PRETTY GOOD DAY FOR HIGHWAYMEN FANS

Today the Palm Beach Post announced that Sunfest, the art and music festival on the waterfront in West Palm Beach chose a Florida landscape painting by Ft. Pierce artist A.E.Bean Backus as the their event poster. As most highwaymen collectors know Backus was a friend to many artists and a mentor to two of the highwaymen, Alfred Hair and Harold Newton. His influence can be seen in the work of many of the artists who belong to the Indian River School of Artists. Although  Bean Backus passed away in 1990 it is obvious that his talent and his stature as the Dean of Florida Landscapes is still appreciated and prized.

ORIGINS OF COLLECTING FLORIDA

Collecting anything comes about for many reasons. Some collect because of a fad (beanie babies)while others collect because they may see value in the object of their desire. Still others can not formulate the reason they collect, they just feel that if it's worth having that it's worth holding on to. However there are those who have a passion for what they collect that defies explanation. I may be one such collector. Back in 1996 while having sunday morning breakfast with my family I read an article in the art section of the Palm Beach Post . In that article was the story of a group of african american men and one women in Ft. Pierce,Fl. who managed to overcome the forces working against them to make a living painting Florida landscapes and selling them basically door to door in the 1950's,60's,70's and 80's.. The story went on to tell a wonderful tale of how these young men and one women, some of who labored in the fields taught themselves to paint and transend their place in life to become folklore. An art collector by the name of Jim Fitch gave them the name Highwaymen because of their method of painting  and then taking those paintings on the road to sell them.  They sold their paintings for between $15 and $100 for the good ones in their heyday.The story went on to say that over the years this art was forgotten and the group of artist although some still painting faded into obscurity. This one article turned out to be the impetus that launched my art collecting journey. And what a journey it has become. When I finished the article,which mentioned that these forgotten painting could be found at antique stores, thrift stores ,flea markets and garage sales, I quickly asked my daughter Jen to accompany me to downtown Lake Worth where I knew of several antique stores at the time. The very first store we went into had three Highwaymen paintings ( two James Gibsons and one Alfread Hair )and to my surprise were selling for about $17 each .About what they were selling for 30 or so years before. Imagine original oil paintings for less than $50. I was hooked . From there I went on a  quest every weekend to find more and better quality Highwaymen paintings. A quest that has expanded with the new found knowledge of other florida art to encompass many other artist who painted in this wonderful state. There are a few good books about the Highwaymen and many articles and magazine stories that tell their tale. There is even a couple of documentary films out there. My passion for florida art sprung from a need to find an alternative to my business which seemed to consume all my energy. This diversion not only satisfied a need but gave me a new found appreciation of  the beauty and history of art in florida. In future posts I will try to relay some interesting stories of collecting florida art. Please feel free to comment and relay any stories you may have.

A VERY EXCITING VISIT

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of a visit from Dr. Fred Frankel. Dr. Frankel is currently working on a book of Florida art into the 1960's. He is also already known for his very good book on Florida pottery. The visit was an exploratory request to see if my Florida art collection might have a few pieces which could be used in the book to fill in a few holes. I opened up almost my entire collection for him to see and photograph if he so desired. Dr. Frankel arrived at about noon and  after a brief introduction we proceeded to go through the art. What I experienced was one of the most exciting and informative four hours I have had in a long time. Not only does he have a great collection of Florida art but an appreciation and the enthusiasm to go along with it. I have never seen someone work so hard and sweat so much to see and photograph art. It was like he was searching for the holy grail of art in Florida. A small peek at the collection on his computer revealed a few pieces that I thought were the grail itself. I was truly humbled that he felt my collection was worthy of his interest. The experience was the impetus to start this blog and try to reach other collectors or anyone who appreciates art that originated in Florida. Whether any of my art gets into the book is not important, the important thing is that I feel I made a friend and connected with a fellow collector of Florida art. Thank you Dr. Frankel I hope our paths cross many times in the future.