January 25, 2005 - Highwayman Artist Livingston 'Castro' Roberts Art Show at the Historical Museum

The life and work of Florida "Highwayman" Artist Livingston 'Castro' Roberts (1941-2004) and an art exhibit of 25 of his paintings will highlight February's Black History Month celebration at the St. Lucie County Historical Museum in Fort Pierce.

Friday, February 4th, a dedication at Roberts' gravesite at 4 p.m. in Pine Grove Cemetery in Fort Pierce will be followed by the shows opening and reception at the Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The "On the Red Carpet" exhibit runs through February 27th in the Museums special exhibit gallery.

Roberts was one of the original Florida Highwaymen and his bearded face earned him the nickname 'Castro.' A self-taught artist, Roberts was known for his moody landscapes painted with dark colors. In the classic manner, he painted most of his art work en plein air under a Brazilian pepper tree in his yard where he created an outdoor room under the tree's dense boughs and floored it with his signature piece of red carpet.

The brother of St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker (whose husband is also fellow Highwayman Charles Walker), Roberts died in January 2004 of complications from lung cancer. Now local artists Anita Prentice and Pat Cochran have been commissioned by Roberts' family to create a vault top mosaic replica of one of Roberts' paintings and their artwork will be presented at the February 4th rededication of his grave. These artists, along with Ginny Piech-Street, also collaborated in 2004 for a similar art project for the grave of Roberts' fellow Highwayman Alfred Hair.

February's Museum event "On the Red Carpet" is a part of a larger continuing celebration of the segment of the Indian River School of Landscape Painters referred to as the "Highwaymen," a term coined by art collector Jim Fitch in the mid-90s, but never used by this group of artists as self reference. The Museum's show will be unique in its focus on the work of only one individual rather than a Highwaymen group exhibition, thus encouraging visitors to assess the subtle individualistic style of Roberts' work. Giclee prints of Roberts' work will be available for purchase at the opening reception on February 4th.

The St. Lucie County Historical Museum is located at 414 Seaway Drive on Museum Pointe in Fort Pierce. The Museum's 16 permanent exhibits of local heritage, the 1908 Gardner House and special exhibits provide a journey through the county's rich colorful history. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. A modest admission is charged.

For further information, contact Anne Sinnott, museum educator, at (772) 462-1891.