Note Type
Antony Hayton, Exhibit DirectorNote
Alfred "Freddy" Hair (1941-1970)
Orange Firesky
Oil on Upson Board circa 1965
Image size 24" X 36"
In 1956, when Hair was 14 years old, he began taking painting lessons from Backus. After three years, Hair set out on his own to earn a living as an artist. Those 3 years rounded his talents and sharpened his desire to do the unheard of, make a living as a Black artist, while still living in a segregated working-class town. Not only was he bound and destined to succeed, but he had set his goal of becoming a millionaire by the time he was 35. Backus might sell his works for $350 or more dollars, but Hair knew a Black man could not command those dollars. Instead, he set out to paint fast and sell relatively inexpensive original art. If he could paint 10 paintings in the time it took Backus to do one and sell them for $35 each, he reasoned he could make the same amount as Backus. So began Alfred Hair's incredible speed painting style and his Florida Art Factory.
An almost surreal sunset by Alfred Hair. He was unafraid to create scenes with a bolder color palette than the other artists. The elements in this work were crafted quickly. The unseen setting sun takes hold of the sky and the land. Fast grass in the foreground and a distant line of trees give depth and perception. Birds take flight into the burning sky layered by Hair's palette knife, and a solitary tall moss-draped Pine commands our attention. We stand in curious wonder, drawn into Hair's land of primordial fantasy and transported to an almost otherworldly place for us alone to share with him.