HAITIAN ART
Paintings Made in Haiti
Title: “Coffee Plantation”Author: Wilbert Laurent
2013
Did You Know? In 1788, Haiti supplied half the world’s
coffee and in 1949, Haiti was the third largest coffee exporter in the world.
Nowadays, in spite of political instability and near collapse,
coffee continues as a backbone of Haiti’s economy.
Title: “Market Ponies”Author: “Aland Estime”
Did You Know? Rural Haitians are not subsistence farmers. Peasant women typically sell much of the family harvest in regional open-air
market places and use the money to buy household foods.
Title: “Something to talk about”
Author: Wilbert Laurent2013
Did You Know? In Haitian Etiquette, visitors to a household never leave empty-handed or without drinking coffee, or at least not without an
apology. Failure to announce a departure is considered rude.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Wilbert Laurent
2013
Did You Know? The Haitian economy has become
primarily domestic, and production is almost entirely for domestic consumption. A vigorous internal marketing
system dominates the economy and includes trade
not only in agricultural produce and livestock but also in homemade crafts.
Title: “The Harvest”Author: Wilbert Laurent
2010
Did You Know? Although only 30 percent of the land in Haiti is
considered suitable for agriculture, more than 40
percent is worked.
Title: “School days”Author: Gerard LaFontant
Did You Know? Tremendous importance and prestige are
attached to education in Haiti. Most rural parents try to send
their children at least to primary school, and a child who excels and whose parents can afford the costs is quickly exempted from the work demands levied
on other children.
Title: “Market at Dusk”Author: Gregory Senechal
Did You Know? There is a thriving internal market that is characterized at most levels by itinerant female traders who specialize in domestic items such as produce, tobacco, dried
fish, used clothing, and livestock.
Title: Unknown Author: Jimmy Hani
Did You Know? In the dry, treeless areas, houses are constructed of rock or wattle and daub with mud or lime exteriors. When the owner can afford it, the outside of a house is painted in an array of pastel
colors, mystic symbols are often painted on the walls, and the awnings are fringed with colorful hand-carved trimming.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Josue Joseph
Did You Know? Per capita, there are more foreign nongovernmental organizations and
religious missions (predominantly U.S.-based) in Haiti than in any other country in the world.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Roslmor
Did You Know? In both rural and urban areas, men monopolize the job market. However, there are a few wage-earning opportunities open to women in
health care, in which nursing is exclusively a female occupation, and, to a far lesser extent, teaching.
Title: Unknown Author: Janet Sanon
Did You Know? Less than forty percent of the non-elite population marries. When marriage does occur, it is usually later in a couple's relationship, long after a household has been established and the
children have begun to reach adulthood.
Title: “The Sugar Cane Harvest” Author: Louis Tales
Did You Know? A working man’s
profession can be easily told by the tool he carries as
each man has only one tool. If a man is carrying a Machete, he is most likely to harvest sugarcanes or chop firewood for
a living.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Ysmay
Did You Know? Despite Haitians being really hard workers, real income for the average family has not increased in over twenty years and has declined precipitously in rural areas. In most rural areas, the
average family of six earns less than $500 per year.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Jn-Claud Paul
Title: UnknownAuthor: Gilbert Tataille
Title: Unknown Author: R Francillon
Did You Know? Over one million native-born Haitians live overseas; an additional fifty thousand leave the country every year,
predominantly for the United States but also to Canada and France. Very large numbers of lower-class Haitians temporarily migrate to the Dominican Republic and Nassau Bahamas to work at low-income jobs
in the informal economy.
Title: “Rice for Life” Author: Charly Pierre
Did You Know? Rice and beans are considered the national dish
and are the most commonly eaten meal in urban areas of
Haiti. Traditional rural staples are sweet potatoes, manioc, yams,
corn, rice, pigeon peas, cowpeas, bread, and coffee.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Alexander
Did You Know? In most areas, men plant gardens, but women are thought of as the owners of harvests and, because they are marketers,
typically control the husband's earnings.
Title: Unknown Author: Gerard LaFontant
Did You Know? Major industries in Haiti include small gold and copper reserves, one cement
factory – most of cement in the country is imported – and a
single flour mill.
Title: UnknownAuthor: Aland Estime
Did You Know? Haitians generally eat two meals a day: a
small breakfast of coffee and bread, juice, or an egg and a
large afternoon meal dominated by a carbohydrate source such as manioc, sweet potatoes, or
rice. Fruits are prized as between-meal snacks. A snack customarily is eaten at night
before one goes to sleep.
Title: “Market Joy”Author: Maccene Laurent
2011
Did You Know? Haiti is a nation of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who
work small private landholdings and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family
members.
Title: “Island Life” Author: John Loris
Did You Know? Three-quarters of the Haitian terrain is
mountainous. The mountains are calcareous rather than volcanic and give way to widely varying
microclimatic and soil conditions. Tectonic fault line runs through the country, causing occasional
and sometimes devastating earthquakes. The island is also located within the Caribbean
hurricane belt.
Title: Unknown Author: Julio
Did You Know? There is a private university and a small state university in Port-au-Prince, including a medical school. Both have enrollments of only a few thousand
students. Unfortunately, both have been severely damaged in the last earthquake that hit Haiti.
Title: Unknown Author: Elie Nelson
Did You Know? Haiti is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Until the 1970s, over 80 percent of the population resided in
rural areas, and today, over 60 percent continue to live in provincial villages, hamlets, and homesteads scattered across the rural landscape.
Title: Unknown Author: Elie Nelson
Did You Know? For most of Haiti’s history the official language has been French. However, the language spoken
by the vast majority of the people is kreyol, whose pronunciation and vocabulary are derived largely from
French but whose syntax is similar to that of other creoles.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Wilbert LaurentBorn in 1974, he debuted in painting in
1981, under close watch of his older brother Maccene, who is also a painter that is represented in this album. His
works are well known in Europe, especially France. His paintings evoke
memories of a fertile rural life, with green mountain fields and plantations.
Maccene LaurentBorn in January, 1943 in Jacmel, he is the leading figure in the community of artists from Marbial Valley. He started painting in 1972 under the direction of his cousin Hugh Domond. His paintings focus on vision of fertile rural Haiti and
his works are well known in North America and Europe, particularly
France.
Gregory SenecalAn artist since the age of 17, Gregory has been fortunate enough to support
two children as a single father. Inspired by God and nature, his favorite style is abstract, but he
doesn’t limit himself when it comes to his own work.
Gregory is also a participant of TOMS’ “Haiti Artist Collective” where
popular shoe brand TOMS works with Haitian artists to help them
economically by putting Haitian paintings on the shoes.
Janet SanonBorn in February, 1962 in Haiti, she came from an art family. She completed her first canvas at the age of 11, which was in 1973. Her first painting was bought by the Gallery Monnin. In 1975 she
went to “Centre d’Art” but still considered school as her main priority and art as a pastime. It wasn’t until in the early 80’s that
Janet started to take painting seriously. From 1980 she exhibited in France, Italy and US. In 1983, She won second place in a poster contest sponsored by Air France. From 1983 she became one of
Haiti’s most sophisticated painters.
Aland Estime Aland has been working with gallery in Port-au-Prince for over 30 years. His paintings often depict flowers and birds and are
constantly on display at the gallery. He has participated in exhibitions around the U.S including in Washington D.C and
Dallas, Texas.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The material for “Did You Know?” facts was taken from an online article on “Countries and Their
Cultures” Website at the following linkwww.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Haiti.html