Lately I have been doing a ton of research on The Highwaymen, a collection of African American artists who painted fantastic Florida landscapes and then sold them on the roads and highways of the Sunshine State from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. If you have been following the blog the past couple of years, you may have noticed a few posts discussing The Highwaymen and their work.
-In February 2020, I dedicated two posts to The Highwaymen because of the massive exhibition on view at the Orlando Museum of Art at the time – Living Color: The Art of The Highwaymen. The second post focused on the only female member of the group – Mary Ann Carroll.
-In February 2022, I visited the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, FL to view their exhibition – The Art of the Highwaymen – and then wrote a post about that phenomenal experience.
Incidentally, I know of two art events dedicated to The Highwaymen taking place here in the state of Florida in August 2022!
https://www.leesburgarts.com/new-events/kytjerw73d66pf7kjyk97tbkfms2kn
I guess the universe noticed that I have had The Highwaymen on my brain and in my heart lately, because I recently participated in my local library’s fundraising book sale and came across a copy of Gary Monroe’s seminal book.
Of course, this was one of the books I read as part of my research and I was so pleased to see it included in this book sale as I wanted to add it to my personal library. I grabbed it and added it to my shopping bag. As I was getting ready to pay for my treasures, the very kind library volunteer who was assisting me saw The Highwaymen book and began to gush over the artists and their work. It turned out that we were both fans! She mentioned something about the book being signed and when I got home I realized that she was in fact correct.
The book was signed, but not by the author, Gary Monroe. It was signed by SIX of The Highwaymen artists! Roy McLendon, Willie Reagan, Mary Ann Carroll, Rodney Demps, Isaac Knight and Hezekiah Baker had all signed their names next to their respective paintings in the book.
Seeing those signatures made me feel like Indiana Jones discovering the holy grail! This book is now one of my most prized possessions. What an incredible discovery at the library book sale!
You can learn more about The Highwaymen and their enduring legacy by visiting this link…
The Wandering Art Historian 
Your Highway Men signed by artists book was meant for your library!! In 10 years you will sell book for millions $ to an art museum! Polk Museum of Art Highwaymen Exhibition 2022 was superior to Orlando MA I saw 2020 because Art Collector/owner was specific buying best Highwaymen Art!!
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I LOVED the exhibit at the Polk Museum of Art! You may want to check out the upcoming Highwaymen show at the Leesburg Center for the Arts. It opens this Friday!
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YOU made my morn reading your CML book sale find!
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Adrienne, your book find was awesome! I saw the OMA exhibit you spoke of — and how inspiring it was. My Orlando friend Todd Thompson (fellow Disney employee) is making a film — a narrative feature — about these trailblazers. Here’s the link:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2309150/
Sent from my iPhone
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I can’t wait to see your friend’s film!
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Thanks for the information about the upcoming exhibits. I loved the OMA Highwaymen exhibit and I am sorry I missed the exhibit at The Polk. Have you been to the A.E. Backus Museum in Ft Pierce? I’ve been wanting to go see where it all started. Only opened on Saturdays and Sundays but it would be a great day trip.
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That would be an AMAZING day trip! I have never been to the Backus Museum, but should definitely add it to my list. So much fabulous art in FL… if you know where to look! 😀
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