<I>Two Egrets in a swamp, Poinciana Trees</I>
date: label: Date
content: ca. 2010
name: label: Created by
content: John Maynor, American, 1948 - 2016
notes: label: Caption
content: John Maynor was a member of the Florida Highwaymen, a group of self-taught artists who worked in Florida starting in the 1950s. The Highwaymen leveraged their entrepreneurial spirit to create an independent artistic tradition during the era of segregation. The group was made up of twenty-five men and one woman. Their art provided an alternative livelihood to the regional agricultural and factory work. Maynor moved into landscape painting after meeting another Highwaymen, Alfred Hair. Maynor was informally mentored by painters Sam Newton and Livingston Roberts. Maynor was also a commercial artist, particularly in sign painting.
label: Caption
content: The group created a great quantity of work, often dozens of paintings per day, which would be sold inexpensively. The paintings depict Florida landscapes and are renowned for their vibrant colors and serene scenes. Like other Highwaymen, Maynor sold his paintings out of his car along roadways and from his home. This practice led Jim Finch, a Sebring Florida gallery owner, to name the group the “Highwaymen” in a 1995 essay, prompting a renewed public interest. In 2004, they were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
label: Caption
content: Fort Pierce and the Florida Humanities Council. “The Highwaymen Trail.” 2012. https://thehighwaymentrail.com/bibliography/.
label: Description
content: Oil painting of a landscape with Poinciana and palm trees surrounding water. There is a river of pond in the lower half of the painting (a). The shoreline has thick vegetation. There are two (2) red Poinciana trees, one on each side of the painting. There are two (2) egrets depicted below the Poinciana tree on the right. There is a grouping of three (3) palm trees slightly off-center. There is a yellow sun at the top of the painting which blends into the blue sky. The sky is reflected on the water. The painting is signed in the bottom right. A sticker is on the reverse of the board on the right side. It reads [EUCABOARD] in black on a green background with a rainbow border. The bottom of the sticker is white with black text [1/8” x 48” x 96”] and a partially visible barcode.
label: Description
content: The wooden frame (b) is made from repurposed construction materials. The frame is lightly painted with white and gold-colored paints. The white is evenly applied close to the painting and on the reverse. The board is secured to the frame with rounded brackets. A metal wire anchored with a screw eye on each side is strung across the upper back. The frame is nailed together at the corners. There are stamps on the reverse of the board and frame from Fort Pierce, Fl. collector Matt Samuels.
place: label: Place made
content: Fort Pierce, Saint Lucie County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Nature
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Robert and Flory Kahn in memory of Wolf and Tybe Kahn
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.185.8ab
objectType: label: Type
content: oil paintings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: oil paint on hardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (framed): 19 3/4 × 27 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (50.2 × 70.5 × 4.4 cm)