Snapshot of 1995 Highwaymen art market history

I sent an email to a couple of friends who have consigned a Jane Peterson watercolor to me to offer at the shows I do around the state. They had inquired about any results from the last few shows since they gave it to me. They also sent a link to a new highwaymen website.

My response became such a long rambling thing that I figured it was perfect for my blog, which as you know, gentle reader, is filled with long boring rambling stuff.

If it seems a little personal, that's because it was meant for a couple of friends and then, due to a combination of laziness and the new popularity of "reality" things, I decided to just copy and paste the whole damn email.

Here you go.

Hi, guys.

The Peterson is getting its share of compliments. One jerk could only talk about how many fakes there are before I started ignoring him so he'd go away. He wouldn't listen, only wanted to talk, so I faked a phone call.

I spent 1000 in expenses to do WPB and had 2 sales, 150.00 and 400.00.
Another 1000 for Sanibel, 1 sale, 100.00.
Deland cost about 800.00, ended up with zero sales. I don't count the 15.00 book because I tried to give it to you, not sell it. I accepted your money because I didn't feel like arguing with a hard ass guinea from Jersey over fifteen bucks.
I'm not whining or complaining, I'm just reporting these results.

I found Gray Brewer's new site last week, too. Looks like Monroe got to his sons. Gray Brewer was the first real hoarder of highwaymen paintings. Back in the infancy of the market, 1995 or 96, John Phillips went to meet him in Vero or wherever he was on US 1 somewhere. He got a stack of slides and we looked at them together to pick out the best ones. There were over a hundred and most were Harolds. Some of the best were all spotty from mildew or whatever, stored in some barn / warehouse up there.

This was long before we knew people pictures were the good ones, but I don't think Brewer had any, anyway.

After reviewing them, and much discussion, John drove back up and convinced him, overwhelmed him, actually, by offering 500.00 apiece to let him pick out and buy 10 Harolds. He didn't want to sell any of them, but John persuaded him to let go of ten, because 500 each and five grand in cash was WAY WAY WAY too much at the time. You could buy Harolds for 25 to 150 everywhere back then.

As always, Phillips got the best of the deal and came away with 7 or 8 magnificent jumbos and some absolute killers to finish off the 10 picks. I bought 2 of the smaller ones from John, but couldn't get jumbos to fit in my 1990 Buick Regal(we called it the "Silver Bullet", God, I loved that little jet), so I stayed away from them. These paintings were special then and they are still special now. There was also a 24x36 stretched canvas blue and orange seascape in a rope frame that was simply unbelievable. It currently resides in Captiva in a great collection.

Sam Vickers himself got a pair of jumbos, a seascape and a back country, first shot, out of that group of 10. John became friends with Sam and Robbie through that 1st transaction. I was supposed to go with him up to Jax that first trip, but something came up and I couldn't go. Sam drank Scotch with John and Robbie drank Coors Light, no glass, right out of the can like I do. We would have hit it off pretty good, I think. Real people with no pretensions, lots of money but down to earth. Too bad I missed the trip. I regret it to this day.

I certainly heard about Sam's house and his collection, though, in detail and at length from John. The Vickers book by Libby was already out, so I kinda got to see the art that way.

I also knew, because of that sale to Vickers, that the highwaymen market had amazing potential, that Harold's work was solid, desirable, investment quality art, because Sam paid, if I remember, $ 2500.00 each. Buy at 5, sell at 25, gotta like that.

That one deal made me decide to be all in. I saw the light.

This might have been the TRUE birth of the market, shortly after Fitch's first article. John and I grabbed the market by the collar and dragged it along until finally a book got written by someone about the highwaymen in 2001. The author likes to take credit for the "market phenomenon". He has a semi-valid point, but a lot of time, energy and money was spent working this market long before he stumbled in.

If that sounds arrogant, I don't care. I'll be arrogant again tomorrow.

The Vickers-Phillips friendship opened the gates for the easy sale of the orange grove Backus now on the dust jacket cover of Gentle Breezes. John, through luck, bought it and a back country pine from an attorney for whom a high school friend's wife worked. She had seen them in his office. Sam already had a Backus, but wanted the orange grove. He had his brother come over and he bought the back country scene. I remember thinking it was the nicer picture of the two, not appreciating the importance and rarity of the orange grove at the time.

Some of those other Harold jumbos ended up eventually in Otto's collection, including "moondance" for sure, and "swamp monster", I think.

Next show is Venice followed by Melbourne (we'll have ribs again at Smoky Bones) followed by Memorabilia in Gulfport. The Tampa Tribune is supposed to interview me about the Floridiana memorabilia thing this week or next. If it happens, you'll see a positive spin on things regarding Florida art and VINTAGE highwaymen art.

I might post some of this stuff (the story got long, eh) on my blog when I can get in again. Can't right yet.

We had a worm and I lost everything including half a book I had written on the Harold market.
Discouraging to say the least.
When it rains, it pours, but I will never, ever give up.

I'm like a Boston Terrier. Once they bite on something, they just don't let go.

later, BOB