Sarasota to display artwork by Florida's famed Highwaymen at City Hall
To the left of the Sarasota City Commission chambers, two long, skinny Florida Pine trees stretch toward the sky, alone in marshland that shines gold in the daylight. Near a hallway that leads to city offices, a palm tree curves off the shore over a swamp that mirrors the orange sky above as Spanish moss hangs from the surrounding foliage.
The paintings featuring these images, each harkening back to when Florida was more known for its unique natural beauty than its real-estate development, are part of the newest installation of Sarasota City Hall's Cultural Heritage Exhibit.
The goal, according to Sarasota Public Art Manager Mary Davis Wallace, is to inform and educate the public on one of the state's most celebrated art movements: The Highwaymen.
"It's not just an opportunity for us to share the stories of our local heritage, but it's also contributing to the broadcast of such a fantastic legacy."
In the 1950s, 26 Black landscape artists, primarily hailing from Florida's Treasure Coast, sold their vivid landscape pieces off roads like I-95 and U.S. Highway 1 (hence, their name). At the time, Florida's codified segregation made it nearly impossible for Black artists to see their work displayed in galleries.
The group is estimated to have painted around 200,000 pieces.
Wallace said it's important for the city to provide free, accessible exhibits displaying the history and culture of Sarasota and the state of Florida.
"I've had a lot of people coming into City Hall, thinking they were just going to pay for their parking ticket, and ending up being educated and informed and enlightened by the exhibition," Wallace said.
Roger Lightle is a collector and amateur historian of The Highwaymen, their art, and their story. He and his wife operate Highwaymen Art Specialists, Inc., which possesses about 600 paintings, and he has helped some of their artwork be displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Orlando International Airport.
Lightle, who loaned Sarasota the artwork for the gallery, said he remembered first seeing The Highwaymen's artwork as a child growing up in Florida – displayed at homes and businesses in Vero Beach and Fort Pierce. He said that even as a child, he was mesmerized by the paintings.
Greater recognition of the Florida Highwaymen for their contributions to the cultural and artistic history of both Florida and the South has put their artwork in high demand, Lightle said. The demand is much more than the original artists, who sold pieces door-to-door or out of the trunks of their cars for as little as $20, just hoping to survive, could have ever dreamed.
"Now, we're in demand by these major museums," Lightle said. "It's not stopping, but it shouldn't stop. It's such a relevant story."
Lightle will lead two public lectures on the Florida Highwaymen on Feb. 13.
Cultural Heritage Exhibits typically last six months, according to Wallace. In the meantime, City Hall will not only be the premier spot in town to hear dry debates on parking policy and zoning rules, but to also to be transported into Florida's heartland, by paintings that represent some of the most significant work in the state’s history.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota to display artwork by Florida's famed Highwaymen at City Hall
