Seeing old Florida in a new light
May 21 @ 6:00 pm
Join Coral Gables Museum for a lecture exploring the history, context, and cultural significance of Florida’s landscape painting tradition and its enduring legacy. For more than a century, artists have gathered along the Indian River to build a powerful tradition of landscape painting that continues to resonate today. Chief among them is A.E. “Beanie” Backus, the 20th century’s foremost painter of the Florida landscape, whose generosity of spirit helped shape one of American art’s most remarkable stories: the painters known today as the Florida Highwaymen.
This loose collective of 26 self-taught African American artists captured the splendor of their surroundings through vivid, fast, and accessibly priced paintings, often sold directly from their cars. The lecture explores the stories behind these works, the landscapes they immortalized, and a legacy that continues to influence future generations.
Program 6:00 – 6:30 PM Reception with wine and light bites 7:00 – 7:45 PM Lecture 7:45 – 8:00 PM Q&A