Art talk: Lehigh Art League members enjoy meeting Highwayman artist

By Staff | Oct 22, 2014

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE CITIZEN Jean O’Brien, Dorothy Ault and Terry Shattuck of the Lehigh Art League met with Al Black, an original Highwayman artist, after his demonstration of a rendering of a Florida landscape at the Alliance of the Arts.

Three members of the Lehigh Art League said they really enjoyed the time they had to listen to and chat with Al Black, an original Highwayman artist, after his demonstration of a painting of a scenic Florida landscape at the Alliance of the Arts in Fort Myers recently.

Jean O’Brien, Dorothy Ault and Terry Shattuck visited the program put on by the Alliance of the Arts, which is an umbrella organization of art organizations in the Southwest Florida area.

For many people, they may have paintings hanging in their homes of typical Florida scenes without even knowing that the artist who painted them have become famous today.

That’s what Jean O’Brien said after the visit.

Unless you are an artist yourself or close to the art world, you may have never heard of the Florida Highwaymen, a group of black artists – one being a woman – who back in the 50s and 60s painted iconic scenes of Florida and sold them at cheap prices to people along the highways.

Jean O’Brien

“They were all black artists and in those days they were not allowed to show their work in art galleries,” said Terry Shattuck of the Lehigh Art League. She is the vice president and instructor of the local art group that meets at the First Christian Church at 2803 Lee Blvd. in Lehigh Acres.

The Highwaymen are a group of 26 African American landscape artists in Florida and they were self-taught and self-mentoring and they created a body of works of more than 200,000 paintings, despite facing many racial and cultural obstacles of that time.

They mainly came from the east coast of Florida in the area of

Fort Pierce and they made their livings selling their paintings door-to-door to business and individuals throughout Florida really from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. And according to Al Black, a member of that group, they also peddled their work from the trunks of their cars along the east coast.

That’s where Al Hunt comes in. He had been born in Mississippi on a cotton plantation and decided to come to Florida to work in the fields picking and harvesting crops.

Terry Shattuck

But during that time, this man that some call a natural salesman, worked with the Highwaymen and took their pieces of art and sold them from the trunk of his own car and he made money, too, by his own admission, that he may have charged more than what the actual artists were asking.

These Highwaymen often sold paintings from their cars with the canvasses still wet from the paint.

Al Black, who served a prison term, some years ago, also was selected by the wardens during his incarceration to paint all the murals on the walls that he wanted. Black said he had learned to repair many of the paintings from the Highwaymen as he drove the highways in central and South Florida selling their paintings.

After a story was published about the black artists, who often painted the same scenes over and over again, the Highwaymen became famous or celebrated as some say for their idyllic landscapes of natural settings in Florida. The original 26 Florida Highwaymen, many who are deceased today, were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Lehigh Arts League (LAL) may not be as well-known today as they were several decades ago, but those who are members are as interested in art as many former active members.

They meet regularly and one woman, Jean O’Brien has been a part of the group for at least 20 years.

She calls herself a “self-appointed special events director.”

Terry Shattuck is vice president of the group and has been a part of it for 35 years and is the group’s instructor.

She said Al Black’s storytelling and demonstration as he painted a piece of art in about an hour was very interesting. After the program was over, the three women asked if he would pose with them for a photograph and he agreed.

The local group of artists is made up of 20 members. Officers of the Lehigh Arts League include its president, Patricia Boyd, its vice president, Terry Shattuck; its treasurer, Linda McDougall, and its secretary, Penny Fox. Its past president is Carol Bertino, who remains very active in the club.

Member Jean O’Brien who is in her 90s, rarely misses a meeting, but she would love to see more people join them.

“I know we have talented people in Lehigh. But I have to realize that unlike 30 years ago, many of Lehigh’s residents today are composed of young families and they are very bush and there is not enough time to become involved in a group like us,” she said.

“Many of the older members have passed away, but we had a thriving group some years ago,” she said.

Terry Shattuck who is formerly of Lehigh Acres now lives in Fort Myers, but comes to all the sessions and makes plans well ahead of time for what the club will be doing.

“I feel like I live in Lehigh because lived here for so long,” she said.

She has plans from now well into 2015. She said that Monday afternoon watercolor classes start promptly at 1 p.m.

Come 2015, the club will hold its annual Special Event Day. According to a schedule sent out by the club president, that Thursday is a full-day class with Cheryl Fausel, a local and international renowned artist.

Fausel is quoted as saying: “My work is more towards the realistic with an abstract edge and the possibility of the story within.

“It’s about a continuing journey, a chance to grow,” she said.

The group’s annual Christmas party-Grab-Bag event is planned for 11 a.m. on December 15. Members are asked to bring their own lunch and on March 23 of next year, there is their annual Birthday Bash.

Shattuck has welcomed the members back to the new season.

“I am really excited about seeing each of you and looking forward to another great and successful year. This summer it made me very happy to hear from so many of you about your summer achievements and accomplishments,” she said in a letter to them.

She said the club’s “year-round artists have been traveling, painting and taking workshops.”

She has goals for the members for the new season:

“Have fun, enjoy painting, accomplish a better understanding and usage of the principles and elements of design, and focus on color, technique, and application of paint. My hopes, dreams and goals for our class are becoming reality and I am truly proud of all of you.

“For 30 years, I have been teaching this class and I sincerely say ‘you guys’ are the cream of the crop,” she told them in the welcome letter.

Membership is only $25 to become a member of the group and O’Brien says members really enjoy themselves through their art.

If you are interested in art and want to become a part of this Lehigh group and learn more about painting from Terry Shattuck, you can email her at: terrybillshattuck@comcast.net. She will put you in touch with someone who will welcome you to the club.

: Jean O’Brien

: Terry Shattuck