
Harold Newton
The Original Highwayman
Gary Monroe(Author)
University Press of Florida
Published on 30. May 2007
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-0-8130-3042-5 (ISBN)
Description
Harold Newton was an unrecognized vagabond artist who not only captured the beauty of the Florida landscape but transformed it with an artistry that invoked its drama of light, color, and form while hinting at its dark, primordial forces. Combining samples of his paintings with biographical details and reminiscences of family members, customers, and fellow Highwaymen, Gary Monroe creates an homage to the man whose work contributed perhaps more than anyone else's to shaping the romantic imagery and identity of modern Florida. An enigmatic figure, Newton lived an artist's life - aloof and prolific while painting, gregarious and expansive when socializing. Taking to the streets to sell his paintings in 1954, he sold untold numbers of works, showering the state with them. More of Newton's paintings remain today than those of any of the other Highwaymen. Monroe explains these images' enduring appeal while providing glimpses of the African American artist's life from which they emerged. Newton is central to understanding the style of landscape painting that emerged from the Indian River area at mid-century, and Monroe creates an attractive, engaging, and informative account of this pivotal artist and his impact on the popular image of Florida.
Reviews / Votes
Gary Monroe has captured the essence of the Highwaymen's spirit through his insightful and endearing portrait of the group's finest painter. - Allison McCarthy, executive director, LeMoyne Art FoundationMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Florida
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
65 colour plates, 2 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 259 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
918 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8130-3042-5 (9780813030425)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Gary Monroe is author of The Highwaymen: Florida's African-American Landscape Painters (UPF) and Extraordinary Interpretations: Florida's Self-Taught Artists (UPF). As a lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau, Monroe has brought the Highwaymen story and self-taught Floridian art to the citizenry of Florida. Widely exhibited throughout the state, his photographs have also been published in Life in South Beach and Florida Dreams.