Duffaut, Prêféte* (1923–   )


71. Ville imaginaire_
1981 (16x20)


 112. Ville imaginaire
c1989 (poster: 19x12)


100. Orange Sky
c1985 (24x20)


121. Ville imaginaire
c1989 (20x24)
 

   A half–brother of Pauleus Vital and a first generation artist who joined the Centre d'Art in 1948, and who painted two of the murals in the Episcopal Cathedral, Duffaut has produced a few masterpieces, mostly of vodou scenes.
   The artist is best known, however, for works said to be fantastic dreams of his hometown, Jacmel.
   Yes and no. As a fine and sophisticated Haitian artist once explained:
     Look at Haïti, parched and poor. Duffaut sees it as he
                    wishes it was: Lush and happy.      
   Much or most of Duffaut's work may be little more than kitsch. Even so, he is among the best–known Haitian painters. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's estate included a Duffaut; and the artist is represented in many museum and private collections.
   I should probably have bought one large Duffaut in 1972 and have been done with it. Instead, I have four (and a poster) — and I've donated two others to non–profit group auctions.
   Anyway … in 1985 the great J–E Gourgue packed his own Reposair and three other paintings into a wooden box he'd built for me to check as 'excess baggage' on my flights home. He winced when he saw Orange Sky. I realized he'd expected better of me.
   'You don't like Duffaut?,' I asked.
   Ever the gentleman, Gourgue smiled slightly, tilted his head, but made no comment.
   (I considered Orange Sky quite fanciful until, driving down the California coast one sunset, I saw a sky above the Pacific Ocean that was exactly 'Duffaut orange.')

 

 

 

 



                                      160. 'Vue du pont'
                                          c1996 (9x32)

Exil, Levoi (1944–   )


156. Loas_
1995 (30x30)

   Exil is a founder–member of the Saint–Soleil school of naïf artists — along with Dieuseul Paul, Prospére Pierre–Louis, Louisiane St–Fleurant, and Denis Smith. He is perhaps better known than any but St–Fleurant herself.
   Like the others, Exil represents vodou figures. Much of his inspiration, he says, comes in dreams — visions that inform him, inter alia, about his past lives.
   Exil employs more intense colors than most other Saint–Soleil artists, though St–Fleurant's later work is also marked by rich hues. Uniquely, Exil often gives his lwas animal companions. His works have been exhibited throughout the world and he is especially popular in France.

     Faustin, Obès (   –   )


40. Legbe
c1978 (24x30)

  

   I bought this painting because the figure of Legbe reminded me of one in a work by Celestin Faustin. I don't know if Obès is related to Celestin, a remarkable artist who had died, a bit earlier, of drug–abuse. No matter: I really like this work.
   Legbe — the bearded fellow, left–center in the painting — is the 'god of the crossroads,' or fate.
   Recent works tend toward the surrealistic. See, for example, www.martellyart.net.

           

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