Ever since the African American artists now known as the Highwaymen were introduced to the world from an article in a trade journal thirteen years ago their paintings have become very collectible. Five of the twenty six artists who have been identified as original Highwaymen are deceased, most of the others continue to paint.

EBay has done a commendable job of making internet buying a pleasant and profitable experience by implementing and maintaining  a system of checks and balances to keep the "bad guys" out. But..., when bidding is hot and heavy and prices are escalating like they are with Highwayman art it's caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. 

This Guide is intended to provide information about Highwayman art for potential purchasers and serious collectors.

In the early 1960's a young black student, Alfred Hair, befriended A.E. "Bean" Backus, a white painter living in Fort Pierce, Florida  now deceased and known as the Dean of Florida landscape artisit with the intention of learning the tricks of the trade and improving his lot in the segregated south of the times. Alfred learned quickly and although his paintings were often labeled "primitive" or worse by dealers and academics they found a ready market with people who could relate to a pristine Florida now at risk. Alfred's successes caused him to recruit friends and acquaintances, teach them the basics of applying paint, and step up production. Paintings originally sold for $15.00 - $25.00. The current high sales price for a Highwayman painting is $42,000.00. That's not an average, just a high and represents a bidding battle between two collectors with deep pockets who were both determined to own the painting..

More realistically, prices range from $500.00 to $5,000.00 depending on a number of factors. Genre scenes with people, animals or buildings fetch the highest prices.

Be aware that there are original Highwaymen (26), Highwayman wannabees, second generation Highwaymen, and Highwayman style artists.That's perfectly fine and makes no difference if all you want is a Florida landscape painting to hang on the wall. If you want an historically important painting that will appreciate in value, get the real thing.

Generally, and for serious collectors, early work by Highwayman artists  ( work completed before 1993 ) is considered the most desirable. These paintings were usually done on a construction material called Upson board. Because the Upson company went out of business around 1980 paintings on Upson are easily identified as very early.

An early painting by J. Daniels

Later masonite and canvas panels were used to paint on. Currently most of the artists use stretched canvas.

Astute collectors prefer early paintings because they recognize certain qualities in the work that are not so obvious now that the artists have achieved so much media attention. Early paintings have been described as "naive" or "honest" Honest in the sense that the artists were painting subject matter they were thoroughly familiar with and were uninfluenced by trends.Their new found celebrity has changed the way in which they perceive themselves. That in turn is reflected in how and what they paint. Recent paintings are generally more technically correct in the historical sense and they have grown to an increased awareness of and concern with things like perspective,composition, and scale.That's a natural growth process and I don't mean imply that "early" is better or best aesthetically or artistically, but the early paintings better reflect who the Highwaymen really are.

A more sophisticated genre scene

Upson board being a rigid and durable material was undoubtedly the reason so many Highwayman paintings have survived the ravages of time by being stored in barns, basements, and attics. It was customary for the artists to prime the board with shellac because it was fast drying and could be painted over quickly. Unfortunately dry to touch doesn't mean ready to paint on. Artists colors applied over shellac that was not thoroughly dry created a tension between the drying times of the two mediums and often resulted in cracquelure also known as alligatoring. The use of shellac as a primer can also cause paint flaking because it provides poor adhesion for a top coat.
Condition is important when considering the purchase of a painting. Restoration is expensive.

Paintings that have been restored or touched up ( inpainted ) can be identified with an ultra violet light and sometimes by simply smelling for fresh paint. Professional restoration should be documented and become part of the paintings history ( provenance ) and certified by the restorer.

Signed versus unsigned.

All things being equal, an unsigned work will never be as desirable or valuable as a legitimately signed one. Real Highwayman paintings are not difficult to identify even if unsigned. Attributing them to a particular artist can be tricky however. Many paintings were signed  A. Black, one of the original Highwaymen, with a ball point pen long after the paint had dried. Al Black was a designated salesman for the group and if a painting he was offering to a prospective purchaser was unsigned Al would whip out a ball point pen and sign it on the
spot with his name. A more reliable signature will be painted with a brush or incised into the wet paint with the handle of a brush.

Outright forgeries are not perceived as a problem yet. With prices in the five figures they could be. Uninitiated buyers should purchase several good books or videos now on the market to familiarize themselves with paintings by these artists.

Another great way to learn more about Highwayman art and its current value is to go to eBay's Home Page and enter Highwaymen in the search box at the top right of the page. This will take you to active auction pages. On the left side of the page scroll down and select completed auctions. This will take you to a data base listing of auctions that have closed and what prices have been received for paintings actually sold.