Highwaymen paintings info.....

I spend a lot of Internet time surfing around for highwaymen news. I figure I should know everything that's going on, after all, I work this market 24/7 and have since 1995.

I came upon this on Monroe's Gray Brewer website the other day. I'm sure you're aware that Monroe wrote the first book about the highwaymen, published in 2001, almost 10 years ago. Where does the time go ?

Here's a copy/paste for you :
Gary Monroe literally wrote the book on the Highwaymen (more than one book actually), and has become recognized as the leading expert on Highwaymen history and interpretation. His site has an excellent viewing gallery of Highwaymen paintings, information about his books on the Highwaymen and other South Florida subjects, as well as collections of his critically acclaimed photography.

History and interpretation of the highwaymen, I'll give him that.
As long as we know, gentle readers, who is recognized as the the leading expert on evaluation and interpretation of the highwaymen art MARKET. We DO know who that is, do we not ?

Here's another from Monroe's other website:
Gary Monroe has given 200 public and private lectures about the Highwaymen and self-taught Floridian art throughout the state and beyond, having earned the decisive voice in interpreting these interesting and often challenging artworks.

Impressive, however..............................
Yours truly had given literally hundreds upon hundreds of public and private lectures about the highwaymen from 1995 to 2001. In those six years, before the publication of that first book, I estimate my antique show presence at 216 shows, 3 different shows a month times 6 years. Did almost every monthly Piccadilly, Mt. Dora, Scott's in Atlanta and many more throughout Florida. At those 216 shows, most of them 3 days long, showing newspaper and magazine clippings written by Fitch and Klinkenberg stapled on a cork-board as proof, I have told the highwaymen story, as we knew it at the time, at least five times per day. Over a thousand mini seminars, informing the public of the history, the interpretation, and the fair market value of whatever I had for sale in inventory at the time.
The motive was (and still is) an attempt at actual commerce. Buy or sell one of these interesting paintings, right ? Try to create commerce.
In the last ten years, the mini seminar count is easily in the thousands. I've averaged the same approximately 3 shows a month for a total of 360 more shows.
Add them all up, we got about 600 shows. Reality could be higher. I'm too lazy to go through all my stuff and actually count them, so I estimate. 600 shows, 5 lectures a show, YOU do the math. That's a lot of lectures.
And still, I meet 2 or 3 people each show who have never heard of the highwaymen. Not surprising when one considers the size of the population, but it shows you how we still have a long way to go to reach the public with the story.
Even with the publication currently standing at 3 Backus books (Peterson, Firestone, Peterson), 3 highwaymen books (Monroe, Beatty, Enns), 2 Harold Newton books (Monroe, Humphries), the Buckner brothers book (Ellis Jr.), and the Al Black Prison Pictures (Monroe).
Even with three video documentaries sold to National Public Broadcasting, which, by the way, should be airing on local PBS stations this month for Black History Month.
Even with color articles in the NY Times, LA Times, Boston Globe and even People Magazine (2003) this market has only scratched the surface.

Investment potential in these vintage paintings that can be so beautiful in your home while we out-wait this pathetic economy ?
One word. PHENOMENAL.

Here's a copy/paste from some self-help wise man at AOL aimed at entrepreneurs. I think of myself as an entrepreneur, so I read things like this. It couldn't hurt.

Find ways to charge a premium

Get the vision

Use long-term thinking

Invest. In the recession, there has been too much emphasis on saving money, which can often be short-sighted. Instead, you need to make investments to make your offering standout. True, this is far from easy in a tough economy. However, if done right, the payoff can be huge.

I have damn near forty years as an entrepreneur in a buy and sell market. Supply and demand, basic economics, learned and earned on the street dealing with the public. I agree with all that insight.

The better works by the deceased artists are certainly worth a premium.

The vision is finding new customers to replace those with no wall space.

Long term means believing the values will improve when the economy cycles upward.

The investment (for me) is time, money and effort.

The investment for you, gentle reader, should be clear.
Demand is down, now is a great buying opportunity.