:: Artist Biographies by Last Name ::

JOSEPH ADERSON -

Joseph Aderson was born in Port-au-Prince in April 1971. He started painting at the mere age of 12. A self-taught painter, many of Aderson's paintings are influenced by Haitian artist Johnny Valbrun, who is known for his attractive, eye-catching art pieces.

Joseph Aderson is now married with two children.

BRESIL AKENSON -

Bresil Akenson was born in 1970 in Port-au-Prince. He is a completely self-taught painter. Through these years, Akenson has established and maintained a close professional relationship with Galerie Issa, whose proprietor Issa al Sayeh has been a patron of Haitian art for many decades.

Akenson's artworks are displayed in several art galleries in Haiti. He is married with two children and has a brother who also paints.

AGATHE ALADIN --

Agathe Aladin was born on May 25, 1967 and is one of Haitian artist, Theard Aladin's, seven children. She learned how to paint by watching her father, and at the mere age of 16, was already working on her father's paintings. Aladin only began to paint her own works after the death of her father in 1993, describing her unique style as "imaginary free".

She now lives with her husband and three children in Carrefour, Haiti.

FRITZNER ALPHONCE -

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1938, Fritzner Alphonce was a leather worker for most of his life.   He was a childhood friend of the famous painter Calixte Henri and began painting at the urging of his friend in 1972. Since then, Alphonce's work has been shown throughout the Caribbean islands, in Europe, at the Haitian Institute in Washington, D.C., and at the Organization of American States (OAS).

As is readily apparent from his work, Alphonce is fascinated by the female figure; his paintings depict an endless variation on this theme. A member of the Baptist Church, he rejects vodou and its themes in his art. Bon Appetit Magazine published a feature article on the artist, with a number of full-color illustrations of his works.

RONALD ALY -

Ronald Aly was born in January 1975 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is a self-taught painter and is married with two children.

RAYMOND BEAUDUY -

Born in Bainet on September 24, 1960, Raymond Beauduy pursued and completed his secondary studies at Ecole Frere Adrien. In 1986, Beauduy opted for a change in life and chose instead to paint and compose songs. So far, he has taken part in expositions in both France and Japan and in 1996, his painting entitled "Interpellation" was selected to be showcased at the Triennale in Osaka, Japan.

ANDRE BLAISE -

Andre Blaise is the youngest of the four Blaise brothers who have been well-known painters. Andre was born in Cap Haitien sometime in January 1961; he does not know the exact date!

His mother was a vendor of fruits and vegetables and his father was a mechanic and tax collector in the markets of Le Cap. By the time he was 12, Andre was painting in the company of his famous brothers. In the Blaise atelier it was not uncommon for more than one brother to work on the same painting. After experimenting with various styles, Andre seems to have settled on a subject - fish. In his "bourgeois fish" series that started in 1988, Andre blurs the distinction between terrestrial and underwater life where mystical landscapes are superimposed in underwater settings. He portrays them his fish human characteristics, great humor and the technical virtuosity.

Andre Blaise's paintings have been very well received on the market, and have become collector's items. He has two children and lives in Port-au-Prince.

JEAN CLAUDE BLANC -

Jean-Claude Blanc was born in Cap-Haitian on April 24, 1965. His father is a gardener and distiller of a powerful rum favored by Haitians with limited cocktail budgets.   His mother is a "marchande" of vegetables. Beginning in 1983 he was a member of Arc-en-Ciel, the art commune organized by Laetitia Schutt in Cap Haitian. He currently lives in Port-au-Prince.

SMITH BLANCHARD --

 

Smith Blanchard was born on August 19, 1952 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Greatly inspired by his artist father, a groundbreaking naïve, Sisson Blanchard, Smith started painting at the age of 12. In 1978, he found his way to the atelier of the Galerie Monnin where he worked alongside sophisticated primitives like Eric jean-Louis, Jean-Louis Senatus, the Blaise brothers, Fritzner Lamour and the other members of the School of Monnin. Needless to say, Smith acquired a high level of technical virtuosity. Smith is especially known for his nuanced portaraits of vodou loa and also, his lush landscapes.

Smith migrated to live in the US in the 1980's. His paintings are quite rare and generally hard to come by these days.

ABBOT BONHOMME -

Abbot Bonhomme was born in 1963 in Baie des Moustiques, located in the Northwestern region of Haiti. Working beside his father - a fisherman and farmer - for a good part of his childhood, Bonhomme lived in harmony and felt a great affinity with his natural environment. When he was 12 years old, he became interested in painting. He painted portraits and marine life as well as calligraphy and natural subjects. Bonhomme managed to develop and refine his own unique style of painting.

1990 marked the beginning Bonhomme's professional career as an artist. From then on, his masterpieces have been embraced and exhibited worldwide, especially in the United States, Europe and Asia. However his work has been received most successfully in Paris and in Gallery Bunkamura in Tokyo.

JEAN DAVID BOURSIQUOT --

Jean David Boursiquot was born near Jacmel, Haiti, in June 1949. He later moved to Port-au-Prince in 1971 where he worked as a cashier. Boursiquot started paiting after being encouraged to paint by Philton Latortue, himself a well-known painter and a distant cousin. His works were excellently received and his first paintings were sold in 1972 at the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince.  Presently, his works are exhibited in, and sold by galleries all over the world.  His works mostly depict scenes of rural life, and the lush vegetation of the Haitian countryside.

JEAN-BAPTIST CHERY -

Jean-Baptiste Chéry comes from Cap-Haitian and was born in July 1954.  His father, until the age of 80, worked as a warden at the Citadelle, the fortress built by King Henri Christophe. Chéry has 9 brothers and sisters.

In 1973 he joined Philomé Obin's workshop where he took art lessons. He paints landscapes and is also known for his scenes of workers picking cotton. Chéry has been selling his paintings since 1980 and has had numerous shows all over the world.  He lives between the capital and Cap-Haïtien, and owns a house in each town.

GABRIEL COUTARD -

Gabriel Coutard was born in the small port city of St. Marc in 1965. His parents are farmers. He moved to Port-au-Prince at an early age and began painting under the direction of Gabriel Alix, his uncle. He is a journeyman jungle painter but he has avoided looking formulized; each of his paintings are extremely detailed and each has an original look.

AMERLIN DELINOIS -

Amerlin Delinois was born in Les Cayes, Haiti, on May 24, 1958. His father is a farmer and his mother a commercant, selling merchandise. At age 18, he moved to Port-au-Prince to be the apprentice of an auto mechanic where he eventually rose to become one of a highly skilled level - called " bosmecano ".

During this time he began to paint. At some point he also became a truck driver in the Department of Public Works. He maintained both careers until 1991 when he decided to devote all his time to painting. He has seven children and lives in Port-au-Prince.

JUDE DERIFOND -

Born in June 1960 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jude Derifond was taught how to paint by a foreign priest. He spent seven years in the Dominican Republic and has one child.

GEORGES DESARMES -

Georges Desarmes is an accomplished impressionist. He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 27, 1950 and began painting in 1969 with Nehemy Jean. In the mid seventies, he became close friends with the great Haitian impressionist, Carlo Jean-Jacques. They painted side by side in the atelier at the Galerie Monnin in Petionville for the last year or so of Carlo's life.

Desarmes skillfully captures unique images of Haitian life in the palette of bright and rich hues with which it is naturally composed.

OSSEY DUBIC -

Ossey Dubic was born in Léogâne on December 2nd He went to school in Port-au-Prince. At school he was already drawn to art. He began painting with his cousin Abner Dubic. His favorite themes for his work are the countryside and his village of Léogâne.

JEAN IDELUS EDME -

Jean Idelus Edme was born in Port-au-Prince on February 12, 1966. His career began in 1982 when he began painting with Jean Pierre Vilme. In 1985 he began painting at the Centre'd'Art and today is an employee there. He continues his studies while he works and is presently concentrating on his proficiency in English.

The handsome young Edme now primarily paints jungle scenes, landscapes and seascapes. His jungle scenes are different from most others with which we are familiar in that they contain monkeys, apes and even chickens! His bright colors and attention to detail result in works that are pleasing to the eye.

ROGER FRANCOIS -

Roger Francois was born in Petite-Riviere de l'Artibonite, Haiti in the October of 1928. Before becoming a painter, he was a sculptor and student of Odilon Duperier. He has been painting since the early sixties. He loves to paint and sculpt Haitian women, both nudes and market women with baskets and braids. Besides women, M. Francois paints animals: cats, dogs, horses and owls, and in the early 90's, began painting sun and moon heads on human bodies. His style is robust, bold and always fresh and new.    

Internationally renowned, Francois' works have been exhibited in Belgium, Germany, the U.S., and France. His paintings have been on permanent exhibition in the Brussels Museum since 1963. Within the last several years, Francois's works have been seized upon by collectors who see the versatility and elegance of his style as his future promises of greatness.

JOEL GAUTHIER -

Joel Gauthier was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in June 1955. A relatively new painter, his works have already attracted the attention of serious collectors. His jungle scenes have become a genre of their own, and are widely illustrated in publications about Haitian art.

Gauthier's paintings are part of a permanent exhibition at the Haitian Institute in Washington, D.C., and more recently were on exhibit at the Organization of American States, also in Washington.

RENE HASPIL -

Rene Haspil was born in Port-au-Prince on March 28, 1954. His father was a negotiator and his mother a dressmaker. He grew up in Martissant, near the house of the original market painter, Laurent Casimir and by the age of 16, he was a student of Casimir's son, Ernst Laurent.

Around 1988, his own style of market painting began to evolve, one that borders on the abstract. He is proud to say that he has never set foot in a museum, claiming that his paintings come only from inside his own head.

ACCIMEUS JAMES -

Accimeus James was born on December 28 in Petite-Rivière de l'Artibonite. He completed his elementary education at with Frères de l'Instruction Chrétienne at Vérettes and graduated from high school at Collège Lamartinière in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As a child, James was a boy scout for three years, and during this time he participated in craft workshops where he enjoyed working in basketwork, weaving, bullhorn carving. He also had a passion for music where he played the saxophone in the town band.  

In 1981 he chose to return to the place of his birth and learned to paint with now deceased master Artibonite artist, Saincilus Ismael, who had been well known for his icons. James returned to Port-au-Prince in 1990 where he soon became recognized for his unique personal style that had deviated from the traditional style of école de l'Artibonite. His still-lifes are executed with extreme precision and often include tiny people doing their daily tasks on and around the beautiful fruits.

As of 1993 James's artwork has been exhibiting at the Galerie Monnin.

CARLO JEAN-JACQUES --

Jean-Jacques was born on May 1, 1943 in Port-au-Prince. He was attracted to drawing at an early age and after completing three years of high school took a correspondence design course at the ABC school in Paris. Entering Joseph Jacob's studio in 1963, he studied under the tutelage of Dieudonné Cédor and eventually learned impressionism.

Jean-Jacques left the Jacob studio in 1966 and spent the next three years living the life of an impoverished "hippie bohemian." In 1969 he approached the Monnin Gallery with a painting, and they accepted it. That was his start "on the road back." Gradually he returned to a productive lifestyle, aided by Calixte Henry, who had a studio in the same gallery.

By 1979 he was painting in earnest. His paintings highlight the grace and dignity of the poor country people who inhabit the slums of Port-au-Prince. Disturbed by social injustice and the great misery of the slums, he uses strong emotional content and pure lines to create canvases that touch the viewer.

Carlo Jean-Jacques has an international reputation as one of Haiti's premier painters. He died of AIDS in 1990.

WILSON JOLICOEUR --

Wilson Jolicoeur was born in Port-au-Prince in 1932. He was a member of the Centre D'Art but later left to become a part of the Foyer des Art Plastiques. The Foyer des Art Plastiques were a group of artists who were discontent at how matters that affected Haitian artists were dealt with.

Jolicoeur's works, despite having been exhibited locally in Haiti and overseas, are difficult to find on the market. He particular enjoys featuring gingerbread Haitian houses in his masterpieces.

HILOME JOSE -

Born in the town of Jeremie located on the southwestern tip of Haiti in 1947, young Hilome Jose moved to Port-au-Prince in the 1960s to work as a carpenter. He was trained under the instruction of renowned master Haitian artist, Calixte Henry whom he got acquainted with through a mutual friend. With his use of both color and lines adeptly portray the rustic, peasant life in Haiti, Jose is presently one of Haiti's most highly esteemed modern artists. He is a journeyman painter who employs an incredibly unique style of painting.

Jose's masterpieces are included in numerous private collections all around the world and illustrations of his artwork can be found in the book "Haitian Painting Art and Kitsch", written by Eva Pataki.

REYNALD JOSEPH -

According to Michele Grandjean in her book Artistes en Haiti, Reynald Joseph was born in Port-au-Prince on July 4, 1973. His father is the well-known artist, Wilfrid Louis, with whom he studied and by whom he is inspired. Both are notable impressionists who portray the everyday life of Haiti with great sensitivity.

RAYMOND LAFAILLE -

Raymond LaFaille was born in 1956 and is an accomplished and well-known painter from Port-au-Prince. His similar, skillful use of muted colors and shadows in his paintings show how greatly the painting style of Haitian master artist Claude Dambreville has influenced him.

LaFaille is now one of Haiti's most versatile and sought-after Haitian artists, renown especially for his country scenes and his Dambreville-influenced "shadow" style market scenes. He has had many exhibits in the Dominican Republic and many amateur Haitian artists flock to his studio in Port-au-Prince every day seek after his guidance.

PHILTON LATORTUE -   

Philton Latortue was born in 1944 in Port-au-Prince.   He took art classes, was helped by his brother Franklin who is also a painter, and finally joined the Centre d'Art in 1962.   He paints with wonderful detail and shows a love of animals and whimsy.

Latortue is famous for painting animals, giving them human characteristics in fairy tale settings.   In 1980 he won first prize in an international exhibition in Hamburg, Germany. Since then, his works have been shown throughout Europe, the U.S., and Mexico.

PIERRE LOUIS - "Jean Claude Paul"

Born in Port-au-Prince in November 1959, Pierre Louis worked as a radio repairman until 1983 when he encountered Haitian artist Fritz St. Jean who is renowned to be one of the best of the third generation of Haitian Artists. St. Jean, whose specialty is in painting jungles, trained Louis and hence greatly influenced him.

Louis lives with his mother and son, who is also a painter.

JEAN LOUISIUS -

Jean Bruno Louisius, born in Jeremie in the Southwest of Haiti on January 18 1952, started drawing when a child.  Later, he worked as an ebeniste-carpenter.  To assure his future, he moved to Port-au-Prince in 1974 and started painting. Through these years, Louisius developed a unique style of painting which he is now renowned for. His initial subjects were landscapes and still life till 1982, when he started painting market scenes.

EVANS LUMARC -

Evans Lumarc was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on December 13 th , 1965. As a child he followed in his father's footsteps and started wood sculpting. He began painting when he was 15 years old, and never gave this up despite earning a living as a driver after graduating from school. Lumarc attended a private art school for 8 years painting landscapes and miniatures. Soon he mastered the techniques of painting colorful, vibrant market scenes, featuring Tap Taps.

Now, he does about 4 paintings monthly, and finds a ready market amongst the art galleries in Haiti.   He has taken part in many collective exhibits in both Haiti and France. He is unmarried and lives in Port-au-Prince with his 2 children.

FRANTZ MATHIEU -

Frantz Mathieu was born in Pétion-Ville in 1967. With the advice of his older brother, Michel Louis, an artist who specializes in jungle scenes, he began to paint in 1983. Since 1986, he has devoted much of his time to the depiction of jungle and flora scenes populated with exotically colored tropical birds.

PIERRE MAXO -

The brightly colored jungle animals, whose facial expressions seem to jump off the canvas, are the signature subjects of Pierre Maxo. He was a student of the late Haitian master Gabriel Alix who passed away in 1998.

Maxo's use of vivid colors and imagination with animals and fruit has given his artwork an important position for Haitian art collectors.

LOUINES MENTOR --

Louines Mentor was born in St. Louis de Sud and began painting in 1964. His paintings customarily depict everyday Haitian life in a manner that might be described as 'gentle and touching'.

DIEUSEUL PAUL --

Dieuseul Paul was an original member of the Saint Soleil movement which gained a good deal of international recognition back in 1975 when the French cultural icon Andre Malraux visited the community. It is said that Malraux had been seated in a chair on a grassy knoll while the artists of Saint Soleil ascended the slope, encircling him, each holding a piece of their art. Malraux was blown away by the scene and immortalized the movement by featuring Saint Soleil prominently in his last book, " L'Intemporel".

Although Saint Soleil disbanded after only a few years, five of the artists, namely Prosper Pierre-Louis, Levoy Exil, Denis Smith, Paul Dieuseul and Louisiane St. Fleurant reorganized into the group "Cinq Soleils". In cooperation with several French Cultural institutions, together they opened a spacious and secure atelier in Soissons on September 23, 1989.

Dieuseul Paul passed away at the age of 54 in the last week of July 2006 at home.

SERGE PIERRE -

Serge Pierre is the son of the famous, now deceased Haitian painter, Fernand Pierre. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Serge Pierre chose to follow in his father's footsteps.

PIRACASSO -- (Petizil Durand)

Petizil Durand was born on May 22, 1971 in Petionville, Haiti. When he began painting in 1989, Durand assumed the name Piracasso , paying homage to his idol, Pablo Picasso.

While there have been hundreds of "market painters" since the master Casimir painted the archetype in the early 1960's, Piracasso is one of only a handful of artists that has been able to paint the subject in a style unique only himself.

His father is a butcher and his mother a marchande , selling products in the market. Durand is a security guard at night.

JEROME POLYCARPE --

Jerome Polycarpe was born on the 6th of November 1950 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Before taking up painting, he was a professor of Mathematics from 1971 to 1973.  Jean Marie Drot and French cultural icon, Andre Malraux, selected his first two paintings for two exhibitions in Paris and Auxerre.  Jerome is particularly renowned for his vibrantly colored jungle scenes.  His paintings were auctioned at Parke Bernet in New York in 1975, and are sold in galleries throughout Paris, Germany, America, Italy, Jamaica and the Antilles.  His works have also appeared in Max Fourny's two books,

"La Fete et les Naifs" and "Le Reve et les Naifs".

JONAS PROFIL --

Jonas Profil was born in Fort Liberte, near Cap Haitien on July 22, 1957. When he was 18, Jonas used money that had been meant for school to buy art supplies instead. Since that day, he has been a painter. Though he now resides and paints in Port-au-Prince, he considers himself a Capois and signs his work 'Cap Haitien". His paintings are wry observations of Haitian life, often rendered in pale and pastel colors that are unique for Haiti. Furthermore, he includes generous doses of fantasy in his works. In Michelle Granjean's book entitled Artistes in Haiti, Profil is quoted as saying that his paintings speak uniquely of peace and love. He is a vodouist, and feels that the problems in that religion are caused by men, not the religion.

AUDES SAUL -

Was born in 1949 in the Northwest of Haiti, near Mole St. Nicolas, where Christopher Columbus landed.   "My intelligence is my patron", he says. He began to paint in 1970, beginning with rural scenes and then began to paint dogs, a species that he loves. He paints them with great humor, engaged in acts usually reserved for humans. His paintings contain large doses of positivity rendered with a highly sophisticated technique.

In 1975 several of his paintings were chosen by Andre Malraux for an exhibition in Paris and were reproduced for an article in Vogue magazine. His works are shown in various foreign countries, notably France, Italy, Jamaica, Spain and Japan, where his work is quite popular, and the U.S., where they have been sold at Sotheby's in New York.

BUFFON THERMIDOR -

Buffon was born in April 1960 in Cap-Haïtien.   He started painting at 18, but since the age of 7 he took lessons at Philomé Obin's art school.  Although he has painted political themes, his preference goes to Cap-Haitien colonial architecture.  His precise and accurate description of the colonial houses with their finely carved wooden balconies, made him renowned.  He is considered as a master in his style.  Contrary to many Cap-Haïtien artists, people are not the most important element in his works.   His work has been shown in many exhibitions, all over the world.

MICHEL VALESTIN -

Michel Valestin was born in Port-au-Prince in the March, 1962. He is an outstandingly talented artist who was originally groomed by the Issa Gallery in Port-au-Prince. His early works were exceptional, mainly depicting seascapes and marine scenes.

In his later paintings, he experimented with new colors and new subject matter. His paintings are particularly popular among the European galleries and collectors, and now, his talent and versatility are even recognized by hundreds of American collectors of Haitian art. Valestin is an outstanding third-generation Haitian artist, whose work is expected to continue to develop and change as time progresses. Whether an experienced collector with "old masters" in his portfolio and looking for something new, or just someone collecting inexpensive Haitian art both for aesthetic and investment reasons, Valestin should be perhaps among the first choices.

JACQUES VALMIDOR -

Was born in Port-au-Prince in 1955 and began painting in 1963. Valmidor quickly attracted attention for his imaginative compositions and strikingly effective use of colors. His intricately crafted paintings reflect a highly original and appealing style. Some believe that his paintings are among the most collectible and a best value among the current generation.  

Valmidor first began exhibiting internationally in the late 1980's and began showing his works in Mexico, Jamaica, Italy, the US, and in Paris in 1990.