Yeliel Brooks

The poinciana tree is the perfect muse. With its bright red leaves, thick trunk, and weeping branches, it’s no wonder this particular species has inspired countless artists, including the likes of A.E. “Beanie” Backus. Born and raised in Florida, Backus’s depiction of the poinciana is undoubtedly the most culturally relevant. However, this is not a result of his aesthetic talent or technique, but rather what it meant to a group of young, aspiring artists living amid Jim Crow.

After attending the Parsons School of Design and Art in New York, Backus became a witness to the initial boom in development of South Florida, and its subsequent crash, working odd jobs to get by as an artist. Over the decades, his prominence in the art world grew, becoming a respected artist by the 1950s. Throughout this time, Backus would spend his weekends mentoring local youths, including Edmund Hair, an African American teenager who adopted Backus’ techniques into a faster, more efficient form of alla prima, or finishing a painting in one session. Though the Madagascar native poinciana tree is not considered invasive, the countless studies of Backus’ painting of
it took over Florida, a result of the countless studies and inspired
works made by Hair and his friends. With their newfound artistic
prowess, they toured i-95, selling paintings from their trunks, priced at $20 a piece. This is how 26 artists made a living throughout the 60s. As Hair himself stated, “If you don’t have a poinciana painting, you don’t want any money,” with the group producing hundreds of thousands of paintings. However, following the death of Hair in 1970, the group lost organization, reducing their output.

For most of the group’s history, they painted without a name
and without recognition. Their work was regarded as cheap,
mass-produced copies of Backus’ own aesthetic and work. It wasn’t until 2004 that they were inaugurated into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame as the Highwaymen, recognizing their unique style and portrayals of Florida landscapes as important contributions to the art world, born out of necessity but important nonetheless, a testament to the power of art in bringing people of differing backgrounds together, despite Jim Crow.