The group of Florida painters called "Highwaymen" have been drawing increased attention at the recent years and this lens will give some heads up on this interesting subject.
The story of Florida Highwaymen painters started in 1950s when a group of young and talented but unknown African-American artists, knowing that there is no way for them to get their paintings into art galleries and shows, started to peddle their works from the trunks of their trucks and selling them from door to door to businesses and individuals. They mostly painted Florida landscapes in a somewhat rough but vivid style that many people found attractive and fascinating. 
This unofficial association of artists was inspired and influenced by the work of well-known Florida artist Albert Backus, and one of the original "Highwaymen", Alfred Hair, was even a student of Backus', but other painters were pretty much self-taught. There were originally eight men and one woman in the group, but as it was quite loosely connected union, more people were joining them and painting in the same style. 
Florida Highwaymen painters had developed such a style of painting that it allowed them to finish their work in a much shorter time than it would take average artists. And that allowed them to sell them their paintings for a fraction of price - just as little as $25 a piece. It's not certain, but there is a rough estimation that Florida Highwaymen painters created somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 paintings from 1950s to 1980s when the group was disbanded. 
We would probably never learn about Highwaymen painters if not for Florida art collector and museum curator Jim Fitch. Who got interested in the works of Highwaymen and wrote an article in 1995. Not so long time after another article was published in the New York Times and it sparkled a new interest to Highwaymen painters and their works. Moreover, the interest literally skyrocketed and their paintings are selling now for hundreds and thousand dollars.
In 2000, 26 artists were officially recognised as Highwaymen. Here is the full list of Florida Highwaymen painters with nine of them (original Highwaymen) in bold.
- Aflred Hair
- Harold Newton
- Sam Newton
- Lemuel Newton
- Al Black
- James Gibson
- Livingston Roberts
- Mary Ann Carroll
- Roy McLendon
- Johnny Daniels
- Willie Daniels
- Hezekiah Baker
- Ellis Buckner
- George Buckner
- Curtis Arnett
- Issac Knight
- John Maynor
- Robert Lewis
- Alfonso Moran
- Cornell Smith
- Willie Reagan
- Sylvester Wells
- Charles Wheeler
- Charles Walker
- Rodney Demps
- Robert Butler
Where to shop for paintings of the Florida Highwaymen painters?
If you haven't clicked any of the links in the text, you can try this one:
http://www.highwaymen-paintings.com/
http://www.highwaymen-paintings.com/
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- Greg Maxwell Greg Maxwell Jan 25, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
- I bought a Livingston Roberts painting in 1972 for $25. I was working at the Volusia County Manager's office in DeLand, Florida and one day several black men brought in 30 or 40 paintings and lined them up in the hallway for sale. I was 20 years old at the time and bought one just because I liked it. I now have it proudly displayed in my home office/sunroom. Ironically, it is probably the only thing still in my possession from that time of my life--somehow I just managed to hang on to it all these years.
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- Monica Monica Jan 16, 2009 @ 8:50 am
- I bought a Sam Newton 24 x 36 approx 8 yrs ago. I just love it and it is my very favorite.
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- Snuggle BUddy Snuggle BUddy Jan 10, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
- highwaymen r so fine
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- MKerogazov MKerogazov Nov 26, 2008 @ 12:57 pm | in reply to person
- I'm glad you like it :D
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- person person Nov 26, 2008 @ 11:50 am
- i'm doing a history fair project and this site really helped me thanks guys
by MKerogazov
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