Orange Sky, Breaking Surf, 3 Birds

Object Details

Created by

Alfred Hair, American, 1941 - 1970

Caption

Alfred Hair was a member of the Florida Highwaymen, a group of self-taught artists who worked in Florida starting in the 1950s. The Highwaymen leveraged their entrepreneurial spirit to create an independent artistic tradition during the era of segregation. The group was made up of twenty-five men and one woman. Their art provided an alternative livelihood to the regional agricultural and factory work. Alfred Hair was mentored by the Fort Pierce, Fl. artist A.E. “Bean” Backus and was the only formally trained Highwaymen painter. Hair’s work encouraged other artists to take up painting.

The group created a great quantity of work, often dozens of paintings per day, which would be sold inexpensively. The paintings depict Florida landscapes and are renowned for their vibrant colors and serene scenes. Like other Highwaymen, Hair sold his paintings door to door and out of his car along roadways. This practice led Jim Finch, a Sebring Florida gallery owner, to name the group the “Highwaymen” in a 1995 essay, prompting a renewed public interest. In 2004, they were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

Fort Pierce and the Florida Humanities Council. “The Highwaymen Trail.” 2012. https://thehighwaymentrail.com/bibliography/.

Description

Oil painting of a Florida beach. This painting (a) depicts a sunset or sunrise over the water. The sky is depicted in various shades of orange with small clouds in the background. There is a group of three (3) seagulls flying in the center. The sky is reflected on the ocean water. The middle of the painting has surf with breaking waves. The painting is signed in the bottom right.

The wooden frame (b) is made from repurposed construction materials. The frame is lightly painted with white and gold-colored paints. The painting is secured to the frame with small nails and covered with masking tape. A wire is anchored with a screw eye on each side and strung across the upper back. The frame is nailed together at the corners.

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Robert and Flory Kahn in memory of Wolf and Tybe Kahn

ca.1965

Object number

2014.185.9ab

Restrictions & Rights

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Type

oil paintings

Medium

oil paint on fiberboard

Dimensions

H x W x D (framed): 27 1/4 × 35 5/8 × 2 in. (69.2 × 90.5 × 5.1 cm)

Place made

Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida, United States, North and Central America

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Visual Arts

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic

African American

American South

Art

Nature

Record ID

nmaahc_2014.185.9ab

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5ccfa2b29-3460-4062-8dc2-633337469100