Alfred Hair (1941-1970) American, Oil on Board Florida Highwayman Coastal Landscape. Florida Highwaymen painting by Alfred "Al" Hair depicts a dramatic, low-sweeping royal poinciana tree laden with vibrant crimson red blossoms along a sunlit coastal shore. A tall cabbage palm and lush foliage frame the background against pale skies, with the artist's fast-palette impasto technique signature visible in the lower right. Signed lower right. Framed.

Overall Size: 28 x 39 x 1 in.
Sight Size: 24 x 36 in.

Alfred Hair (1941–1970) was a pioneering African American painter from Fort Pierce, Florida, and the driving force behind the group of artists later known as the Florida Highwaymen. Mentored by renowned Florida landscape painter A.E. “Beanie” Backus, Hair developed a distinctive fast-painting technique characterized by bold brushwork, luminous skies, colorful sunsets, and evocative scenes of Florida’s palms, waterways, marshes, and coastal landscapes. Working during the era of segregation, he recognized that traditional galleries offered few opportunities for Black artists and pioneered an entrepreneurial approach in which paintings were produced quickly and sold directly from car trunks along Florida’s highways. Charismatic and ambitious, Hair organized other young artists into a highly productive painting enterprise that provided economic opportunity and helped establish a distinctive Florida landscape tradition. His life was tragically cut short in 1970 at age 29, but his influence continued through the Highwaymen, whose work has since gained national recognition and is represented in major museum collections. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.