Since the 1950s, a loose group of landscape painters on Florida's East Coast have rendered the sunsets, marshes, beaches, and plants and wildlife of their land in tens-of-thousands of paintings, which have spread widely across the state and country. These artists employed surreal colors, thrifty materials and brushstrokes, and innovative sales tactics to achieve a unique fusion of art and commerce – one specific to their circumstances as Black people in Jim Crow America.

In 3 sections, you will dig into the debates behind the different ways the story of these artists, the so-called "Highwaymen," gets told, take a closer look at the life of one Highwayman – a woman – Mary Ann Carroll, and lastly learn about the environmental changes to Florida that Highwaymen paintings are windows onto. 

This Learning Lab collection was created by students Miles Mikofsky, Ania Ty, and Samantha Wetherell in the Summer 2021 Smithsonian Affiliate Digital Learning and Engagement Internship, in partnership with Emerson Collective and the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a Smithsonian Affiliate. #SAintern #RaceAndSocialJustice #ClimateChange #WomensHistory