“Well-Known Artist Alfred Hair Slain,” read the headline in The Fort Pierce News Tribune newspaper in Florida.
But before he was killed in a barroom brawl on Aug. 9, 1970, at just 29, Hair had become more than just an artist. With his drive, charisma and business acumen, he helped start a collective of Floridian artists, all African-American, who painted vibrant landscapes of their home state. They would later come to be known as The Florida Highwaymen, or more simply The Highwaymen.
Hair was the star of the group, having been among few in the group to receive formal training, from Albert Ernest Backus, a white artist known as Bean who became his mentor. Backus also mentored another Highwayman, Harold Newton.
Hair and Newton developed their own approach to capturing Florida in full color. More than anything, what distinguished the Highwaymen artists were their colorful landscapes, eschewing any formal color theory and relying on instinct and intuition to depict their steady stream of beaches, palm trees and Everglades scenes. Organic colors were not their main focus; they wanted to wow buyers with burnt-orange Florida skies or unnaturally florescent clouds.
“… colorful landscapes, eschewing any formal color theory and relying on instinct and intuition to depict their steady stream of beaches, palm trees and Everglades scenes. “
the line that got to me…
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/obituaries/alfred-hair-overlooked.html