200. Pigeons Foraging^_
c1999 (16x20)

201. Nature Morte
  c1999 (10x8)

   Gesner Armand joined the Centre d'Art soon after it was established in 1944. His very first show was a success that led to scholarships for studies in Mexico City and Paris.
   One of Ha�ti's finest sophisticates, Amand has exhibited throughout the world. A selfless promoter of Haitian art, he served as director of the Mus�e d'Art Ha�tien in Port�au�Prince before his 1995 retirement.

85. Sc�ne rurale
c1982 (12x16)

   I know nothing about this artist. I just liked the painting.
   This is true of several other works in my collection. They're identified, from this point on, as 'Nothing known: just liked it.' Often, as in this case, I liked particularly the mix of colors. In others the subject appealed to me as illustrating something about Haitian life especially well.
   Works by Benito Auguste have been offered by Nader's gallery and some auction houses, including Christie's. Even so, I have been unable to find any biographical information.
   Whoever he is and wherever he comes from, Auguste fits into my 'semi�fantastiques' group. (See Michel Louissaint.)

29. 'Traitement vodou'
c1972 (24x32)

  'Traitement' is an early Augustin and dramatically different from the artist's later work � pieces like 'Reception . . . Roi Henri Christophe.'
   Le roi Henri was a native of the British West Indies and a lifelong Anglophile � though he had some r�le in the American Revolution on the colonists' side � and he himself spelled his given name 'Henry.' In most Haitian sources, however, he's 'Henri.' (For more information about King Henry, see Ch�ry.)
   Beginning in the mid�1970s, Augustin painted almost exclusively historical scenes, like the one below. They're quite accomplished � and they apparently sold well. Since the late 1980s, however, Augustin has faded from the scene.

133. 'Reception dans le Palais du Roi Henri Christophe'
 c1982  (24x48)