ORLANDO, Fla. — The appreciation of art has long been used as a way to glimpse and contextualize the past. As the nation marks Juneteenth as a national holiday for only the third time, a pair of art collections was welcomed to the halls of the Orange County Commission building.

The main chambers feature the work of a group of 26 Black artists who became known as the Florida Highwaymen. They were prolific painters who began in the mid-50s at a time when becoming a successful painter of color was no easy feat.

“Here we have a group of 26 African-American artists that started painting in the mid-50s and the 1960s in the era of the Jim Crow era of the South, but their entrepreneurial spirit and their dedication and their hard work and their talent created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings,” said Lance Walker. “Every one of them they sold.”

Walker is the owner of the paintings on loan to the county from Juneteenth through Sept. 14. It’s just a small sampling of the over 800 in his collection.

“They had been on my radar since about 2001 when the Orange County Regional History Center opened up. They did an exhibit of Highwaymen paintings and then I probably just started collecting about eight years ago,” Walker said.

Even though many of these artists have passed away, seven are still alive and Walker said six are still painting into their late 80s and early 90s.

“People just love the story, you know, the kind of rags-to-riches and entrepreneurial spirit that just kind of let them do something different and they created art to do that,” Walker said.

Featured alongside the Highwaymen work in the atrium is the painting of artist Andrew Moschburg, a young visual artist who began painting in his late teens. He traveled to various places in the world as the son of a service member and found artistic inspiration in his adventures.

He said his style is one that he hopes will grab attention quickly.

“I kind of want to paint something that, like screams at you from across the room. When you walk into a room, it’s the first thing you notice because of how vibrant the colors are, how much everything kind of contrasts and compliments each other,” Moschburg said.

He noted that being able to showcase his work on Juneteenth alongside paintings that are as revered as those of the Highwaymen is a great privilege.

“To be able to be considered as one of these types of artists in order to be a part of Juneteenth, I think that it’s a very moment that you should be proud of and I’m sure it’s a moment that I’m sure all of these artists are very proud of,” he said.

Moschburg’s art will be on display at the county building through the end of June.