Florida's Art Tradition
The contemporary component
1950 - present
The contemporary component
1950 - present
Keith Martin Johns
A time of prosperity that followed World War Two provided the ingredient that had been missing but was vital to the blooming of an art tradition..., money. Culture rarely thrives in a depressed economy. The components that constitute the heritage of a region or country grow there, but not culture itself.
Many fourth and fifth generation Floridian's whose ancestors ad planted groves, established cattle herds, and started businesses were now reaping the benefits of those endeavors. They had discretionary income that was necessary to support the arts. They also had an inherited sense of belonging to a particular place and an awareness of their heritage that had been passed down to them. It was only natural that they would seek out art they could relate to. There was precious little of it to be had!
Two artists who were working within the genre of Florida Regionalism (ca. 1950 ) and outside the major metropolitan areas were A.E. "Bean" Backus (deceased) and his brother in law, Jim Hutchinson. Backus, known as "the Dean of Florida landscape painters" and an inductee to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, was mentor, guide, teacher, and source of encouragement to many aspiring Florida artists. Hutchinson, alive and well as of this writing, built his career on paintings of the Seminole Indians.
Many fourth and fifth generation Floridian's whose ancestors ad planted groves, established cattle herds, and started businesses were now reaping the benefits of those endeavors. They had discretionary income that was necessary to support the arts. They also had an inherited sense of belonging to a particular place and an awareness of their heritage that had been passed down to them. It was only natural that they would seek out art they could relate to. There was precious little of it to be had!
Two artists who were working within the genre of Florida Regionalism (ca. 1950 ) and outside the major metropolitan areas were A.E. "Bean" Backus (deceased) and his brother in law, Jim Hutchinson. Backus, known as "the Dean of Florida landscape painters" and an inductee to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, was mentor, guide, teacher, and source of encouragement to many aspiring Florida artists. Hutchinson, alive and well as of this writing, built his career on paintings of the Seminole Indians.
Ben Essenberg
Backus is credited with helping black youths from the Fort Pierce area to begin painting Florida landscapes as an alternative to manual labor which would normally have been their lot in the segregated south of the 1950's. These artists, now known as the Highwaymen, are recognized as an artistic phenomenon, the beginning of Florida's contemporary art tradition. Their paintings are very collectible.
It was also about this time that another artist began a career independent of his peers in Fort Pierce. Although Robert Butler began as a young, black, very prolific artist who influenced by Backus, all the hallmarks of a Highwaymen, he was cut from different cloth. For one thing, Butler recognize the importance of self promotion and used it to great advantage.
