R.L. Lewis, one of five surviving Florida Highwaymen, appears at Palm Beach historical society event

R.L. Lewis, one of five surviving members of the Florida Highwaymen, made a recent appearance at the Historical Society of Palm Beach County to discuss the group's history and his continuing work.

The appearance highlighted how Lewis and other Highwaymen sold paintings along Florida roadways during segregation when galleries were closed to Black artists. Lewis, now in his eighties, maintains an art gallery in Cocoa and continues to create and teach, organizers said.

Speakers at the event and the program narrative recounted episodes from the Highwaymen's early days: traveling town to town, displaying paintings from car trunks and sometimes selling work even to law-enforcement officers. The program also noted a 2017 demonstration and lecture at Grassy Waters Preserve in which Lewis participated, and that fellow Highwayman James Gibson has since died. The event description said Curtis Arnett, another Highwayman, has met admirers during public stops and that the group’s work includes landscapes such as pieces referencing the St. Lucie River.

The Historical Society framed the appearance as part of preserving the art and history of Florida’s Highwaymen, who include one woman among the cohort. The program emphasized the artists’ influence on regional cultural history and their efforts to pass knowledge to new generations of students and collectors.

The event concluded with a note that the Highwaymen’s body of work and its local connections will continue to be shown and conserved through gallery exhibitions and public talks.