Harold Newton was born in Gifford, Florida, on October 30, 1934 and died an untimely death near there on June 27, 1994. A natural-born painter, he provided the ideal model for the aspiring artists who would become known as the Highwaymen. The masterful Florida landscape paintings created by this one-of-a-kind loner shine a fresh light on the 1960s sensibilities. As he traveled, selling his paintings from the back of his car, Newton left an unsurpassed testament to Florida as Paradise. His aesthetic was perfectly suited to the new Floridians who, having relocated here during the years after World War II, believed that life would be better in the Sunshine State. In the eyes of these newcomers, Newton’s paintings affirmed that the magical place they had imagined did indeed exist.