The Highwaymen (landscape artists)

The Highwaymen, also referred to as the Florida Highwaymen, are a group of 26 African American landscape artists from the area of Fort Pierce, Florida. They made a living selling their paintings door-to-door to businesses and individuals throughout Florida from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. Due to the racial segregation that was in place in Florida in the 1950s, they faced many racial and cultural barriers. No professional galleries would accept the work of Black artists so they also sold their art work from the trunks of their cars along the eastern coastal roads earning the moniker of Highwaymen. The roads Florida State Road A1A and U.S. Route 1 in Florida were roads where they sold their work.

Many members of the Highwaymen credit their training and style to their high school art teacher Zanobia Jefferson and to the mentorship of prominent local artist Alfred "Beanie" Backus. The Highwaymen created large numbers of relatively inexpensive landscape paintings using construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. As a group, an estimated 200,000 paintings were sold. They have been called "The Last Great American Art Movement of the 20th century".