Sunrise City - The Florida Highwaymen Legacy

The legend of the Florida Highwaymen was born in the 1950's as the historically Black communities of Lincoln Park in Fort Pierce and Gifford just west of Vero Beach launched an artistic movement inspired by the Indian River School of Art to quickly capture the beauty of the Florida landscape featuring famous scenes such as the Poinciana, the Jungle Trail, Rio Mar, the Everglades and the coastal River Road that stretches along the Treasure Coast.

These works were ferried around the highways and byways of the growing coastal cities of the Florida peninsula. These sometimes "wet" paintings were sold simply to make a living fetching just ten to twenty dollars a piece, as Black artists of the time would not have the ability to sell in urban galleries. Over the years, these paintings would fall into bargain bins, basements and flea markets, only to be discovered again many decades later. Today, those original paintings can garner up to $20,000 at auction and the market for Florida Highwaymen paintings continues to grow at a rapid pace. This is a story about the sons, daughters and legacy artists who follow in the footsteps of their parents and mentors, creating a new chapter in the story of the Florida Highwaymen. This hour long documentary will be airing soon on PBS.