The Highwaymen (landscape artists)
Their success and longevity is remarkable considering they began their career in the racially unsettled and violent times of the 50s in Florida [3][4] and amid the social conditions of the Jim Crow South where the stirrings of the civil rights movement were only just beginning.
Newton is recognized by fellow artists for his technical inspiration while Hair is the considered the leader and catalyst "who set the tone for the group through the 1960s.
"[7][9] They attracted a group of a "young, energetic" artists who painted large quantities of brilliantly colorful impressionistic landscapes that they each sold from their cars.
[7] Several of the artists had their early training at Lincoln Park Academy, Fort Pierce, under the guidance of art teacher Zanobia Jefferson.
[10][11][12] In 1970, the group lost its charismatic leader when Hair was killed in a barroom brawl at age 29 and the prodigious output of the movement's artists began to wane.
[14] Their renown grew internationally during the early 2000s and the 26 members have been recognized for their extensive contribution and vivid documentation of mid-twentieth century Florida culture and history.
[15] Painting en plein air style, the Highwaymen artists "eschew[ed] any formal color theory and rel[ied] on instinct and intuition to depict their steady stream of beaches, palm trees and Everglades scenes.
Organic colors were not their main focus; they wanted to wow buyers with burnt-orange Florida skies or unnaturally florescent clouds.
"[8] It was not a formal movement and represented no "official" group, yet The Highwaymen thrived as artists and entrepreneurs through their sheer determination to succeed as painters and not as laborers in citrus groves, their expected social role.
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.
[17][18] 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,[19] Rodney Demps, James Gibson, Alfred Hair, Isaac Knight, Robert Lewis, John Maynor, Roy McLendon,[20] Alfonso "Poncho" Moran, brothers Sam, Lemuel and Harold Newton, Willie Reagan, Livingston "Castro" Roberts, Carnell "Pete" Smith Sr., Charles Walker,[21] Sylvester Wells, and Charles "Chico" Wheeler.
As of May 2022, eighteen are deceased, Alfred Hair, Alfonso Moran, Carnell Smith, Charles Wheeler, Ellis and George Buckner, Harold Newton, Hezekiah Baker, Isaac Knight, James Gibson, John Maynor, Johnny Daniels, Lemuel Newton, Livingston Roberts, Mary Ann Carroll, Robert Butler, Rodney Demps, and Willie Daniels.
