Renown artist, Mary Ann Caroll, is stepping away from the nationally acclaimed Florida Highwaymen to do her first ever solo art exhibition.
The Florida Highwaymen started their craft in the 1950s in Ft. Pierce and consisted of 26 African-American artists, which was considered controversial during the segregation period.
Caroll was the only female of the group, but said she never had any fear of what people may do or think about her or the other highwaymen. "When I think of man, when I think of woman, it always spelled at the end with three letters. Same three letters, m-a-n ... I just looked at it as a job is a job. Whoever does it, does it. If it's a woman or a man, if you could do the job, do it. I've had to do a lot of manly labor and I'm not a man. So, I guess that's why I never paid any attention to it."
Caroll said she feels that even today, racism still lingers, though not as bad as before, but doesn't let it affect her, instead has used painting as her outlet during the times of struggle and made it easier for her to support her children, which she said was her primary motive for beginning the craft. "It was a tight life, but it was a right life," she said. "It was a good life."
Her daughter, Kandie Ingram, recalls growing up in her mother's world.
"I was too young to know what was going on," Ingram said. "All I know is we had fun a lot traveling, getting the perks, eating ice cream, you know, the perks. I didn't know the significance of it."
Ingram said that she and her siblings, along with their next generation, realized as they got older the importance of her mother's work, and that each are all adept in drawing, but have not pursued it as a hobby or career. On the other hand, Ingram said, she was into athletics, even though her mother had the kids help with matting and framing.
"Art conquers the mind ... You can drift away in art," Caroll said. "You can drift to places you've never been and just imagining yourself there. So, that is why I wanted them to be involved."
Caroll, who still lives in Ft. Pierce, said she paints only with oil paints, anything from abstract pieces to the landscapes of Florida's natural scenery that the Highwaymen have become famous for portraying in their pieces.
"The reason the landscapes are done so prevalent is because a lot of people who were here before, they come back and all the things are gone," she said. "And it's just not like it was. They may have a little lake on some land and when they come back, it's a condominium there or a shopping center ... Their desire was to get something that reminded them of home."
The landscape artwork that can now be seen being created by recent artists. Caroll said the story behind the Highwaymen's art make their work unable to duplicated and truly one of a kind.
"The [artists] now don't have any suffering to go through" she said. "They don't have any struggles. They are reaping the benefit that we have provided. They are reaping the benefit off our suffering and struggling ... They have never once been insulted [or] persecuted for just trying to do right."
Kandie said she is organizing the show to present her mother's talent.
"She doesn't know how great she really is because she gets so lost in a group of people," Ingram said. "Sometimes people just want you ... My vision for her is greater than she may even think because I know her work. I tell people when you get her work, you're getting all of her."
One person who has appreciated Caroll's aptitude is Barbara Chandler, who is the assistant manager of the Hannibal Sq. Heritage Center and said it was an honor to be able to showcase Caroll's work for an annual benefit that they have had for the past two years.
"I think what Mary Ann Caroll - of course, being the only noted female - brings to the table, is that femininity in her art, which is really nice to see. One of my favorite pieces is of a lavender Poinciana and one thing you can see in that, is a woman's touch and I think that's very unique in a male dominant field especially during the era of segregation."
Caroll said she won't stop at this show, but will continue producing art for shows to come.
"I could be painting with bad eyes or tired body, but it's something about painting when I get into it ... It takes the mind and this is why it's therapy, I believe. It can be therapy; take your mind from where you are to where you need to be," she said.
The purpose of the show is to not only represent Caroll's work, but also as a way to help fund ministries and to give back to God. "There's a lot of churches that don't have proper money," she said. "I survived. I thank God. And what He gives me, I give back to him, as I should."
The show is taking place on Aug. 13 at the Woman's Club of Sanford. For more information, contact Kandie Ingram via email at kandieingram@yahoo.com or telephone at 850-345-9381.
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