Note Type
Antony Hayton, Exhibit DirectorNote
Alfred Hair (1941-1970)
Oil On Upson Board Circa 1963
Image size 24" X 36"
Alfred Hair is one of the two key protagonists in the Highwaymen story. He is credited with being the creative mastermind behind his "Florida Art Factory". He devised a "speed painting" method which he married to a production line concept of working on 10 or more paintings at a time, lined up side by side, he'd go from one painting to the next. With this method, he could produce multiple canvases a day. His "crew" of friends and relatives would prep the Upson Board for paint, paint skies, and make frames from window molding, he even had a sales team to sell the art. The idea was to paint fast, paint often, sell, and repeat. He was ambitious and had a goal to be a millionaire by age 35. That dream died when he was shot dead in a "juke joint" in an act of jealous rage. Suddenly the creative spirit behind the group was gone.
Alfred's "Midnite Surf" comes alive with wind and surf spray. Note Hair's characteristic "fast grass" in the foreground. Hair was a confident artist, enabling him to paint quickly and add an impressionistic feel to his emotive works. He is the only artist in the group who took formal art lessons, first in High School and then with A. E. Backus after his art teacher Zinobia Jefferson took him to meet Backus to further abilities.