ART
57
Hair holds his baby daughter in a studio adorned with his trademark pine trees.
ROGER LIGHTLE COLLECTION
Hair, a student of A.E. “Bean” Backus, followed in the older artist’s footsteps until he decided
he could make a painting faster and sell them door to door, thus fueling his dream to
doubtedly, he could have painted slower, but he decided to
streamline many aspects of Backus’s paintings. His critical
review was whether people bought them or not.”
And buy them they did, so much that Hair hired salesmen
to go out on the road for him so that he could spend his time
painting.
Much of the Backus exhibition comes from the collection
of Highwaymen collector and art dealer Roger Lightle of
Vero Beach.
“Of the 26 artists, Alfred Hair was the only one who was a
student of Backus,” says Lightle. “Yes, Harold Newton would
talk to Backus and ask his advice, but Alfred Hair took painting
lessons from him.”
Hair was a student at Lincoln Park Academy when his art
teacher, Zanobia Jefferson, recognized a talent she thought
should be further nurtured, and she contacted Backus about
giving Hair lessons.
So, young Hair crossed the dividing line of the Jim Crow
South — the railroad tracks —and made his way to the
Backus studio, where he paid 25 cents for lessons from
Backus. Sometimes, his sister would clean the house to pay
for the lessons.
At the time, in 1958, a young black man taking art lessons
from a white man wasn’t widely accepted, but Backus was
unconcerned.
“Backus’ studio really was a safe place,” says Adams. “It
was a Bohemian bubble where people of all backgrounds
could meet. He opened his doors and he lived his life as an
example of someone who accepted everyone.”
A fast learner, Hair began learning Backus’s artistic technique
that sought to imitate nature.
Don D. Brown, also an artist who managed the Backus
studio, remembered Hair as a charismatic young man who
always had a smile on his face. Hair was quickly involved in
life at the studio, making trips to the Bahamas or to Jamaica
with Backus and some of the other young people who sought >>
become a millionaire by the age of 35. (Oil on Upson board.)
Hair attended Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce where he
was an athlete and a popular student.
ROGER LIGHTLE COLLECTION
Beach scenes were common subjects for all the Highwaymen, including
Hair. The vibrant colors and appealing subject were hard for buyers to
resist. (Oil on Upson board.)