Ellis Buckner (1943-1991)

Ellis Buckner was an American painter and “highwayman,” known for his paintings of the Florida landscape. Born in Gifford, Florida in 1943, Buckner was the second oldest of 12 children, and was raised in the historic African American community of Gifford. After the death of his father, Buckner and his brother George dropped out of school to support their mother, working jobs such as selling vegetables and fish from a roadside stand, laboring as a picker in the local orange groves, painting signs, cutting lawns, working as a car detailer, and running a barbecue shop. 

After a chance meeting with fellow Gifford native and painter Harold Newton, Buckner decided to try painting as a way to make money. Soon he was being mentored by Newton and fellow “Highwaymen,” painters who made money selling their paintings of the Florida landscape along the highway. Eventually, Ellis’s brother George took up work as a highwayman as well, and Ellis opened a studio in Miami where he sold both his and George’s pieces. The brothers distinguished themselves from their fellow highwaymen for their mastery of light, capturing the ever-changing Florida skies. Buckner died in 1991 at the age of 48.

Available Works