82. Noah's Ark
c1979 (24x30)

   Abelard is a 'first generation' artist, though not one of the more celebrated. He's noted especially for cheerful Biblical scenes and intricate, decorative canvasses.
   'First generation' artists came to the fore in the years following the 1944 opening of Le Centre d'Art by the American Quaker Dewitt Peters. Abelard himself joined the Centre in 1946, having worked previously as a sculptor.
   Several of the 'first generation' artists — notably Castera Bazile, Rigaud Benoit, Wilson Bigaud, Préfête Duffaut,and Philomé Obin — executed the world–famous murals that adorn the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port–au–Prince. Other artists whose works grace that Episcopal church include Jasmin Joseph, Adam Léontus, and Gabriel Lèvêque. (The Roman Catholic bishop had refused to let mere Haitians decorate his church. Some of his successors have regretted his bias.) 

191. Cérémonie à Bassin Bleu
c1980 (20x24)

   A bricklayer much of his life, Théard began painting in 1971 following a disabling accident. He claimed a vodou ('voodoo') goddess, in a dream, told him his future lay in art. The lwa (or loa), in turn, may have been inspired by the fact that two of Théard's distant cousins — Prèfête Duffaut and Pauleus Vital — are among the all–too–few Haitian painters who've made comfortable livings from their art.
   Théard Aladin is a quintessential naïf.