Signed Painting of Coastal Landscape by Florida Highwayman Michael R. Sears

Vibrant painting on board of a coastal marsh scene in gold frame by artist Michael R. Sears (American, b. 1962). Sears is considered a modern member and legacy artist of the well-known and respected group of American painters known as the Florida Highwaymen. Born in Florida in 1962, Michael R. Sears began painting at a very young age under the tutelage of George Buckner Jr., an original member of the Florida Highwaymen. This group of talented African-American Florida painters (25 men and 1 woman) – traveled the Florida highways after WWII selling their original paintings from the trunks of their cars as their pieces were not usually welcomed in Southern galleries. Despite limited work options during the tumultuous and violent Civil Rights Era, the Highwaymen were determined not to work as field laborers in Florida’s citrus groves. Instead, they used their artistic talents to produce their paintings in a short amount of time and with inexpensive materials such as household paint and boards. Although Sears is much younger man to the senior Highwaymen artists, he has been given the title because of his training by the elders of the group, his similar painting style, and his ethnic and socio-economic background.

Michael R. Sears has been the subject of many documentaries and featured in many galleries and exhibits in the United States and beyond.