Florida Highwaymen started around Fort Pierce

The Florida Highwaymen story starts around Fort Pierce and Gifford, but it belongs to the whole state.

In the 1950s, young Black artists from Florida’s east coast began painting bright landscapes: palms, marshes, beaches, rivers, clouds, poincianas, and glowing skies. Many sold the paintings from cars and along roads, often to businesses, homeowners, and tourists. Galleries were not open to them in the same way they were open to white artists, so they built another path.

That is what makes the story so strong. The paintings are beautiful, but they are also business history. The artists used quick methods, low-cost materials, homemade frames, and a direct sales style that turned Florida highways into a moving gallery. The Museum of Florida History connects the group to Fort Pierce, Gifford, A. E. “Bean” Backus, Alfred Hair, Harold Newton, and the wider Florida landscape tradition.

If you see a Highwaymen painting, look beyond the pretty sunset. Ask who painted it, where it came from, and how the artist made a market when the normal doors were not open.

Fort Pierce gains a deeper meaning when you know this story. It is not just a coastal stop. It is one of the places where Florida art learned to travel by car.