The Highwaymen painters created careers as landscape painters against the backdrop of racially segregated Jim Crow Florida. Denied access to gallery representation and excluded from the mainstream art world, they sold their art works wherever they could—including out of the trunks of their cars parked on the side of the interstate. The Highwaymen artists depicted the state’s scenic coastline and wild backcountry, often in dazzling combinations of color and tone. Harold Newton was inducted into Florida’s Artist’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Smithsonian permanent collection in Washington D.C. 2016.

hile primarily self-taught, these artist’s works are very much part of the lineage of European and American landscape painting that stretches back to the nineteenth century. They learned the basic skills of landscape painting from the renowned artist A.E. “Beanie” Backus, who welcomed both Newton and Hair into his studio. The Highwaymen paintings follow in the legacy of other important landscape artists in Library’s collection, including Joseph MW Turner, Frederick Watts, George Innes, George Loring Brown, and Thomas Hill.

Following the program, light refreshments will be served. Malden Public Library’s Converse Memorial Building & Art Galleries, 36 Salem Street, Malden, MA. Gallery Hours, WED 2-4, SAT 2-3 or by appointment. Call 781-324-0218 or info@maldenpubliclibrary.org. This exhibition is made possible by the generous donations of John Giso and funds from the Estate of Wilfred J. Carr & the Trustees of the Malden Public Library.