Alfred Hair: Heart of the Highwaymen

Art historian Monroe (The Highwaymen: Florida’s African American Landscape Painters) thoughtfully examines the creative force of Florida artist Alfred Hair (1941–1970) and his influence on his disciples, the Highwaymen, in the Jim Crow South. Presenting 80 examples of Hair’s work, Monroe lauds the artist, a Black man who rose above those oppressive times to become a profitable landscape painter. Born in Fort Pierce, Fla., Hair studied under A.E. Backus, then started strapping boards to the wall and rapidly laying down paint, a style that “liberated any inhibitions that staunched the free flow of intuition.” In 1961, he sold his brightly hued landscapes door to door, landing customers across the color line. Hair eventually “followed the money” to affluent Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, where he convinced aspirational patrons to view themselves as “connoisseurs.” Along the way, he inspired fellow painters and friends to join him, including Harold Newton, Livingston Roberts, Roy McLendon, and James Gibson, and they formed the Highwaymen. “Living large [with] luxury cars” and fashionably attired, Hair considered himself a ladies’ man (while also married and a father), and was killed at age 29 in a bar fight. Monroe’s collection stuns, a brilliant portrait of a young artist who died before witnessing his impact on a generation of regional artists and art collectors. (Oct.)