Wellington invites the community to view and learn about the celebrated work of Florida’s Highwaymen with a free public art exhibit “The Art of Florida’s Highwaymen” at the Wellington Community Center (12150 W. Forest Hill Blvd.).
The exhibit will be available for viewing on Saturday, Feb. 1 and Sunday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and features live presentations with art historian Roger Lightle at 2 p.m. each day.
Guests will also have the opportunity to meet and greet with Highwaymen artist Roy McLendon Jr., who began his painting career with the Highwaymen in the early 1970s.
Who are the Highwaymen? In the late 1950s, during the Jim Crow era in the South, a small group of African American artists from the Fort Pierce and Vero Beach area started a business venture during a time when employment opportunities available to them were most likely low-paying jobs.
Eventually, the group numbered 26 artists. Unable to display and sell their work through traditional channels such as galleries and art agents, they traveled the roads selling their paintings to business owners, real estate brokers, lawyer’s offices, banks and others along the way. This unconventional sales method earned them the name “The Highwaymen” sometime in the mid-1990s. For more than 60 years, the group captured Florida’s natural beauty in an estimated 200,000 paintings, depicting striking views of backwoods scenes, breaking waves, palm-lined beaches and rivers, to name a few.
The Highwaymen have been featured in The New York Times and on National Public Radio, and were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004. Their work is on display in the White House and the Florida Governor’s mansion, in addition to countless homes and offices across the country.
Available parking may be limited due to the South Florida Garlic Fest taking place in Wellington’s Town Center that weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 1, a shuttle will be available from the Palm Tran bus stop at the Mall at Wellington Green, located on Ring Road near Macy’s, from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
For more information, call the Wellington Community Center at (561) 753-2484, or visit www.wellingtonfl.gov/highwaymen.
