Florida Highwayman to Paint for Audience Saturday

Vintage postcards, old Florida and art combine for what promises to be an interesting and educational weekend event.

Saturday's art show and sale offers an opportunity to meet ten of the Original Florida Highwaymen, a small group of African American landscape artists who began painting in the late 1950s. Back then they sold the paintings out of the trunk of their cars, as they went from door to door or set up shop on a busy corner at the side of the road. Their images of Florida’s tropical beauty were sold for as little as twenty dollars. Today their paintings are widely sought after collectibles.

You can see some of their work at Palmetto Historical Park & Manatee County Agricultural Museum Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Artwork will be for sale and you can see a live painting demo by artist Robert Lewis from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (seating is on a first come, first served basis).

Postcards from Palmetto will be feature of this show. Several of the artists are painting their interpretation of vintage Palmetto postcards. The paintings will be available for purchase the day of the show.

The Highwaymen originated around Fort Pierce when a white artist, Albert Ernest “Bean” Backus began to tutor a young African American teen named Alfred Hair. Backus taught Hair and influenced other young artists. In 1995 Jim Fitch, a Florida museum curator, coined the term “Highwaymen” when he wrote an article about the artists for the magazine “Antiques and Art Around Florida.”

An exhibit in the buildings throughout the historical park consisting of 26 Highwaymen paintings from a private collection will also open on Saturday. Many of these paintings are for sale. This exhibit will continue through August 31 and is dedicated to the memory of Janey Ball.

The art show and exhibit are free. The park and museum are located at 515 10th Ave. West in Palmetto. For more information, call 721-2034 or 723-4991.

Guided tours are necessary to see the full exhibit and are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Days of operation are Tuesday through Friday and the first and third Saturday of the month. A Robert Butler print will be raffled as well. Raffle tickets are $5 each or three  for $10. Tickets can be purchased through August 31. For more information, call 721-2034 or 723-4991.