Free admission at the Florida Highwaymen Celebration Weekend
The A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery will present its annual Highwaymen Celebration Weekend Friday, February 13 through Sunday, February 15, 2026 during regular hours each day. Visitors to the Museum can enjoy a range of special offerings, including viewing the special exhibition Florida Highwaymen: Journey. FREE admission, with features outside and inside at 500 North Indian River Drive in Historic Downtown Fort Pierce.
The Highwaymen are a loose collective of Florida artists who learned landscape painting techniques and began a creative enterprise of selling their bold and rapidly-produced works of art to customers up and down the state’s Atlantic Coast and beyond from the trunks of cars. This movement started in Fort Pierce in the 1950s at a time in the segregated South when opportunities were limited for African Americans, yet they persevered and succeeded. In 2004, 26 of the original artists were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, and in 2016 the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American Culture and History opened with 18 Highwaymen paintings in its collection.
THIS YEAR’S HIGHWAYMEN CELEBRATION WEEKEND INCLUDES:
Browse and Purchase Vintage Highwaymen Paintings
The highlight of the weekend unfolds on the Museum’s Outdoor Mural Plaza, where visitors looking to start or expand their personal collections can explore an impressive selection of vintage Highwaymen paintings available for purchase. This is a rare opportunity to learn about the current market, speak with knowledgeable specialists, and consider acquiring an original work of art for your home or office.
See the Special Exhibition Florida Highwaymen: Journey
Inside the Museum galleries, guests will experience the newest installment in our annual series honoring this extraordinary artistic movement. Florida Highwaymen: Journey revisits the group’s vivid landscapes and archetypal scenes, featuring rare and never‑before‑seen paintings that illuminate their enduring legacy. The exhibition expands upon the permanent gallery’s display of Highwaymen works, which includes video excerpts from the award‑winning documentary The Highwaymen: Legends of the Road.
GALLERY TALKS & PROGRAMS
Special programming will be offered each day at 2:00 pm, providing deeper insight into this accessible and important American art movement. Featured presenters include:
Friday, Feb 13 at 2:00 pm
- Catherine Enns – Author, The Journey of the Highwaymen
Saturday, Feb 14 at 2:00 pm
- Roger Lightle – Collector & Historian, Highwaymen Art Specialists
Sunday, Feb 15 at 2:00 pm
- Doretha Hair Truesdell – President, Original Florida Hall of Fame Highwaymen Museum
Please note:
The City of Fort Pierce’s 9th Annual Highwaymen Heritage Trail Art Show and Festival is scheduled Saturday, February 21. And, the new Highwaymen Museum will be open for the festival with special hours on this opening day from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm — not to be missed!
ALL DATES AND PROGRAMMING SUBJECT TO CHANGE; PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR ANY UPDATES OR CANCELLATIONS.
About the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery
Since its founding in 1960 and the first day the doors opened in 1961, the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery has been a center and catalyst for creativity and culture in our region. The Museum houses the nation’s largest public presentation of artwork by Florida’s preeminent painter, A.E. “Bean” Backus (1906-1990), and also continues its more than sixty-year tradition of exhibiting and celebrating the paintings of the original Florida Highwaymen, who got their start here. In addition, the Museum organizes and hosts changing exhibitions from artists of regional, national and international acclaim. The Backus Museum was recognized as the 2026 Best Museum, 2021 Best Tourist Attraction, 2018 Best Museum in the Best of the Treasure Coast by the readers of Indian River Magazine; 2025 & 2022 Best of the Best Community Choice Award for Best Art Gallery; and the 2024 Best Art Gallery by Hometown News.
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, 12 Noon to 4 PM. Admission is $5 per person; AARP, AAA, and Veterans with appropriate ID receive a $2 discount. Students with school ID, children under 18, active duty military, and current members are always free. Additionally, the A.E. Backus Museum offers $1 admission to individuals and families presenting a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card as part of the Museums for All access program, to encourage individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. All visitors are asked to follow the latest public health guidance for the safety and comfort of guests, staff, and volunteers.
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