned state, national and international achievements. "But it hasn't always been that way," in reality, it has been a "struggle" that has taken decades, over a lifetime, for the group who became known as the Original Florida Highwaymen Artists.Over Six Decades Ago, In Fort Pierce, Florida, a group of unknown, untrained African-American young men documented authentic Florida by painting the landscape's serene natural beauty. The vision, encouragement, and training of black art instructor Zanobia Jefferson inspired A. E. "Beanie" Backus, a prominent white landscape painter, to mentor her student Alfred Hair. In the 1950s, during Jim Crow Laws, the south was racially charged and segregated when Backus began to teach Alfred Hair. Hair was an African-American high school art student who was eager to make a career in painting and did not work as a field laborer as his colleagues did. Alfred Hair was the only artist Backus taught to paint; their unlikely friendship and partnership began what would become known as the Florida Highwaymen painters.Harold Newton was a young teenager when he established his life as a painter. By the early 1950s, Newton had a list of clients when he'd met A.E. Backus. Backus influenced Newton to paint Florida landscapes instead of religious scenes, which Newton painted on black velvet. After Hair discovered his ability to make money and earn a living through art, Hair and Newton encouraged friends and family to join in. Hair invented the makeshift assembly-line easel, discovered that his fast painting techniques generated quick money, and was convinced he could become a millionaire. Two icons are the founders of the Highwaymen group, Harold Newton and Alfred Hair."The Heart Of The Highwaymen," A system of poverty designed and tailored for blacks, the Highwaymen searched to escape. With no formal art schooling, close friends and family joined them and took up painting Florida landscapes.Most of the painters would typically be seen throughout Southeast Florida. One could find them creating their Highwaymen paintings in parks, river edges, and along the roadsides.Then tragedy struck; Alfred Hair was killed in 1970, at the young age of 29, in a juke joint called Eddie's Place in Fort Pierce. It was a famous hangout spot where the painters would meet to unwind for drinks and listen to the latest soul music hits after a long day of selling their paintings on the road. Some of the men took a short hiatus to mourn the loss of their leader. Others who had families to support continued to paint and sell their work on the road. More friends joined in, and the young entrepreneurs continued strong over the decades.The name Highwaymen, legends Of The Road, was earned because of how they sold their paintings. Door to door, business to business, attorneys, and doctors alike, alongside U.S. Highway One and A1A. They displayed their hand-painted creations from the trunks of their cars, lined side by side, and for $25 to 35 dollars, sold them to locals and tourists. They used crown molding as frames, Upson board as canvas, tree trunks as easels, garages, and backyards as studios; makeshift materials were the only game they knew. Signatures scratched in with nails, colors of undeveloped Florida, and vivid scenes in oils were still wet. So who sold paintings still wet? "The Highwaymen did!"The Long Hard Road: Shunned for the color of their skin, neither museums nor galleries would showcase the work of black artists during the Jim Crow Laws. The young men had no choice but to take to the road. Under the radar, they achieved success and fame! From the 1950s to - the 1970s, it is believed the Highwaymen created more than 200,000 paintings—a far better living than the hustle of working in packing houses or back-breaking fields. Picking oranges, tomatoes, and pineapples were a life designated for blacks. In the early 1980s, as sales dropped and interest in their art seemed to diminish, many Highwaymen took a hiatus and pursued other careers. Then, in the early 1990s, the Highwaymen realized a resurgence in collectors and the public interest because of quite a bit of written publicity. With this renewed interest came a sharp rise in demand and value.Today, entrepreneurs, the Florida Highwaymen paintings remain widely popular. But, again, many of the Original 26 now earn a living by painting unique, highly collectible, primitive Florida landscapes valued at thousands of dollars.Harold Newton of Gifford, Florida, was 59 when he died of a stroke in 1994. Most would agree that Newton set a precedent for selling his paintings door-to-door that the rest would follow."The Florida Highwaymen Artists are "The History Makers," the earliest core Originals are the eldest, Roy McLendon Sr., who painted before Alfred Hair and after Harold Newton. Livingston Roberts and James Gibson, followed by Sam Newton; Mary Ann Carroll, the only Original female. Willie Daniels, followed by his brother Johnny Daniels, George, and Ellis Buckner, painted before Alfred Hair died in 1970. Hezekiah Baker stopped painting after the death of Hair. The top salesman for the group, Al Black, began to paint after Alfred Hair died.The legends started with two painters, and twenty-four joined in overtime. Blood and non-blood, the majority were close friends and a few families. Only three sets were brothers, Harold, Sam and Lemuel Newton, Willie and Johnny Daniels, and George and Ellis Buckner. All nineteen were non-blood friends, some close-knit, others not as close."The story started with two dreamers, then twenty-six pioneered," the group is now known as the Florida Highwaymen. The Florida Highwaymen are sometimes called "The Last Great Art Movement of the 20th Century."Once labeled as painters, decades later earned the respect of artists. Worth repeating, in 2004, twenty-six artists, all men, and one woman, were officially recognized and inducted into Florida's Artist Hall of Fame and a host of museums, nationally and internationally. The most recent affirmation in 2016 is the "Smithsonian." The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. A significant important African American Cultural achievement!"The Florida Highwaymen artist's story is for certain one of intrigue," a true "American Dream" based on real lives; some never lived to see their success. The legends used painting as a way out of a segregated life. An American story and Highwaymen's history are told through the artist's narrated accounts. In 2001, author Gary Monroe located, researched, identified, and wrote the narrative of twenty-six authentic Florida landscape painters. Many have written books and continue to write as unknown discoveries are revealed. Extensive collections are owned by Highwaymen historians, art enthusiasts, promotors, and contributors. In 1994, a Florida art collector, Jim Fitch, wrote an article and was credited for appointing the group's name, "The Highwaymen." The Highwaymen earned the reputation because they peddled their artwork up and down the highways, and the art world noticed. Respectfully, several Highwaymen have ventured to write their untold history of untold stories through books, websites, and social media platforms. But there is still much to discover!The Original, the Florida Highwaymen Handed Down History, is not at the celebration alone. In 1973 "The Historic 2nd Generation Art Movement was established with family Roy McLendon Jr. and friend Jimmy Stovall. The 2nd Generation helped to create some 200,000 nostalgic paintings. The 2nd Generation is the most powerful extension of history started by "the Originals." History continues as the Historic 2nd Generation continues to create distinctive 1950s authentic Florida! "Highwaymen Art" is nostalgic and unlike any other! And yes, the magic and the memories are still worth it!

Price: 6500 USD

Location: Orange, California

End Time: 2024-10-25T19:41:42.000Z

Shipping Cost: 100 USD