Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen - Paperback

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$35.00
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Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen
  • Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen
Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen - Paperback

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen - Paperback

by Gary Monroe
$35.00
$35.00

Book Overview

The story of a Black woman artist who made a name for herself in Jim Crow Florida

In the years since the art world discovered them, much has been made of the Highwaymen--the loosely knit band of African American painters whose edenic Florida landscapes, created with inexpensive materials and sold out of their cars, "shaped the state's popular image as much as oranges and alligators" (New York Times). But lost in the legends surrounding the group is the mesmerizing story of Mary Ann Carroll, the only female "Highwayman."

In 1957, sixteen-year-old Carroll met Harold Newton, later dubbed the original Highwayman. He was painting a landscape along the side of the road. There were red flames on his car. Yet what shocked the young African American girl most of all was discovering a Black man who didn't work in the orange groves, who made a living off of his paintings. It wasn't long before she was creating and selling her own landscapes, and the other Highwaymen, taking note of her startling use of color, welcomed her into the fold.

Carroll sold her first painting at eighteen--remarkable for any young artist, unheard of for a Black woman in the South. Like her Highwaymen brethren, she travelled across the state, selling her art at hotels, offices, and restaurants where she was not allowed to drink, eat, or even sit. If the Highwaymen faced discrimination at every door they knocked on, then the challenges--and dangers--were magnified for Carroll. She took pride in always having her pristine Buick gassed and ready to go and her small handgun cleaned and ready to use.

After years of virtual obscurity, Carroll was invited to the First Lady's Luncheon in 2011, where she presented a painting of her iconic poinciana to Michelle Obama. In her later years, Carroll was pastor of the Foundation Revival Center in Fort Pierce,
was an accomplished musician, and continued to paint and exhibit her work widely.

Mary Ann Carroll is the never-before-told story of a Black female artist's hard-fought journey to provide for her family while also making a name for herself in a man's world.
ISBN9780813080888
Author Gary Monroe
PublisherUniversity Press of Florida
GenreArts
FormatPaperback
PublishedSeptember 2024
LanguageENG- English
Pages192
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

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More by Gary Monroe

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen - Paperback

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen - Paperback

By Gary Monroe

About Gary Monroe

Gary Monroe, professor of visual art at Daytona State College, is a documentary photographer with a long-time interest in "outsider" and vernacular art. His work has been recognized with numerous exhibitions and awards, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Foundation, and he has been a popular lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau. His photographs have been published in Cassadaga: The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community (UPF, 2000), which he coedited; Life in South Beach (1989); and Florida Dreams (1993). He lives in DeLand, Florida.

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