[CPProt.net] Highwaymen paintings stolen

[MSN CPPnet]

 Highwaymen paintings stolen
By Sofia Santana

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Someone broke into two Jetson TV and Appliance Centers in St. Lucie County
over the weekend - but not a single pricey Sub-Zero refrigerator or plasma
TV was stolen.

Instead, the thief, or thieves, was eyeing something else: Highwaymen
paintings adorning the walls of the managers' offices in the store at 4145
South U.S. 1 in suburban Fort Pierce.
 
 
Four paintings, each valued between $2,500 and $5,000, were yanked off the
walls between Friday night and Saturday morning by someone who pulled off a
museum-style heist by cutting a hole in the roof and jumping inside,
according to a St. Lucie County sheriff's report released Monday.

A similar break-in at the Jetson center in Port St. Lucie was reported
Sunday morning. A burglar cut a hole in the roof to get in, but nothing
appeared to be stolen or touched, except for "several papers on the floor
behind the counter and a box near the front of the counter which appeared to
have been rifled through," deputy Brian Rhodes wrote in his initial report
of the burglary.

It was not known if any paintings were stolen from the second store.

Each of the five Jetson stores, from Stuart to Vero Beach, display a
collection of Highwaymen art that also can be seen on the company's Web
site.

Managers at both Jetson stores in St. Lucie County didn't want to talk about
the thefts, which are not the first of their kind reported in the area.

In December, two Highwaymen paintings were reported missing from the Denise
Justice Gallery and Art Studio in downtown Stuart. Justice told police she
didn't see anyone steal the artwork, but she did remember a man and two
women who together visited the gallery several times that day. Justice told
reporters at the time that she thought the trio distracted her and took off
with the prized paintings.

The Highwaymen art is so valuable because casual art lovers and collectors
armed with heavy wallets say they have historical significance and portray a
romantic image of Florida not found in other paintings.

The Highwaymen were a group of at least 25 men and at least one women, all
blacks from Fort Pierce, who traveled the region in the 1950s and '60s
painting Florida landscapes and then selling many of them from their car
trunks along busy roadways or door-to-door along Florida's east coast. The
painters, who collectors estimate did thousands of paintings, learned from
famed artist A.E. "Bean" Backus, also of Fort Pierce.

Two of the pieces stolen from the Jetson store in Fort Pierce are by George
Buckner and another is by R.A. McLendon. The artist behind the fourth
painting was not identified in the burglary report.

The paintings depict a deep-orange sunset, a beach with a palm tree, a scene
including a palm tree at night and an image of a small island surrounded by
cool, blue water.

The popularity of these paintings and the other Highwaymen works surged 10
years ago and has been escalating ever since, as more people learn the story
behind the images. Many of the artists' names are known, but some are not.

Many of the paintings range in value from a few hundred dollars to $6,000,
according to several collectors' Web sites.

About 40 paintings are currently on sale on eBay, and a handful of
collectors advertise aggressively on the Internet, with ads on Google that
read: "Will pay for Highwaymen art!"