Circle Auction
Live Auction

The Highwaymen: African American Visions of the Florida Landscape

Sat, Aug 30, 2025 10:00AM EDT
  2025-08-30 10:00:00 2025-08-30 10:00:00 America/New_York Circle Auction Circle Auction : The Highwaymen: African American Visions of the Florida Landscape https://bid.circle-auction.com/auctions/circle-auction/the-highwaymen-african-american-visions-of-the-florida-landscape-19998
A single-owner collection of works by the Florida Highwaymen, a collective of 26 African American landscape painters formed in the 1950s. Denied the opportunity to show their work in the art galleries of the Jim Crow South, these artists, led by Harold Newton and Alfred Hair, drove up and down the roads of Southeast Florida selling their paintings out of the trunks of their cars. Their vibrant scenery and enterprising spirit stand as an inspiring example of Black art overcoming adverse circumstances, and today each member of the Highwaymen are inductees of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Circle Auction info@circle-auction.com
View Catalog (50)

Prev Lot
Next Lot
Harold Newton "Royal Poinciana" Oil on Board
Lot 5

Harold Newton "Royal Poinciana" Oil on Board

Estimate: $5,000 - $10,000
Inquire
Current Bid
$2,500
[1 Bid]Bidding History
Bid increments chart

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$5,000 $250
$10,000 $500
$20,000 $1,000
$50,000 $2,500
$75,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

Harold Newton

(Florida, 1934-1994)

Royal Poinciana

Oil on board

20" x 23 1/4"

 

Signed to the bottom right corner. The frame measures 23 3/4" x 27".

 

Harold Newton is considered the first, most important, and most talented of all of the Highwaymen. Born one of 18 children in a blended Florida family, Newton was raised in Georgia, and moved out on his own and back to Florida's Treasure Coast as a teenager. He had always been interested in art, and a 1954 meeting with Bean Backus, the Dean of Florida Landscape Painters, profoundly shaped his own work and career to come. Newton watched Backus work in his studio for long stretches, gaining an arsenal of techniques, and when Newton artfully replicated Backus's scenery, he was met with wonder and great encouragement.

 

In 1954, Newton began to peddle his own landscapes on the street, the only sales model available to African Americans in the Jim Crow South. He found enough success to inspire his friend Alfred Hair, a student of Backus, to follow his lead selling door-to-door. Newton and Hair inspired numerous other aspiring artists to learn their styles and techniques, and one by one, a loose group of 26 variously connected Black artists came together to form a collective of sorts that would retrospectively be known as the Highwaymen.

 

Though the more social Alfred Hair was considered the heart of the group, it was Harold Newton's skillful painting that inspired most of all. Highwayman James Gibson said "If it wasn't for Harold, we wouldn't really have been painting. He could paint better than we could." Willie Daniels, another Highwayman, commented, "Harold was number one. Everyone wanted to be like him. Masterpieces off the top of his head." And Highwayman Roy McLendon considered Newton to be every bit as good as Bean Backus, and "sometimes better." Harold Newton remained devoted to his art throughout his life, before he tragically passed away at 59 years old, right before a major critical reassessment and interest in the Highwaymen began in earnest.

 

Literature: Gary Monroe, Harold Newton: The Original Highwayman, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2007.

Condition

Good condition. A few nail holes visible just inside the extreme right edge. Some minor wear to the frame. No in-painting or over-painting noted upon blacklight inspection.

Overall Dimensions
Height: 23.75 in
Width: 27.00 in
Depth: 2.00 in

Available payment options

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Amex
  • Diners
  • Discover
  • JCB
  • Union Pay

Pick Up, Packing, & Shipping: Winning bidders may pick up their lots, once paid in full, at Circle’s auction office Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm, beginning the first business day following the date of the auction. Lots are not available for pick-up on Saturdays, Sundays, or national holidays. If packing and shipping is required, we can provide you with a list of recommended shippers by request. You will be responsible to contact, arrange shipment, and pay 3rd party shippers. Circle will not be responsible for loss or damage of purchased lots handled or shipped, nor for acts and omissions, by 3rd party shippers, whether recommended by us or not. Circle will not release the lot for shipment until payment has been made in full and a buyer’s written shipping authorization form has been received. Winning bids may not be retracted, canceled or rescinded due to issues with shipping including, but not limited to, costs or prohibitions. It is the responsibility of the bidder to account for shipping prior to bidding. Failure to Pick Up & Storage: Winning bidders must pick up or have lots shipped within 15 calendar days of the close of the auction. On lots requiring a blanket shipper, shipping must be scheduled with the blanket shipper and confirmed with the auction house within 15 calendar days of the close of the auction,with lot pick-up scheduled no later than 30 calendar days from the close of the auction. On the 16th day from the close of the auction Circle has the right to charge the winning bidder a storage fee of $5 per lot per day. Lots that have been paid for, but remain on our premises sixty (60) days from the close of the auction may be sold by Circle, with no notice to the buyer. Any funds in excess of the purchase price, commissions, applicable costs, and storage fees will be remitted to the original winning bidder. At the point where storage fees associated with an unshipped item exceed the hammer price of the item the winning bidder will be considered in default of our terms and conditions and forfeits ownership to Circle Auction or its affiliated companies. In the case where the item is forfeited the winning bidder will not be compensated in any way. Lots left with Circle after the 16th day from the close of the auction are stored at the buyer’s risk. If you have any questions regarding these terms please contact Circle Auction by email at : Info@Circle-Auction.com