“Living Color: The Art of The Highwaymen” at the OMA

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Living Color: The Art of The Highwaymen is an astounding exhibition currently on view at the Orlando Museum of Art.  For those not familiar, The Highwaymen are a group of self-taught African-American artists celebrated for capturing the natural beauty of “Old Florida.”  The group got its name from their entrepreneurial endeavors selling their paintings on Florida’s famous highways and door-to-door.  With artists selling their works directly to the collector, the need for an agent or gallery representative was removed and rightly so, as most were denied access to those opportunities simply because of their race.

I was truly overwhelmed with the quantity and the quality of the work on display.  While most of the artists included in this exhibition were self-taught, the artistic results are nothing short of inspired.  Numerous paintings show the influence of the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists with thick applications of paint and loose brushwork.  The most powerful thing for me as both an artist and art historian was observing the masterful use of color in each and every work of art.  The Highwaymen were bold and confident in their color choices proving that they had a unique relationship with Florida’s environment.  As our state is routinely decimated by over-population, excessive housing developments and natural disasters brought on by climate change, I am so very grateful to The Highwaymen for capturing Florida’s beauty before it’s gone forever.

For more information on this exhibition, please visit…

https://omart.org/exhibitions/living_color_the_art_of_the_highwaymen/

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.