Haitian Collection

Gesner Abelard was born in Port-au-Prince. Before becoming a painter, he worked as a mechanic and then a detective. He also studied sculpture under fellow Haitian, Uberman Charles. Abelard joined the Centre d'Art in 1946 at the invitation of director DeWitt Peters, and began to paint. Although the Expulsion from Paradise is a common subject in Haitian artwork, Abelard's depiction is unique. The artist's use of a vibrant blue adds to the visual tension created by the severity of the situation in this biblical story. Abelard also demonstrates his characteristic mixture of various birds and foliage.

Born in St. Marc, a coastal town and hometown of Hector Hyppolite, Alix is said to have been brought to Port-au-Prince and introduced to Le Centre d'Art by Hyppolite in 1946. Although he joined the Center, he continued to live and work in St. Marc along with his wife and son, also painters. Alix is one of many Haitian artists who decorate screens, boxes, and chests. His design for this three-panel screen is a stylized floral and vine pattern. Both the size and hinges indicate that this screen was functional, as well as decorative. Alix used a very similar floral motif on several painted wood boxes, also in the Davenport Museum of Art's collection.

Gesner Abelard was born in Port-au-Prince. Before becoming a painter, he worked as a mechanic and then a detective. He also studied sculpture under fellow Haitian, Uberman Charles. Abelard joined the Centre d'Art in 1946 at the invitation of director DeWitt Peters, and began to paint. Although the Expulsion from Paradise is a common subject in Haitian artwork, Abelard's depiction is unique. The artist's use of a vibrant blue adds to the visual tension created by the severity of the situation in this biblical story. Abelard also demonstrates his characteristic mixture of various birds and foliage.

After the slave rebellion (1791-1804), several factions vied for power in Haiti. Henri Christophe, one of Toussaint L'Ouverture's generals assumed power in the north, becoming President of the northern part of Haiti from January 1807 to March 1811. He then assumed the title, King of the North (Roi du Royaume du Nord), a phrase that is written on his black and red flag. Christophe ruled over the northern half of the territory until 1820 when he suffered a paralyzing stroke. Afterwards, he took his own life. In Augustin's painting, King Henry I is seated on a white horse and enters the gates of his palace. Known for his two ambitious building projects (the Citadel and his palace of Sans-Souci) and for his establishment of order and prosperity, King Henry I published Civil, Military, and Rural Codes, many based upon English laws, which contributed to the stability of the northern territory for a time.