Palm View Elementary invites public to view exhibit from famed artist Richard Butler

Palm View Elementary is inviting the public to attend an exhibit and art sale featuring Robert Butler – one of the famed Florida Highwaymen – to be held at the school this Wednesday, November 14, 2012, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

At the exhibit, Mr. Butler will demonstrate his painting style and talk about his autobiography. Also, during the exhibit, Palm View’s sixth grade class will unveil a mural they have painted in honor of the Highwaymen. The mural is a reproduction of a painting by Palm View Art Teacher Sharon Taylor.

There is no charge for the exhibit, but donations will be accepted.

The Florida Highwaymen are a group of 26 self-taught African-American landscape artists who have created over 200,000 paintings. A prolific artist, Mr. Butler often created up to 100 paintings a year. His career began in 1968, when, like many of the Highwaymen, he sold his paintings door-to-door or on the roadside. Starting in the 1950’s, the Highwaymen mentored each other through the turbulent times before and during the civil rights movement.

Born in 1943, Robert Butler is best known for his portrayals of the woods and backwaters of the Florida Everglades. He was born in Baxley, Georgia, but moved to Okeechobee, Florida, in 1947; an area featured prominently in his paintings.

Palm View Elementary is located at 6025 Bayshore Road in Palmetto.