Pictured: Painting by Robert L. Lewis. Courtesy of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.

Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast is thrilled to host a collective of Florida Highwaymen for a special one-night-only exhibition of their legendary art. The event will take place, Wednesday, February 22 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the foundation’s Burrows-Matson House headquarters at Bay Preserve, 400 Palmetto Avenue in Osprey. Artwork will be available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Conservation Foundation. From the early 1950s through the 1980s, twenty-six African-American artists - now known as the Florida Highwaymen - used vivid and bright colors to paint scenes of beautiful, untouched Florida. Excluded from showing their work in galleries or museums in Jim Crow era Florida, they piled their paintings into the trunks of their cars and sold them along US Highway 1, thus earning the name “Highwaymen.” Today, their vibrant paintings are highly-collectible and widely sought after. Three of the original twenty-six artists – Curtis Arnett, Al Black, and Robert L. Lewis – along with one second-generation Highwayman – Roy McLendon, Jr. – will be in attendance with artwork on display and available for purchase. Registration for the reception is required. To RSVP, visit Conservation Foundation online at conservationfoundation.com/events or call 941-918-2100. To learn more about the individual artists or the Highwaymen as a whole, visit floridahighwaymenpaintings.com.

Pictured: Painting by Robert L. Lewis. Courtesy of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.