Alfred Hair Paintings

Alfred Hair is one of the two founding Highwaymen members. At the age of 14 he began to learn his craft from A.E. "Beanie" Backus. Al was said to be closer to Bachus than his co-founder Harold Newton because he accompanied the famous white artist to the Bahamas. The most competitive of the Highwaymen, his goal was to earn money faster than the others and become a millionaire. He was known to put a photograph of his goals, such as the car he hoped to earn, near the area where he painted.

Hair's passion for wealth helped to provide the Highwaymen powerful determination, which struggling young artists needed. Alfred Hair was born in 1941 and lived until he was tragically shot and killed in Eddie's Place, a Fort Pierce "juke joint", in 1970. The Highwaymen had been held together by Hair's charisma and drive and after his death members began to go their own ways.

Alfred Hair paintings were crafted quickly and motivated by Hair's drive for money, which helped him formulate his unique style. Hair painted almost exclusively on upson board, using broad brush strokes and painting from the shoulder. He was known to paint with an almost laissez-faire attitude. He also preferred to use the wooden end of his brushes and a palette knife to "carve" details into thick layers of paint. Alfred Hair paintings appear as though they are the memory of a glimpsed moment of beauty and often contain areas of brighter contrasting colours to help delineate details and provide focal points.

One of his unique contributions to Highwaymen art includes painting woodland scenes, not only the coastal art that was the Highwaymen's bread and butter. Many of Alfred Hair paintings have a hidden sense of unrest within him; he was well known for painting "angry" marsh grass. Many speculate that feeling is derived from racial tensions, however it may have arisen from Hair's compulsion to acquire wealth. Alfred Hair's works are not very often available for sale, but some of the Alfred Hair paintings can be listed below.