In Memoriam
Tribute to the artists and art lovers who have passed away and had generously helped the Foundation reach its goals.
Mireille Perodin Jérôme, 13 avril 1952 – 7 avril 2023
La Fondation Culturelle Toussaint Louverture a appris avec tristesse le décès de Mireille Pérodin Jérôme. La Fondation presente ses sincères condoléances à la famille Jérôme et à tout ceux qui sont affectés par ce deuil.
Mme Jérôme, veuve du grand artiste peintre et sculpteur haïtien, Jean René Jérôme, était directrice des Ateliers Jean René Jérôme . Elle était aussi galeriste, critique d’art, commissaire d’exposition et promotrice d’art. Elle a dirigé les Ateliers pendant 34 ans et a contribué à la promotion de l’art haïtien : peinture, sculpture et art de la récupération. Les Ateliers ont servi de galerie et d'espace d'animation culturelle, et ont offert une plateforme aux artistes locaux.
Mireille Perodin Jerome
Herve Telemaque: November 5, 1937 – November 10, 2022
Herve Telemaque passed away on November 10, our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
Hervé TÉLÉMAQUE was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. He studied at the Art Student League of New York with Julian Levi and became the first artist to present figurative pop art in France where he immigrated in 1961. Télémaque, who is also a sculptor, has expressed himself through drawing and painting but also, at times, exclusively through collages. He has developed his own hues by mixing coffee grounds into colors to change their intensity and texture.
Il est reconnu comme représentant les courants du surréalisme et de la figuration. Ses œuvres ont été exposées dans de nombreux pays à travers le monde. Plusieurs musées ont acquéri ses tableaux dont le Musée Pompidou à Paris et le Museum of Modern Art à New York.
La Lampe Lithographie H.C. signed in pencil by the artist -30”x22” - 1974
Herve Telemaque dans son studio
Etzer Charles : 1945 – February 20, 2021
With deep sadness we learned the passing of Ezer Charles. Our deepest sympathies to his wife Danielle Roquier-Charles, his son Igor, his family & friends.
Etzer Charles was born in Jacmel, and started to paint in the 1960s. He left for France in 1974 where he studied at the Paris University while still pursuing his research on painting. He had an active political life and was Haiti’s ambassador in France for several years. His work is part of several permanent collections among them the Fondation France-Libertés. In 1990, he received the Vitellius d’Argent at the 8th Prix International de Vittel and in 1991, he received the Grande Coupe de la Fondation Paul Ricard at the Salon National de Nancy. He has taken part in numerous group and solo exhibits in Haiti, France, the USA and the Caribbean.
Etzer Charles
With deep sadness we learned the passing of our friend Frantz Woolley after a short illness. Our deepest sympathy to his wife, children, granddaughter, and others who are affected by his passing.
Frantz WOOLLEY was born in Port-au-Prince in 1936. He was an engineer by profession and for a while concentrated on prestidigitation. He lived in New York since the 60s and made contact with many Haitian artists who, since 1975, encouraged him to devote himself to painting. He was primarily advised by Luckner Lazard. In retirement, Frantz Woolley had fully concentrated on painting, favoring watercolors. We will miss him dearly, his yearly summer exhibits in his beautful garden, where he displayed his art, and shared with his many friends his love for nature and classical music. Frantz participated in the effort to raise funds for the Musee d'Art Haitian damaged by the earthquake of 2010 by donating his artwork.
Frantz Woolley : September 19,1936 – September 24, 2022
Frantz Woolley
Gerald Bloncourt : 4 novembre 1926 - 29 octobre 2018
C’est avec tristesse que nous avons appris le décès de Gerald Bloncourt. Nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à sa famille et ses amis.
Gerald était un artiste peintre, un poete et un photographe.. En 1944, il est l’un des membres fondateur du Centre d’Art Haïtien. Exilé d’Haïti pour sa participation à la révolte des étudiants en 1946 aux côtés de Jacques Stephen Alexis et de René Depestre, il n’a jamais oublié sa terre natale. Installé à Paris depuis des décennies, il a mené de front, sans discontinuer, son travail contre les dictatures et pour les lendemains qui chantent.
En 1986, Gerald a publié avec Marie-José Nadal-Gardère le livre d’art de référence « La Peinture Haïtienne » (Haïtien Arts). Il avait généreusement contribué à la levée de fonds pour la réhabilitation du Musée d’Art Haïtien en donnant plusieurs digigraphie de ses œuvres. Son travail pour le changement et son travail d’artiste font que Gerald restera à jamais dans la mémoire du peuple haïtien.
Gerald Bloncourt
With deep sorrow, we learned the passing of Camille Gauthier, one of the founders of the Toussaint Louverture Foundation. In the 1970s and 1980s, in New York city, the foundation organized many conferences to shed light on present and past events that marked the political life in Haiti.
Camille Gauthier retired in Florida and passed the torch to us in 2013 when we revived the foundation with the name: Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation. He was the Foundation's Honorary Chairman. Camille was a promoter of Haitian culture through the magazine Panacea of which he was the director. He is remembered as a sincere patriot in the struggle for a better Haiti, as a man of integrity with a high sense of responsibility and also a great sense of humor. Haiti lost of one of his worthy sons. Condoleances from the members of the Foundation to his family and friends. Camille will be missed but not forgotten. May he rest in peace.
Camille Gauthier : December 21, 1929 - November 1, 2020
Camille Gauthier
Tu es la rescapée
Emmanuel Merisier: 1929-2020
With deep sadness we learned the passing of Emmanuel Merisier. He had been sick with the corona virus for over a week and died in a New Jersey Hospital. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
Emmanuel Merisier was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. He joined the Foyer des Arts Plastiques around 1952 and the artists of the Galerie Brochette in 1957. He arrived in the US in 1964. He took classes at the Visual Art School of New York. His frequent visits to museums and artistic circles quickly turned him towards a more modern style of painting which he built from his memories of Chagall, George Rouault and other artists from the beginning of the 20ème century. He was sometimes inspired by voodoo, but he especially painted still lives and interior scenes. In 1991, he took part in an exhibit at Selden Rodman’s home. His work is in the permanent collection of the Waterloo Museum of Art in Iowa.
“The meaning of my artistic creation is to express myself using colors. The reason for art creation is to distinguish oneself in relation to others. The expression of my painting remains deeply Haitian and reflects the daily life of Haitian people in all of its hardships, joys, and symbolisms. This is why Vodou is present in my work although I am not an adept of this religion. Most people who live in our world, no matter their race, are treated like worthless beings or beasts. Using folklore and a sense of mysticism, I have presented their social, moral and spiritual condition. Hence, in my paintings, I often portray people who are oppressed so that they can hear their voices.” Emmanuel Merisier October 2015
Emmanuel Merisier, Mardi Gras, acrylic on canvas, 26x38, 1990
Emmanuel Merisier
Fritz Racine : January 20, 1927 - December 16, 2018
We learned with great sadness the passing of our friend and fellow art lover Fritz Racine. Mr Racine supported the foundation’s effort for the Musee d’Art Haitien as well as all of its other initiatives. On August 9 2015, he had traveled from Washington to be present at the hommage paid to Michel Philippe Lerebours at the Queens Museum of Art. A great loss to the whole Haitian art community. We send our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Fritz Racine
With deep sadness we learned the passing of Joe Overstreet. Over his long career as an artist, Joe was a trail blazer who firmly addressed issues of racism and inequality African Americans face in this country. With his wife, Corrine Jennings, he was the cofounder of the Wilmer Jennings Kenkeleba Gallery whose purpose is to give an outlet to African American, Caribbean, and African artists to promote their work. He was a fighter who stood against the gentrification of his neighborhood in the lower East Side of Manhattan.
Joe was also a friend and supporter of Haitian Art. In 2013, the Kenkeleba House generously hosted the Toussaint Louverture cultural Foundation art exhibit to raise funds for the Musee d’Art Haitien which had been severely damaged by the 2010 earthquake.
Joe was an outstanding artist who will be dearly missed by his family, his friends, and the art community. Our deepest sympathy to his family and friends. May he rest in Peace!
Joe Overstreet : June 20, 1933-June 4, 2019
Joe Overstreet
Joe Overstreet Luminous Thies Visit 1 1993 Watercolor
Lafortune FELIX 1933 – 2016
With deep sadness we learned Lafortune Felix passed away a few weeks ago in Haiti.
It’s a great loss for the art world in Haiti and abroad. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
Lafortune Felix was born in Pont-Sondé, Haiti in 1933. He started to paint in 1974 after he was encouraged to do so by Pierre Monosiet, who was at that time the director of the Musée d'Art Haitien du Collège St Pierre. He was one of the last great painters from the Artibonite region.
Lafortune Felix est né à Pont-Sondé, Haiti en 1933. Il a commencé à peindre en 1974 , encourage par Pierre Monosiet, directeur du Musée d'Art Haitien du Collège St Pierre à l’époque. Il etait un des derniers grands peintres de l'Artibonite.
His artwork has been shown at many exhibits worldwide among them in Haiti, Europe, Canada and the USA. In 2012, it was part of the Nottingham contemporary exhibit, “Kafou: Haiti, art and Vodou” organized in England. He generously donated his artwork to raise funds for the repair of the Musée d’Art Haitien du College St Pierre.
Lafortune Felix
C’est avec beaucoup de tristesse que nous avons appris le décès de Christian Nicolas, (Kristo). Malade depuis quelques années, il a toujours fait preuve d’un grand courage face à une situation qu’il savait sans issue. On l’avait rencontré à Montréal l’été dernier et malgré ses problèmes de santé qui s’aggravaient, son intérêt pour l’art restait entier et il avait de nombreux projets en tête. Le décès de Kristo est une très grande perte pour l’art haïtien. Nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à toute sa famille et ses nombreux amis.
Kristo said: “I paint by letting the colors dictate the direction of the work. I disappear and the artist takes over, contact is made with the other side and I am no longer in charge. Only when I emerge from my slumber stage that I put the final touch to the piece, applying, as best as I can, the techniques learned from master Tiga.”
Kristo was born in Haiti in a family where literature and the arts were prominent. He was guided into painting by Jean-Claude Tiga Garoute. Kristo is also a published poet and a writer.
Christian Nicholas (Kristo) 1954 - 2018
Kristo
Son of Badagri
Marc Emile Joseph Placide (Milo) January 5, 1945 - July 13, 2018
With deep sadness we learned the passing of our friend Milo Placide after a long illness. Our deepest sympathy to his family & friends.
Milo était un membre actif du Comité de soutien au Musée d'Art Haïtien cree par la fondation culturelle Toussaint Louverture.
Milo était un architecte passionné d'art. Il a étudié à la Galerie Brochette sous la direction de Luckner Lazard, Dieudonné Cédor, Geo Ramponneau et Villard Denis (Davertige.) Il a aussi suivi des cours de céramique avec Tiga tout en peignant avec Manès. Ses études architecturales ont influencé son style artistique, renforçant son sens des formes géométriques et de la mise en page. Milo était un artiste talentueux qui aimait son pays. Il a souvent soutenu et contribué à des causes qui faisaient la promotion de la culture haïtienne.
Milo was an active member of the Musée d'Art Haitien Support Committee created by the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation.
Milo was an architect who was passionate about art. He studied at the Galerie Brochette under the direction of Luckner Lazard, Dieudonné Cédor, Geo Ramponneau, and Villard Denis (Davertige.) He also took ceramic classes with Tiga while working on painting with Manès. His architectural studies focused his art by strengthening his sense for geometric forms and layout. Milo was a talented artist who loved his country. He often supported and contributed to causes that promoted Haitian culture.
Milo is survived by his wife Adeline, his daughter Johanne, his grandson Xavier, his brothers Manfred and Henry and several nieces and nephews.
Voltige Acrylic on Canvas 18x24 2004
Marc E Joseph Placide (Milo)
René Exumé – 1929 - 2016
We learned with sadness the passing of Haitian artist René Exumé. He was born in Petionville, Haiti on Oct 24 1929 and passed away on Nov 20, 2016 in New York U.S.A.
René Exumé joined the Centre d’Art in 1948 where he started to paint under the direction of Dieudonné Cédor. In 1950, he became a founding member of the Foyer des Arts Plastiques of which he later became its director. He worked with Lucien Price, Max Pinchinat and took classes from the A.B.C. School. René Exumé was a great artist. His work has been in exhibits around the world and is part of many private collections.Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Artwork by René Exumé
With deep sadness we learned the passing of Saint-Jean Saint-Juste, one of the first artist of the Saint Soleil Movement. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
Saint-Jean SAINT-JUSTE who was born in 1954 in Seguin in the south-east of Haiti, was a carpenter before working for Tiga. In 1972, he participated in the creation of the Saint Soleil movement which was at first called Poisson Soleil. Saint Juste remained faithfully attached to Jean-Claude Garoute until his death in 2005.
Saint-Jean SAINT-JUSTE : 1954 – 2017
Artwork by Saint-Jean St Juste donated to the Save A Museum Art Collection.
Dr Ketty Rey: passed away on April 21st 2015
It’s with great sadness that we learned that our dear friend Dr. Ketty Hyppolite Rey passed away on April 21st 2015 in Queens NY. Dr. Rey was a great art lover and an avid collector of Haitian artwork. She had great interest in and supported the efforts of the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation for the rebuilding of the Musée d’Art Haitien du Collège St. Pierre.
Dr. Rey was an outstanding Haitian professional. She was a doctor and a lawyer and had extensive experiences and responsibilities in the fields of health, drug prevention and social services in the US, Haiti and other foreign countries. She was a pioneer in the substance abuse prevention field. Since 1989, the Ketty Award, named after her, is given out annually to recognize the work of one individual in that field.
Fr. Rey is the author of “A Culturally Competent Health Care System,” a book that stresses the importance of taking into account the ethnic and racial diversity in New York City in the field of healthcare. Our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.
C’est avec regret que nous avons appris le décès de Mr. Henri Bazin survenu à Port-au-Prince ce mardi 4 août 2015.
Economiste de profession, il était connu pour son professionnalisme et son honnêteté. A part les activités liées à sa profession il était un membre dévoué du conseil d’administration du Musée d’Art Haïtien du Collège St. Pierre. Il a joué, entre autres, un rôle important dans les efforts pour trouver de l’aide financière devant servir à la reconstruction du musée endommagé par le séisme de 2010.
Nos sincères condoléances à sa famille, ses amis et aux membres du conseil d’administration du musée.
Henri Bazin: décédé le 4 aout 2015
Ludovic Booz : June 16, 1940 – February 2nd, 2015
It’s with deep sadness that we learned the passing of Ludovic Booz on February 2nd, 2015 in Miami after a long illness. Ludovic Booz was a talented artist and a man of great simplicity and generosity. It's a huge loss for the Haitian people and the Haitian artist community. We send our deepest sympathy to his family and friends.
Ludovic BOOZ was born in Aquin June 16, 1940. He first went to the Centre d’Art where he worked with the artist Antonio Joseph. At the end of the 50s, he attended the École de Beaux Arts, recently founded. He studied and worked under the supervision of professor Montaguteli. He was later influenced by l’École de la Beauté, but obsessed by the harsh reality of his environment, he quickly broke away from it while keeping its fondness for beautiful shapes and elongations
Ludovic Booz is best known as a sculptor. The painter, however, was able to develop a very personal style and as such, is very interesting. His depictions are usually tragic when, reinforced by the use of warm tones drowned under the grayness, it doesn’t fall into complete despair. His work has been exhibited in the USA, France, Canada and the Caribbean.
Ludovic Booz, Les Naufrages, 2003
In 2012, Ludovic Booz answered the Call for Haitian Art launched by the Toussaint Louveture Cultural Foundation and donated his painting “Les naufragés.” It became part of the "Save A Museum" art collection to raise funds for the repair of the Musee d'Art Haitien du College St Pierre severely damaged during the 2010 earthquake.
Les Naufragés
Ludovic Booz
Georges Remponeau: September 16, 1916-December 21, 2012
Georges Remponeau was born in Port-au-Prince on 16 September 1916. In 1930, he met Pétion Savain and began to haunt the Pont Saint Gérard group. William Scott’s work was a revelation to him and, like Savain, he took a fresh start in the style of the black American painter
Encouraged by his wife Madeleine, he decided to devote himself entirely to painting. In 1939, his painting Marchand de Cocos won a bronze medal at the International Exhibition organized by IBM. Shortly after his return to Haiti in 1943, he met Dewitt Peters and introduced to him artists and other intellectuals of Port-au-Prince. He was one of the main founders of the Centre d'Art in 1944.
Georges Remponeau naquit à Port-au-Prince le 16 septembre 1916. En 1930, il fut présenté à Pétion Savain et commença à fréquenter le groupe du Pont Saint Gérard. Depuis son plus jeune âge, il avait seul mais passionnément cultivé ses dispositions pour le dessin et la peinture. L’œuvre de William Scott fut pour lui une révélation et, comme Savain, il prit un nouveau départ dans le sillon du peintre noir américain.
Encouragé par sa femme Madeleine, il décida de se consacrer entièrement à la peinture. En 1939, son tableau Marchand de Cocos remporte une médaille de bronze à l’Exposition internationale organisée par la IBM. Peu après son retour en Haïti en 1943, il rencontra Dewitt Peters et le présenta aux artistes et autres intellectuels de Port-au-Prince. Il fut l’un des principaux fondateurs du Centre d’Art en 1944. Professeur de dessin dans la nouvelle association, son influence sur les jeunes artistes fut assez profonde.
Marchande de Coco
Georges Remponeau
Prefete Duffaut - January 1, 1923 - October 6, 2012
Préfète DUFFAUT, Haitian master, passed away on October 6, 2012 in Haiti. "Born in Jacmel in 1923, Préfète DUFFAUT arrived at the Centre d’Art in 1948. He was immediately noted for the strength and specificity of his talent. In 1950, he is among the artists chosen to paint the murals of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral of Port-au-Prince. Impetuous colorist, he never stopped giving priority to drawing. His inspiration, from the start, was fed by two primary sources endlessly repeated in infinite variations and meticulous work: the imaginary city and Virgin Mary-Erzulie. Two themes lived in their ambiguity. Two themes connected to both Catholicism and voodoo. This ambiguity explains why Duffaut is selected as one of the genuine representatives of international surrealist painting." Dr Michel Philippe Lerebours
Prefete Duffaut (from Arnold Antonin Documentary cover)
Les funérailles de l'artiste peintre Andrée Mallebranche ont été chantées à Pétionville ce 20 février. Elle avait reçu une solide éducation à Cuba, et avec Lucien Price, Dewitt Peters, Albert Mangones, Georges Remponneau, elle a fait partie de l'équipe de professeurs qui s'est dévouée dans les premiers jours du Centre d'Art en 1944.
Elle a contribué à la formation de nombreux jeunes artistes dont Luce Turnier et Luckner Lazard. Avec le Rev. James Petersen, Gerarld Bloncourt, elle a réalisé vers 1945 les premières murales religieuses en Haiti dans la crypte de l'église Sainte Thèrèse à Pétionville ceci bien avant celle de la cathédrale épiscopale de Port-au-Prince. Elle laisse une œuvre remarquable qui malheureusement n'est pas assez connue mais fait honneur à l'artiste et à la nations haïtienne.
Au nom du Musée d'Art Haïtien du Collège St. Pierre, nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à sa fille Madame Monique Malebranche Hyppolite et à toute sa famille
Andree Malebranche: November 28, 1916 - February 13, 2013
Raphael Denis - 5 juin 1934 - 7 juillet 2012
Raphael Denis - 5 juin 1934 - 7 juillet 2012 Raphael DENIS est né le 5 juin à Port-au-Prince en 1934 et est décédé le 7 juillet 2012 à Brooklyn NYen sa résidence. Il s’est d’abord adonné à la reliure avant de se tourner vers la peinture qu’il travailla à la Galerie Brochette en suivant les conseils de Dieudonné Cédor et de Luckner Lazard.
En 1968, il s’installa à New York où ses relations avec Luckner Lazard deviennent beaucoup plus étroites. C’est alors qu’il s’est laissé tenté par des peintres cubistes et particulièrement par Lyonel Feininger. Il peignit alors des scènes de marché, des paysages et des marines. Il a toujours attaché une grande importance au graphisme et à l’organisation de l’espace sans jamais ignorer le rôle de la couleur. Il lui arrive même parfois de laisser parler la couleur dans des compositions presque abstraites mais combien évocatives et poétiques
Il est survécu par son épouse de 52 ans, Violette Denis; ses filles Rachel Denis et Pascale Senatus; ses petits enfants Sarah Denis, Yoseph Denis, et Richard Box; sa belle fille Denise Denis, et son beau-fils Ernest Senatus, ses sœurs Bernadette Hoffman, Stephanie Maurice, Marcelle Nader, et son frère Camille Denis; ainsi que de nombreuses nièces, neveux, petites nièces, petits neveux, et arrière petite nièces. Son fils, Les Denis, sa sœur Eugénie Denis et son frère Ethear Denis sont décédés avant lui.
Earthquake 2010
Raphael Denis
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