H x W x D (framed): 26 7/8 × 38 7/8 × 2 1/2 in. (68.3 × 98.7 × 6.4 cm)
Type:
oil paintings
Place made:
Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
Date:
ca. 1962
Caption:
Roy McLendon 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. McLendon began to paint after seeing the work of his neighbor, Highwaymen Harold Newton. McLendon became a full-time artist in the mid-1960s. He owns a gallery with his son, also a painter.
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, McLendon 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 lightning storm over a Florida landscape. There is a small body of water in the lower center of the painting (a). This stream or pond is surrounded by green and brown trees and water grasses. A downed palm tree is in the foreground. Two (2) white egrets or cranes are in flight just above the water. There is a large tree in a grassy open space on the far bank. The stormy sky is dark with large clouds. Yellow lightning cuts diagonally across the sky in the background. A forest is along the horizon line. The work is signed at the bottom right. There is an embossed logo on the reverse of the board. The board has loss around the edges.
The wooden frame (b) is made from repurposed construction materials. Both sides are the frame are covered by gold-colored paint. The board is secured to the frame with small staples. A metal wire anchored with a screw eye on each side is strung across the upper back. The frame is nailed together at the corners.
