FORT PIERCE — A new museum dedicated to the Florida Highwaymen, a group of Black artists who rose to prominence despite the constraints of the Jim Crow South, is set to open Feb. 20 in Fort Pierce.
The Fort Pierce Florida Highwaymen Museum will open at 4 p.m. at 1234 Avenue D, just blocks from where artist Alfred Hair, the movement's main catalyst, grew up. The museum focuses on the history and legacy of the 26 Highwaymen artists inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame and their lasting influence on Florida’s cultural landscape.
Museum President Doretha Hair Truesdell, also the widow of Alfred Hair, said the movement began with modest beginnings and a determination to survive through art.
“[Alfred] started out just selling his paintings from the trunk of the car and the back of the car. That’s where he would take his paintings up and down, mostly U.S.-1 and A-1A during that time,” she said.
For many of the artists, painting offered an alternative to the limited job opportunities available to Black men in mid-20th century Florida.
“During that time, the only option if you couldn’t get a job in the school system, you were picking fruit. It was field work. And so a lot of the young men saw a way out of the fields by painting,” she said.
The artists’ work eventually gained widespread recognition, culminating in their 2004 induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
“They were inducted into the Florida Arts Hall of Fame in 2004, and it was Alfred Hair and the Florida Highwaymen. But before all of this, they were just individual artists,” Truesdell said.
Despite the broad reach of their paintings, Truesdell said Fort Pierce long lacked a permanent home for the artwork created there.
“Their art was being exhibited everywhere. And we would go and see the art, but we had no home for the art in our neighborhood,” she said. “So this museum, which is a few blocks from where Alfred actually grew up as a child, this museum is in our neighborhood, and it will reflect the art of all 26 that were inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
The museum currently relies on benefactors who donate original Highwaymen works, with the goal of eventually displaying art from all 26 recognized artists.
Truesdell said opening during Black History Month carries particular meaning after earlier delays.
“Last year, during this time, during the festival, we thought we would be open, but it didn’t happen,” she said. “So this year, we are going to be open during Black History Month and to celebrate Black history and to celebrate not so much the artists anymore, but the history of the artists, the legacy of the artists, because most of the artists have passed on.”
She said the Highwaymen’s work continues to gain significance as Florida changes.
“Isn’t it wonderful? It is so wonderful because the art has stood the test of time. It’s not diminishing, it’s getting greater,” she said.
The paintings, she added, preserve images of a Florida that no longer exists.
“And that’s what the paintings depict, what it used to be, how it used to look. The beautiful skies, the sunsets, the sunrises, and you didn’t have the construction out. You could just look out as far as you could see,” she said.
Truesdell said the museum also ensures that Alfred Hair’s legacy endures decades after his death.
“Even though he was killed when he was 29 years old, he still lives on,” she said. “As long as the art lives, they will never die. The art keeps the Highwaymen alive.”