Seymour Etienne Bottex (24 December 1922 - 16 May 2016) was a Haitian painter. Born in Port-Margot, in northern Haiti, Bottex worked as a photographer until 1955 when his older brother Jean-Baptiste encouraged him to begin painting. [1] He joined the Centre d'Art and later the Galerie Issa in Port-au-Prince. [2] His paintings, mingling humorous, historical, and biblical themes, are exhibited worldwide and auctioned at Sotheby's in New York. He is considered one of the finest Haitian naïf painters, and his murals in the Episcopal Cathedral de Sainte Trinité in Port-au-Prince are considered the most important achievement in Haitian modern art. [3]
Paintings by Seymour Etienne Bottex have been sold by the Friends of HAS Haiti to raise funds for the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, located in Deschapelles.
According to an invitation to benefit Eye Care from the Embassy of Haiti issued Sunday Oct 16, 1994, "Seymour Etienne Bottex was born in 1920 near Cap-Haïtien. Bottex began painting in 1955 and was encouraged to paint by his brother, Jean-Baptiste, already a well-known artist.
Bottex scenes are often colorful. Humorous themes are sometimes represented in his work. His paintings have been exhibited in the United States, England, France and Italy..."
Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cité Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville.
Cap-Haïtien, typically spelled Cape Haitien in English, is a commune of about 274,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named Cap‑Français and Cap‑Henri during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820.
Frankétienne is a Haitian writer, poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist and intellectual. He is recognized as one of Haiti's leading writers and playwrights of both French and Haitian Creole, and is "known as the father of Haitian letters". As a painter, he is known for his colorful abstract works, often emphasizing the colors blue and red. He was a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009, made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres, and was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010.
Harry Jacques, known by the pseudonym Arijac, is a Haitian painter. He was born in Gonaïves, Haiti. After completing high school, Arijac took international correspondence courses in architecture and worked as a draftsman from 1962 to 1963 for the noted artist Sacha Thèbaud's (Tebo) architecture firm. Arijac also worked in the school construction division of the Department of Agriculture until 1975. Thèbaud taught Arijac to paint in the 2000-year-old encaustic method, which involves using an iron with a mixture of beeswax, turpentine and pigment to create images. Considered one of Haiti's finest painters, Arijac has exhibited work at the American Institute, the French Institute, the São Paulo Biennial and in New York City.
Prospère Pierre-Louis (1947–1997), also known as Prosper Pierre-Louis, was a Haitian artist, painter and one of the main contributors to the Saint Soleil art movement. His paintings depicting mystical Vodou lwa and spirits are especially noteworthy.
Philomé Obin was a Haitian painter. He produced his first painting in 1908 at the age of 16, and was an active artist for 75 years. Obin is considered one of the greatest Haitian artists of the 20th century.
Ralph Allen is a Haitian painter. Born in Port-au-Prince, Allen was awarded a scholarship to the National Academy of Design's School of Fine Arts in New York City. His paintings have been exhibited at the Loeb Center at New York University, the National Audubon Society, and at his alma mater, the National Academy of Design.
Jean-Baptiste Bottex was a Haitian painter. Hailing from Port Margot in northern Haiti, Bottex painted scenes from the Bible and daily Haitian life. His works were of the Naïve style and were displayed at the Centre d'Art. His younger brother, Seymour Bottex, is also a noted painter.
Alexandre Grégoire was a Haitian painter who typically depicted scenes of Vodou, daily life, and historical events in the naïve style.
Jean-Baptiste Jean (1953–2002) was a Haitian painter. Born in Cap-Haïtien, Jean studied with Philomé Obin before joining the Centre d'Art in 1971. His paintings have been exhibited in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and France.
Jean-René Jérôme (1942–1991) was a Haitian painter and considered one of Haiti's greatest artists. Born in Petit-Goâve on March 17, 1942, Jean-René Jérôme moved to Port-Au-Prince where he attended the "Petit Séminaire Collège St-Martial" and later the "Collège Moderne”. His family is a part of the elite of Haitian society, which enabled him to engage in a variety of artistic activities that interested him such as dance, theatre, drawing, voice and painting. He was able to study drawing and painting at the School of Fine Arts.
Haitian art is a complex tradition, reflecting African roots with strong Indigenous, American and European aesthetic and religious influences. It is an important expression of Haitian culture and history.
Guerdy Jacques Preval is a Haitian-Canadian painter. He now lives and works in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sergine Andre (‘Djinn’), born in the Artibonite region of Haiti, is an artist who has lived and worked in Brussels since 2010. Her paintings express an identity that straddles two worlds. Her imagination draws from both the magical-spiritual tradition of her home region and the Haitian artistic avant-garde and in her paintings she brings together contrasting themes such as life and death, light and shadows.
Andrée Malebranche was an Afro-Haitian painter and art instructor. She has works included in the collections of the Musée d'Art Haïtien and was recognized by the Haitian government for her contributions to the development of Haitian painting.
Claude Dambreville was a Haitian writer and painter. He won the annual literary Henri Deschamps award for his novel, Un gout de Fiel.
Hervé Télémaque was a French painter of Haitian origin, associated with the surrealism and the narrative figuration movements. He lived and worked in Paris from 1961 on.
Luce Turnier was a Haitian painter and collage artist. One of Haiti's leading artists, Turnier achieved international renown for her fusion of Haitian culture and modernist style.