The Highwaymen, also referred to as the Florida Highwaymen, are a group of 26 African American landscape artists in Florida. Self-taught and self-mentoring, they created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings, despite facing many racial and cultural barriers. In the 1970s and’80s, the group fell on hard times as consumer tastes changed. But in the’90s, an interest in “outsider art” (art created by artists who aren’t traditionally trained or who are outside mainstream society) developed in the art world. In 1995, a Sebring gallery owner and art collector, Jim Fitch, wrote an article for an arts journal in which he described the Fort Pierce-based artists as the “Florida Highwaymen, ” for their tactics of traveling highways I-95 and A1A to sell their artwork from the trunks of their cars. Fitch’s article was soon followed by an article in The New York Times which lauded the newly discovered Florida Highwaymen. Demand for the group’s work soared. Since then they have become celebrated for their idyllic landscapes of natural settings in Florida. Today, Florida Highwaymen paintings are widely sought by collectors all over the world. They have been called The Last Great American Art Movement of the 20th century. A movie portraying the Highwaymen is in the works. Its been said The Unknowns – Talent is Color Blind could be a major player at the Oscars in 2017. If this turns out to be true, these Highwaymen paintings will become even more valuable. Ellis and George started their painting careers using oil-based house paint because it was cheaper than purchasing artist paints. But the results werent good. When they switched to inexpensive oil paint, they still werent happy. Together the brothers studied books on perspective, vanishing points, and horizon lines. They discussed how to create depth in their landscapes. In their early work, they used a triangle square to assist them with creating perspective. They practiced ways of making shadows and enhancing sunlight. A painting was never completed as quickly as Alfred Hair and other Fort Pierce painters created theirs. The Buckner brothers were more calculated as they worked. Much of Ellis work has a sense of stillness to it and his color palette is more realistic than many of the other Highwaymens work. He liked placing birds in his landscapes, and reflections in the water were carefully depicted. George may have been the better painter, but a quality landscape by Ellis Buckner can easily move the spirit in appreciation of natures beauty. Appraisal by Jim Fitch (5/29/2010). Subject is a backcountry scene, Misty Pond with Pines on an 18″x24″ stretched canvas in mint condition. The frame is original to the painting. The item “Highwaymen Painting by Ellis Buckner Misty Pond with Pines Florida Everglades” is in sale since Sunday, October 23, 2016. This item is in the category “Art\Paintings”. The seller is “a_bit_of_this_n_that” and is located in Sebring, Florida. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Main Color: Orange
- Medium: Oil
- Subject: Landscape
- Size Type/Largest Dimension: Medium (Up to 30in.)
- Style: The Highwaymen
- Original/Reproduction: Original
- Region of Origin: US
- Listed By: Owner
- Painting Surface: Canvas
- Date of Creation: 1970-1989
- Framed/Unframed: Framed
- Signed?: Signed
- Artist: Ellis Buckner